The tomato season started off fairly disappointing for us this season. I had prepared myself for a let-down. I feared we’d only have enough to keep us going through eating them fresh. However, although our plants are beginning to show…
This year, we spent the holiday weekend relaxing as a family; working on this and that without too rigid of an agenda. My husband and father spent some time hanging dry wall in a new room we are renovating while…
It’s hard to believe that we are already well into the month of August. Before we know it, leaves will be changing colors. While some fruits and vegetables in the Summer garden (like squash and potatoes) may be dwindling, others…
During the Summer and Fall, when garden bounty is fresh, I tend to do an equal if not greater amount of pickling versus other canning methods. Fruit and veggies intended for jams and jellies can be prepped during the harvest…
The end of the local strawberry season brings the beginning of one of our family’s favorites– blueberry season. Store-bought blueberries pale in comparison to farm fresh or homegrown. From years of working on a pick-your-own farm in my teens…
With the local strawberry season coming to a close, we are trying to get our fill of these delicious Summer berries before they’re gone until next season. However, while local pick-your-own farms and farmers markets are dwindling on strawberry availability,…
I tried to deny the onset of Winter this week by integrating many fresh and canned veggies from this past garden and pick-your-own season into my cooking schedule. After gifting many of my jams and jellies for Christmas this year, I decided to crack open the freezer and use some of the frozen fruits that I had prepped and premeasured into ready-to-use quantities. I had an abundance of farm-fresh peaches waiting to be canned once inspiration struck.
I think that Summer time is mistakenly labeled the time of year when fresh produce and vegetable gardening are at their best. Who can forget a tomato fresh picked from the vine and sprinkled with a little salt; still warm from the sun.
One of our work clients generously gave me about 25 pounds of quince this week. Last year, we were at her home and we noticed her quince bush was fruiting. She had let me harvest as much as I could carry between mine and my mother’s coat pockets.
I am greatly looking forward to fall. As if that weren’t obvious. It is, hands down, my favorite time of year. So on top of a pumpkin latte this week, I also made up a batch of one of my most favorite Fall suppers with a few garden goodies and farmer’s market finds.
It’s the time during the summer harvest that certain veggies might be leaving you feeling a bit jaded. I know I am up to my eyeballs in tomatoes. It seems that no matter how many are canned or consumed with every meal, and I mean every meal, I’m beginning to wonder if they’re not multiplying while ripening on the countertop.