"my" pumpkin soup recipe

My favorite pumpkin soup recipe is from a little book: Holiday Pumpkins by Georgeanne Brennan and Jennifer Barry. A very cute book with a bunch of nice pumpkiny ideas. But the soup is exceptional. Nice and simple: pumpkin, leeks and ginger. Optional cilantro and cream garnish. I made it for Thanksgiving a while back and served it in the pumpkin shell. I'm planning to do the same again this year.

Not wanting to copy a book recipe onto my blog, I searched online for someone else who has a similar recipe. Here's the exact recipe at trufflesandtrifles.com, but using sour cream instead of creme fraiche. Both neglect to mention that you should puree the soup after cooking the pumpkin.

garden bloggers bloom day - collecting and appreciating seeds

The seed is hope; the flower is joy.
- Author Unknown

Skippy and I went out to look for flowers. The joy is gone, but we found lots of hope. Every size and shape of seed head and pods.

Its seed season. Leaves are faded laying on the ground, seeds ripening everywhere. Skippy and I walked through the wildflower fields. So many different shapes and types of seeds. I collected a handful of the big purple cone flower seeds. I admired these giant flowers this summer. The seed head dug into my leg through my pocket for the rest of the walk. Skippy collected a bunch of seeds too - all over himself as he ran through the fields.

(Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is the 15th of every month. This is a fun event started by Carole at May Dreams Gardens. I'm always very pleased with myself when I remember this in time to join in. If you head over to Carole's, there's a clickable list of everyone participating this month.)

bathing beauty

Thanksgiving plans

Its that time of year again! Time for a feast! I will be serving a crowd. Looks like 10 guests so far.

We have a new smoker this year and will smoke the turkey outside in it. Maybe some fish too.

But the very exciting thing is that I may be able to provide ALL the vegetables from my garden this year! With the mild weather, I have a nice crop of lettuce, spinach, parsnips, Chinese greens and herbs parsley and sage still in the garden. Also lots of already harvested stuff: celeriac, potatoes, squash and pumpkin, onions, garlic, winter radish, cabbage, carrots and beets. And frozen stuff: red sauce and pesto.

I'm starting to work on a menu. (Suggestions welcome!)

The menu so far (still changing):
Pumpkin soup (Jarrahdale, served in the shell, I have a great recipe)
Smoked turkey with celeriac, onion and sage stuffing and classic gravy
Mashed potatoes
Butternut squash (roast pureed or baked/candied?)
Grilled carrots
Grilled bok choy
A big casserole of some type
Fall greens salad (with cranberries, pecans and goat cheese)
Mixed breads (corn bread, black bread etc)

My mom and brother always bring the pies.... I hope they will again this year.

celeriac recipes

Someone asked a while back what to do with celeriac. I thought I start a recipe list.
Here is a nice post from Winter Green Community Farm. As they describe:

Celeriac is descended from wild celery and has a crisp, clean flavor. It can be used in turkey stuffing instead of regular celery and has a good amount of Vitamin C. Try celeriac raw grated into salads or in any recipe that calls for celery. Celeriac can also be boiled or steamed. Peel, slice, and boil for 5-10 minutes or boil whole for 20-30 minutes. Mash and top with butter (tastes incredible with mashed potatoes!). Celeriac can be peeled, chopped, and added to soup or stew or baked (in its skin, then peeled when cool) at 350 degrees for one hour, alone, or with other vegetables in a root bake. Add celeriac to any stir-fry, a gratin dish, or finely chopped in stuffing. Serve steamed and cubed celeriac tossed with a warm balsamic vinaigrette and parsley.

The link has recipes for Celeriac Risotto, Hearty Celeriac Bisque and Celeriac and Butternut Squash Soup.

white Detroit beets with carrots

I wasn't real sure of these when I ordered the seed last year. White Detroit beets. But the description at Sand Hill Preservation Center sounded interesting:

White Detroit: 65 days. Relatively new introduction where the beets are white, less bleeding and staining but same earthy flavor.

And the good news is my teenager liked them! And they didn't stain the carrots. Or my hands. They were very tasty. I think this will be a variety to grow again next year.

My dad has questioned the nutritiousness of white vegetables. I wonder if the white beets are low in vitamins? Same with white carrots? I don't know about this. But here's the nutritional value of white beets: "Beets are saturated-fat-free, cholesterol-free, provide a small amount of vitamin C, a source of fiber and low in sodium and fat. Beets contain a high amount of folate which is believed to help prevent depression and fatigue." From here.

(The carrots are Oxheart - so fat and round they look like orange beets! I grow this variety every year.)

My quick plain recipe: Peel and cube carrots and beets. Boil until tender. Transfer to bowl and top with salt, butter and parsley. Bake/warm at about 300*F for a while.

a gardener's fortune

WOW! My fortune cookie is about my garden! "New meaning." .... I wonder what that means. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Of course, gardens are always taking on new meaning. They never stay the same. The seasons change, the weather changes. Plants grow and then die. My garden this year was very different from last year. And the our Community Garden is evolving, too. I've heard many visitors comment on this as we have now over active 120 plots.

During the winter season, I always like to take some time to review the year. Compare with past years. And make plans for next year.

This year my garden provided a lot of food and gave me an overflowing larder. If there's a new meaning I'd like my own garden to take on next year, I'd like a more beautiful and restful space, in addition to a productive one. I'm thinking about benches, arbors, chairs. Colors and shapes. Definitely more sunflowers. I'd like my side yard garden to connect better with the front and back yard. I'd like to bring herbs and vegetables into my front yard.

And we have projects ongoing at the Community Garden too. New meaning there could be to grow a sense of community. With a bit of communication, we could do things. I look forward to our new honey CSA, a second Annual Seed Swap and Giant Vegetable Contest, our new bulletin boards, and who knows what else.

Maybe my next fortune cookie will be more specific.

garden blogger's bloom day

Coming on the 15th (Sunday) - I'm getting ready.....

garlic sprouts already

Amazing how fast they sprouted! We've been having just fantastic fall weather. These are happy little sprouts. The variety is Susanville, a soft neck garlic that I'm trying for the first time this year.

a nice fresh pile of horse manure

I still can't get over how great it is that a local horse owner brings his extra *** to the community gardens. A fresh big pile today.

Skippy has gotten very grown up about the pile. No more rolling in it or eating it. He gives a brief sniff and moves on.

So I shoveled a barrowful, maneuvered to my plot, and dumped it onto the bed that will grow my popcorn next year. Such pleasure to think about what will grow next year.....

mulching with hay

I'd like to cover all my beds for the winter - to protect the soil microbes.

So I went to my plot today to spread the last of my hay. Two garlic plots are already mulched. And another bed is already covered with popcorn stalks.

Uncovered beds I noticed were the new asparagus bed, planted this spring. And my perennial bed with rhubarb, rose, thyme and oregano. I spread the last of the hay on these.

If I get a chance to buy more hay, I will. It would be good to cover a couple more beds.

I'm covering next year's heavy feeder beds with a layer of fresh horse manure, compost and winter rye. Three are done and one is still waiting for this. The perennials and the light feeder beds aren't getting these amendments. They're the ones to mulch with hay.

book review: What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?) by D. Deardorff and K. Wadsworth

Another very nice book that Timber Press sent me for review.

What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?) by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth, is a brand new gardening book. Lots of step-by-step drawings of how to figure out what's wrong with your plants.

First thing I did was to check on all the vegetable problems I've had recently. This kept my busy for a long time. Corn ear worms, apple maggots, late blight, Septoria leaf spot, slugs, ... This book is a wealth of very helpful information. Pictures of everything. And all organic solutions. Flow charts lead you from the problems to the solutions.

I love the photo of an apple tree with small paper bags all over it covering the fruit! A perfect solution for my apple pests. I'll use this method this year for my apples, as bags are easier to get than the knee-hi stockings I used before. (Hopefully my little pear tree will have fruits for me to bag this year too.) I'm also looking forward to trying beneficial nematodes for the corn ear worms. And I'm studying the slug section very carefully.... And reading about mason bee nests to increase pollinators....

In addition to step-by-step identification, drawings and photos, the book has complete background and explanation on diseases, plant conditions, plant parts and proper growth conditions.

Best of all is the book's message: "Above all, do no harm." Don't leap to a conclusion that your plant is dying and needs a toxic chemical sprayed on it. Instead, study it carefully and figure out the symptoms. Then identify the problem and apply a safe organic solution. Sometimes this means watering differently, or improving drainage. Maybe more or less sun. And sometimes you need to try a a series of solutions and then resort to a chemical. Organic approved chemicals are included.

You can find the book here.

spreading compost and other winter preparations

A beautiful warm fall day for garden work. We were out cleaning up the yard and gardens - getting ready for winter. My main project was COMPOST.

My old wood compost bins have finally composted themselves. After 10 or 15 years. Two homemade untreated fir bins. I pulled off all the old decayed wood, then carted the compost to my garden beds. My 2010 plan says there will be tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes and peppers in these home beds next year, which need a nice rich soil. A couple of the beds were cleared out earlier and already have a layer of spread compost with cover crops growing well. Now the rest of the beds have piles of compost. I'll buy winter rye seed tomorrow (my local hardware store sells it by the pound). Then these beds will be set for winter.

I also have a nice compost barrel this year (new this spring). I'm still getting the hang of how to use this. I piled in some yard waste (old hydrangea blossoms) and gave it some good spins. I'm planning to move this next spring. For now, its near the kitchen door, but next year I'll put it by the garden beds in the sun to help heat it up. I'm also looking for a good buy on a shredder to generate fine brown material to mix with my kitchen scraps.

The other task-of-the-day was putting away pots. Often I leave them out all winter and find them cracked come spring. I'm so ambitious this year. I emptied most of the pots and stacked them in a sheltered spot. I emptied a pretty pink rose from one pot and stuck this in the ground in a sheltered location. Same with my lavender. I removed it from its pot and planted it next to the rose. This is lavender planted from seeds on Feb 21. Its grown nicely and I'm looking forward to some good sized plants next year.

skippy in the garden

Beantown Seedsavers Seed Collection Event this Saturday

>> From: Erica Lafountain
>> Subject: Beantown Seedsavers Seed Collection Event 11/7 12-2
>>
>> The Beantown Seedsavers are a new group of people with an interest
>> in encouraging local seed saving to develop a source for diverse,
>> acclimatized, disease resistant plants that are delicious,
>> medicinal, and/or beautiful.
>>
>> If you have saved seeds in the recent past and would like to share
>> some of them with others, please come to the Beantown Seedsavers
>> Seed Collection event on November 7th from 12-2. Please bring the
>> seeds in an envelope or baggie to the corner of Lamartine st. and
>> Chestnut terrace near the Stonybrook T stop in Jamaica Plain (see
>> directions below).
>>
>> At the drop off: We will ask you to fill out a form with some
>> specifics about your seed, or you can save time by downloading the
>> attachment from this email and filling it out ahead of time.
>>
>> After the drop off: We will create a SEED LIBRARY by dividing your
>> seed into small portions (each with the information you provided
>> about it, and directions for saving it) and making the seed
>> available in the early spring to anyone who would like to try
>> "growing out" and replenishing the seed.
>>
>> We would especially love to see any seeds with cultural or genetic
>> significance, ex: a vegetable from abroad that grows well here, a
>> tomato that seemed to survive the blight this year, or anything
>> that you think tastes especially good!
>>
>> Get seeds, get involved: If you would like to be contacted in the
>> spring when the saved seed library is open to anyone, or if you
>> would like to be part of organizing the library, events, or related
>> workshops please send me an email to let me know:
>> Erica.LaFountain@gmail.com.
>>
>> Directions: The drop off will be hosted by the garden at the corner
>> of Lamartine St. and Chestnut Terrace, across the street from the
>> Southwest Corridor Park by Stonybrook Station. If you're coming
>> from Stonybrook station on the Orange line, you can just follow
>> Lamartine St. with the park to your left (going towards Green St &
>> Forest Hills). Chestnut Terrace is a little dead-end residential
>> street that will be on your right about a block from the T station.
>> Your notice our garden with the kale and leeks and lots of
>> woodchips. There is drinking water and bathroom access within
>> walking distance at the Brewery complex.

impression of the woods

The woods look like a Monet painting now.

This photo is from last Sunday. Skippy and I followed an old stone wall instead of the path so I would see all the leaves up close. I did a little PhotoShopping to make the picture look more like the woods looked to me. Spots of color. Lots of filtered light. Pastel shades.

photos of my garden plot

escarole and winter radish

kale, fava beans, Boston lettuce, red romaine and spinach

asparagus, red cabbage and parsnips

savoy cabbage and mixed fall greens

My raised beds are beginning to look clean and organized again after the profusion of plants that overtook them this summer. The garlic is planted and covered with a layer of salt hay. Most of the old plant debris has been added to the compost bin. I layered compost and fresh manure on a couple beds and seeded cover crops in this. Its coming up nicely in the mild weather.

Several beds still have things growing, waiting for harvest. Parsnips should be getting sweet by now. I checked one and it was very good a few weeks ago. I'll pull the rest soon. The greens are good this year. I like the Fall Greens Mix from Sand Hill. And the Red Romaine from Ohio Heirloom seeds (a free packet for testing).

I don't know what's going on with the fava beans. They were planted in early spring, and keep on flowering and producing pods. I got tired of eating them, but they're good for the soil so I left them in. Since the seeds are expensive, I'm hoping to collect some to plant next year.

harvest

These are the vegetables I harvested on Sunday. Four big hairy celeriac roots (below is before I trimmed the them), a couple potatoes, a couple red cabbage. Also some nice lettuce and escarole and a bunch of baby bok choy.

The celeriac are one of the first crops planted and the last ones harvested. Very slow growing. I planted Feb 21, harvested Oct 31. Almost 9 months in the ground.

beets and squash for dinner

I started with the first recipe contributed on my beet post: borscht. Never having made borscht before, I was surprised by the combination beets, celery, garlic, carrots and dill. I even found a last sprig of dill in the garden. It was easy to make. And tasted great.

While I was cooking, I made my favorite squash recipe from the first garden Butternut I've used this season.

Carys' Boscht Recipe:
"I make borscht with cubed beets, carrots, sliced celery, garlic, lots of dill (seed and weed), salt, pepper. You can add cabbage if you like, but I don't. Simmer just until everything is tender. Don't overcook, because it makes the colour less pretty and the flavour less vivid. Serve hot or cold. You can add a spoonful of sourcream or yogurt if desired, and a snip of fresh dill." (Thanks Carys!)

My Squash Recipe:
Peel and cube half a Butternut squash. Bake squash and a sweet potato at 400*F til tender (about 40 min for squash, 20 min for sweet potato). Peel sweet potato. Puree baked sweet potato and squash together with butter and salt.


© Skippy's Vegetable Garden