Cherry Jam

   Yesterday, I made a small batch of cherry jam using a recipe from the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving (which is now spiral-bound!  My paperback copy gets held open with a pot lid).  The closest recipe I could find online is from the Bernardin Home Canning site.  It differs slightly from the one in my book, which mentions the option to add 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (which I did), 1/2 tsp ground cloves (which I didn't), and/or 1/4 cup of amaretto liqueur (which I should have).

   I am always happier with how my relishes, pickled garlic, dilly beans, and fruit butters turn out than my jams.  Granted, I have only made jam twice.  This year's turned out better than last year's, but there is room for improvement.  Last year's batch tasted lovely, but it was so full of tiny bubbles that it looked more like pink cherry mousse than cherry jam.  I read several articles online, watched a few videos, and reread the recipe 5 times to make sure I was doing things correctly.  The result was a darker, less mousse-like jam, but I can still see some bubbles in it.  I read some more articles and posted on a forum asking more experienced canners their advice.  I discovered that the trick is to add 1/2 tsp of butter to the pot of ingredients before the mixture is brought to a boil!  I hadn't planned to make more jam - I eat very little of it - but I am tempted to make another batch just so I can use this trick.  If I do, it will be this one for Carrot Cake Jam.

 

Curled Up With The Squash

Bea snoozing in the plant room.

End of August

   
   While my fingers are crossed for an Indian Summer, in practical terms, I am starting to wrap up what I can in the garden in case an early-September killer frost is on the horizon.  Relishes are being canned,  produce frozen and dehydrated.  The apples on our tree are ready to be picked (they fall to the ground if you look at the tree sideways), so apple maple crisp is in our near future.  

   The garden performers of the year seem to be the cabbage, and if things continue to go well, the tomatoes, potatoes, Early Prolific Squash, and North Georgia Candy Roasters.   And sunflowers!  Underwhelming producers were the peas (we ended up with a total of 23 lbs 4 oz, shelled), and string beans (they never do well in the South garden).  The cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, beets, and snap pole beans fell somewhere in the middle.  Best described as, "As expected".  Time will tell how the dry beans do.  R. picked a total of 30 lbs 13 oz of raspberries before he finally had enough for the season and stopped!

    Every summer brings us a different insect that makes working outdoors a little challenging (e.g., wasps, gnats, cabbage moths - even grasshoppers, one year).  The Pest of the Year this summer was the mosquito.  They were thick and thirsty.  

   Dozens of robins have appeared in the last 48 hours.  They are delightful to watch and listen to.  They sound happy!  Their time is being spent poking around the garden (especially the North garden, which we have already pulled up) and flying between the trees.

   R. managed to connect with a woman on Facebook who lives in the area and who had straw to trade.  Finally!  This is the third year we have tried to find someone with square bales who could - and would - deliver.  She dropped by this morning with 4 bales and we traded 8 lbs of frozen raspberries for them.  Some of the straw will be used in our little cat shelter this winter, and the rest will be used to mulch the garden next Spring.

Pink Dahlias

Early Annie tomato

Damascus Steel tomato

Dwarf Roza Vetrov tomato

Black Krim tomato

Work Release Paste tomato

Amana Orange tomato

Malachite Box tomato

Russian Rose tomato

Heirloom carrots

L - R....Rosemary and English Thyme

Lou having a nice stretch

South side of the house

South side of the house

South side of the house, outside plant room

Dahlias - these ones are prolific!

South garden

South garden

Dwarf Sunspot sunflower and bee

Assorted dahlias & Mammoth sunflower

Illumination zinnias - smaller than expected, but pretty.

Swedish Brown and Purple Amish Gnuttle beans drying

A wonky Lunar White carrot

A few Small Wonder spaghetti squash by the flower bed

Loulou likes hiding in the dry beans!

"The Jungle" (East garden) - lots of sunflowers!

"The Jungle" - sunflowers, winter squash...

...and rogue potatoes, borage, tomatoes, kale, marigolds, and pole beans

North Georgia Candy Roaster Squash

Fingerling potatoes gone wild. Hope they're as productive as they look!

Sweet Summer Squash ChowChow

Yesterday, I made a new (to me) recipe called Sweet Summer Squash ChowChow.  I used Early Prolific Straightneck squash, which is yellow, and the recipe calls for tumeric.  As a result, this is one cheerful looking condiment!  I used about half the amount of ground pepper the recipe calls for; 1 Tbsp seemed like a lot and I worried that the resulting product who be too hot.  The recipe at the link states that it makes 9 pints.  It does not.  I think they meant 9 half-pints.  I ended up with 4 500-mL jars and a smidgen left over.

Sweet Summer Squash ChowChow


10 cups coarsely grated summer squash (zucchini, patty pan, or yellow)
4 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup salt
5 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
1 tablespoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper

In a large bowl, mix the squash, onion, and salt. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. 

Transfer the mixture to a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain well and press dry between paper towels. 

In a large pot, combine the squash mixture, sugar, vinegar, celery seeds, turmeric, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to medium, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Pack the hot chowchow into hot, sterile canning jars, filling to 1/2 inch from the rim. Wipe the rims with a sterile cloth and screw on metal canning lids and screw bands. 

Process 15 minutes in boiling water. (Adjust time to suit your elevation).

Too Soon? (North Georgia Candy Roasters)

Here in Northeastern BC, we are still dealing with smoky, hazy days due to the wildfires throughout the province.  Some days, the air is quite clear and smells fresh.  Then a weather system shifts, and the air again becomes so hazy you can't see the buildings or hills across town.  It pools, like mist, in the downtown area, which is in a shallow valley.

After several days of thought, I decided to pick the two large North Georgia Candy Roasters.  Their appearance is the same as the ones I harvested two years ago, and they have the hollow sound of a mature winter squash when thumped.  My reasoning was if I picked these whoopers, maybe the 8-10 much smaller ones that are still on the vine will have more energy and nutrients directed towards them so they will mature before the heavy frosts start to hit.  I have no idea if that is how things actually work.

Despite being extra careful when I lifted the squash, the stems on both of them snapped right at the base.  Arhg!  The squash will still be fine to eat once cured, but I gather this reduces their storage potential dramatically.   These ones will have to be used up first.

I have a few Small Wonder spaghetti squash growing in pots.  Most are still quite small and are pale green.  Not a lot of action from these plants.  This squash is the largest of the bunch and has stayed this pale yellow colour for 2+ weeks, so I picked it today. 

Meet our newest feline visitor.  We call him, "Romeow".  He is cautious, but friendly, and has 6 toes on his front paws.  He likes to snooze on the bench behind the house from time to time. 

Confetti Relish

I put some of our onions, zucchini, garlic, and yellow summer squash to good use and made Confetti Relish earlier this week.  The recipe was taken from the book, Saving The Season by Kevin West.  A link to the recipe can be found here.

 A few of the jars...

In case the link above someday goes *poof*....

Confetti Relish

Makes 5 pints

3 pounds mixed zucchini and yellow squash (11 cups diced)

1 pound red onions (3 cups diced)

1 pound red or yellow bell peppers (3 cups diced)

3 tablespoons kosher salt

3-1/2 cups apple-cider vinegar

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds

1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, finely ground

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, finely ground

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 fresh or dried chili peppers, finely diced

1. Chop the vegetables into 1/4-inch dice and toss with the salt. Set aside in a colander to drip for 2 hours. Pour a kettle of boiling water over the vegetables to rinse them.

2. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the vegetables,and cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent andyielding.

3. Pack the hot relish into five prepared pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal the jars, and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Allow to cure for a few weeks.

Garlic Harvest and Blanching Begins

Yesterday, we blanched and froze 5 of our Romanesco cauliflower.   I also made a cabbage roll casserole from one of our cabbage.  Yum!

Romanesco cauliflower

On August 11th, I dug up the garlic rounds and bulbs of the varieties I started from bulbils in 2016.  The Baba Franchuk's are large bulbs already, and the Kiev bulbs are quite large, too!  The others, particularly Brown Tempest, and still small and will need another year or two to reach a good size.  I updated my bulbil post here. 

Today, I harvested the main garlic crop.  I was underwhelmed by the performance of what I believe is Northern Quebec garlic.  The bulbs are small, with 2 or 3 cloves per bulb.  They grew so much larger in the original garlic bed (North garden) than in this year's (South garden).  The South garden has heavy/clay soil, whereas the North garden's soil is on the sandy side.   The Red Russian garlic is nice and large, but I had to be careful harvesting it.  The clay stuck in great chunks to the root and sides of the bulbs, and trying to remove it resulted in some of the skin being pulled from the garlic. I decided to lay the Red Russian garlic in the shade on the step so the soil can dry out and hopefully be removed without further damaging the skin.

Northern Quebec garlic

Red Russian garlic

This morning, I picked the first bunch of Red Swan beans and blanched them to freeze.  This first picking provided enough to fill two medium freezer bags.  Not bad, for the first go. 


The gazanias are blooming nicely - such a cheerful colour!

Mega Post: August Catch-up

It has been a busy summer.  I am finally playing “catch up” with a marathon of picture-posting and a recap of what’s been going on in the garden.  These pictures were taken between August 1-12 (click to enlarge).

The garden really took off mid-July and has been growing like crazy since.  I'm not sure what has caused the boost in growth.  Maybe the  days of alternating rain and heat, or the application of EM’s in addition to some fish fertilizer in early July.  Whatever the case, it is something to see…particularly the East garden (beside the raspberry patch).  We are now calling it, “The Jungle”.  The North Georgia Candy Roasters sprawled so much and so quickly that they have climbed over the rogue potatoes (we didn’t plant them), the tomatoes, and the marigolds.  This garden is so densely packed that it has been impossible to get in there to hand pollinate the squash. We have had to rely exclusively on the bees for that this year.  So far, I have found two large Candy Roasters growing in this garden, and about 5 small ones that have set recently.  I hope that we have a long, warm Fall like last year so they can grow to maturity.  Getting only 2 squash from 4 full-sized plants at the end of the season would feel like a disappointment.

 

To my surprise, almost all the sunflower seeds I planted in this garden came up.  Some are now 10+ feet tall!  The pole beans are doing well; the Early Riser (Romano/snap) beans have grown past the top of the poles and are drooping over the side by a foot.  Picking them might be a challenge; we’ll need to use a step stool or a ladder, and try not to squish the North Georgia Candy Roaster vines that are growing near the bases of the bean poles.

Many of the varieties of beans I have grown before (e.g., Molasses Face, Swedish Brown, Purple Amish Gnuttle) are 1-2 feet taller that I have seen them before.  The Principe Borghese tomatoes (a determinate variety) are about 6” taller than they were when I grew them 2 years ago.  

Romanesco Cauliflower, Swedish Brown & Purple Amish Gnuttle beans, Golden Jubilee tomatoes

L-R --> Principe Borghese tomatoes, Molasses Face beans

Principe Borghese tomtoes and Molasses Face beans

We're not sure what's up with our peas  The plot was thriving and looking lush for most of July.  Soon after the first picking, however, the plants started turning yellow. The roots weren’t disturbed and they haven’t been waterlogged by rain (or dried out from lack of watering).  I can’t find the information I wrote down last year re: the amount of peas picked but this year we can already tell we’ll have more.   It will be a far cry less than the 35-40lbs I was expecting from the plot, though.  As of today, we have a shelled total of 19 lbs 12 oz.

Green Arrow peas

The first picking!

The Early Prolific summer squash is coming along.  Not sure that is it particularly early, but it is putting out a lot of squash.

We have picked 3 or 4 cucumbers so far and the bush cucumber plants in the raised bed along the driveway are covered with yellow blossoms.  If all goes well, we’ll have plenty to eat fresh and plenty to go toward making relish.

Zucchini

Lou in the garlic patch...

The garlic "flowers" producing bulbils (Red Russian, I believe...or possibly Northern Quebec).  

Yesterday, I dug up the cloves and bulbs of the varieties I started 2 years ago from bulbils (Kiev, Baba Franchuk's, Brown Tempest, Siberian, and Central Siberian) and hung them to dry.  More about that later this month.


 Along the driveway...

The tomato plants, in general, look nice and healthy.  Some plants seem to be far foliage than fruit, which is a little disappointing.  So far, the best producers seem to be Early Annie, Russian Rose, Scotia, Principe Borghese, and Dwarf Rosa Vetrov.  Auria, Golden Jubilee, Malachite Box, and Damasus Steel don’t seem to be producing well (granted, the latter two are being swamped by squash vines).  The Rutgers tomato plants, which I thought were a determinate variety, grew like mad.  Either the package was mislabeled (I received the seeds in a trade) or Rutgers in an indeterminate variety.  I’ll have to read up on that later, when I have the time.

Work Release Paste tomato

Work Release Paste tomatoes

Auria tomato

Auria tomatoes

Damascus Steel tomato

Damascus Steel tomatoes

Dwarf Roza Vetrov tomatoes

Russian Rose tomatoes

Principe Borghese tomatoes

The cabbage are doing very well, though the slugs found them this week and have started to do some damage.  Many of the cabbage are ready to be harvested.  I just have to figure out what we are doing with them!  I will make a cabbage roll casserole (or 3...) and will likely give away – possibly sell – a few.  In the meantime, I will sprinkle some Slug-B-Gon around them to keep the slimy munchers away.

Aubervilliers cabbage

Brunswick cabbage

The bush beans are covered with blossoms and have started to develop pods. The Red Swan beans seem to be ahead of the other varieties, and there are already a few of these beans ready to pick.

Red Swan beans

The crabapples look pretty!

Spot the kitties...

The Romanesco cauliflower has also done well this summer, and we harvested 5 yesterday.  We will blanch and freeze those today.  I am glad I didn’t give up on the transplants, which looked so pale and feeble this Spring that I almost composted them instead of planting them!

The carrots look like they are ready to be harvested.  We’ll have to do that sooner rather than later, as several have already bolted.  We will dehydrate a bunch for use in soups and stews, and I might also try my hand at canning pickled carrots this year. 

Unfortunately, it has been another summer of forest fires in BC, including some in the northwestern region of the province.  The sky has been very hazy this week and the air constantly smells like smoke.  R. found his car covered with fine ash on Wednesday and Thursday morning when he went to leave for work.  The picture below was taken the morning of August 9th.

Assorted pictures from the garden...

Dazzling Blue kale, flat-leaf parsley, and lettuce in the "bathtub" bed

Tronchuda collards

"Dinnerplate" dahlia

Fingerling potatoes

Small Wonder spaghetti squash

Mini snapdragons

Sunflower in the tomatoes

Bea (in R's hat) and Loulou (in the kangaroo apron) supervise the pea picking.

This kitty started popping by from time to time for a visit in late June.  He is a shy but friendly guy with extra toes on each paw.   He tries to chat up Bea and Lou, but to no avail.  We call him, "Romeow".

Scotia, Orange Amana & Auria tomatoes and Coco Jaune de Chine beans

Two more small North Georgia Candy Roaster squash

Dahlias

Dahlias

Dahlias

Dahlias

South garden (we didn't plant any of those sunflowers!)

South garden

Rosemary

English Thyme