Peter picked a pickle -pepper

The to do list never ends at the garden. This week has been reinforcing tomatoes with a weave. String trimming the grass around the outside of the garden beds. Planting pak choy for September IG Fresh haul. Trying to figure out when buttercup squash are ready to pick and dealing with a touch of hail.
The sun gold and Juliet tomatoes have been reinforced with a heavier twine to stabilize the tomatoes against our crazy prairie winds. String trimming went down this past Sunday and man does it feel good to look at a nice clean and tidy garden. Lets talk grasshoppers, the amount of grasshoppers this year in that grass is insane. The only saving grace is the chickens on the farm eating all of those bugs.
My last transplants went into the ground on Sunday and with 4 weeks to go. We should see pak Choy in the haul come mid September.

*Buttercup Squash                                     *hail damage to the lettuce

All hail the squash!

It may seem like I have my shit together when it comes to growing vegetables. I mean this year has been wildly successful as far as I am concerned, but there are somethings that have me guessing. One of those is how the hell do I tell if fall squash are ready to pick? There are some solid answers and some old wives tales. I think I have it figured out. I guess we will know a lot more in a couple weeks.

With Sunday nights rain fall came a light sprinkling of hail. I would say it’s a gardens arch nemesis like the joker is to batman. Thankfully it was a bit sporadic and not a large damaging event, but no plant was spared. The lettuce got the worst of it and regardless to say there are not going to be head lettuce this week. Some is still salvageable and there maybe bagged lettuce in next weeks haul. The silver lining in all this is that the bug netting is strong enough to keep out nickle size hail or smaller.

What’s In The Haul

Summer Squash (zucchini & sunburst)

Onions

Beets

Carrots

Potatoes

Peppers

Pickling Cucumbers

Cucumber

Radish Micro-Greens

Garlic

Week Nine Recipes

SUMMER SQUASH

Grilled Zucchini Salad
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sunburst

Summer Squash Storage Tips:

Store in your crisper as is, or place in a plastic bag leaving the bag open to allow ventilation.

If freezing the squash, first start by slicing the squash into half inch coins, next blanching it in boiling water for 2 minutes. Strain the squash in a colander, and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Next on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a clean dish towel, lay out the sliced squash in an even layer and freeze for 2 hours. Then move the veggies to a freezer bag, these will store in the freezer up to 6 months.

You can also shred the squash, squeeze the excess water out and put directly into freezer bags and place into the freezer.

Sunburst squash are very similar in texture and flavour to zucchini and are cooked in the same manner. Switch out zucchini for Sunburst in any of these recipes.

Grilled Zucchini Salad

2 zucchini, cut into strips

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp oregano

1 onion, sliced

1/4 cup toasted walnuts

2 oranges cut into segments

Dressing:

2 tbsp olive oil

Juice from a half of a lemon

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp fresh dill

Salt and Pepper

Cut zucchini into 1/2 inch thick strip and cut onion into slices. Toss in the olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Grill on the BBQ on both sides. Take off the grill and let cool in a bowl. Add in walnuts and oranges into the bowl.

Combine the dressing in a bowl and mix well and pour over salad.

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Summer Squash

2 Chicken breast

1 cup ranch dressing

1/2 cup hot sauce

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

2 sunburst summer squash

Put the chicken breast and 1/2 cup water in the slow cooker on low heat for 4-5 hours. Once finished use two forks to shred the chicken and add in the ranch, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Next you will take 2 sunburst squash and cut the top off (the flat side is the base or bottom) leaving enough room to fit a spoon in to scoop out the seeds. Scoop out the seeds and pulp just like you would a pumpkin. Add in the buffalo chicken mixture. use half of the cheese on each sunburst and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Onion Storage Tips:

Whole onions can be stored in a cool, dry, dark and well ventilated place. This would be a basement, cellar, or garage. Remember if you don't peal the tough outter skin on the onion it will be shelf stable. Already peeled and cut onions can be stored in the fridge in a air tight container to prevent the onion odour corrupting other foods. They will store in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Caramelized Onion and Bacon Jam

4 Onions, sliced

6 strips of bacon

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

1/2 cup strong coffee

1/2 cup sugar or honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp water

1 tsp cornstarch

Salt and Pepper

In a pan over medium heat cook the bacon until crispy and remove from the pan. Turn the heat down to low and add the sliced onions and garlic to the pan of bacon fat and cook for 8-10 minutes. Remember to stir every couple of minutes to prevent the onions from burning. Once the onions have changed to a caramelized colour increase the temperature to medium and add in the apple cider vinegar, coffee and sugar or honey reduce by half. When the the jam is reduced mix together the water and cornstarch and add to the onions to thicken. Add in the chopped bacon and stir. Place in a container and store in the fridge. This jam is great on burgers and sandwiches.

Beet Storage Tips:

Take the tops off the beets, putting them into a resealable bag and put in the fridge. Beets will last like this for up to 3 weeks. To prolong the life of the beets poke holes in the bag to allow moisture to escape.

Freezing beets, fill a pot with water. Add the beets and bring the pot to a boil. Cook small beets for 25-30 minutes and larger beets 45-50 minutes. The beets are done when they can be poked with a knife or fork. Put the cooked beets in a bowl of ice water, to cool them down quicker. When the beets are cooled down enough to be handled, peel off the skins. This should come off easily. Next slice or dice the beets and spread out on a baking sheet to flash freeze. Once the beets are fully frozen, package them in a resealable bag and place back into the freezer for later use.

Pickled Beets

5-6 Beets, cooked and peeled

1/2 cup sugar or honey

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup beet cooking water

2 tbsp pickling spice

In a large pot boil the beets until they are easily peirced with a fork. Drain the liquid but save a 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Cool and peel the beets. In a medium sauce pan add in the beet cooking water, vinegar, sugar and pickling spice. Bring to a simmer and wait till the sugar is dissolved. Cut the beets into cubes or slices add to a jar and pour the pickling liquid over top of the beets. Let cool at room temperature and store in the fridge. These pickled beets will store up to 2 months in your fridge.

**CARROTS**

Carrot sticks with Home Made Ranch Dip

Carrot Storage Tips:

When you get your carrots, cut the tops off. The carrot tops will literally suck the life out of the carrot. Place the carrots into a zip lock bag with a dry piece of paper towel. The paper towel will soak up any extra moisture the carrot gives off. The Carrots will stay crisp in the fridge up to 7 days.

Freezing carrots, cut into uniform pieces and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. This will slightly cook the carrot, but not completely through. With a slotted spoon remove the carrots, or strain with a colander. Dump out the carrots on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Put into the freezer for 2 hours. Remove the tray and put the frozen carrots into a zip lock bag, and store it in the freezer.

Carrot Sticks with Home Made Ranch Dressing

Cut carrots into sticks

Ranch Dressing

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp green onion or chives

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dill

Salt and Pepper

-Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl and pour over your salad.

Potato Storage Tips:

Store potatoes in a cool, dry, dark and well ventilated place. Typically in a cardboard box in the pantry or garage. Do not store them in the fridge. The humidity in the fridge will make them sprout over time and the cold air will make the potato convert its starch to sugar. Making the potato sweet.

Potato Pancakes

5-6 medium potatoes, shredded

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp salt

4 sprigs of thyme, stem removed

1 large egg

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/4 cup flour or gluten free flour

Shred the potatoes and add the salt and mix thoroughly, let sit for 10 minutes. Drain off the liquid in the bowl. Squeeze the potatoes removing any extra water from the potatoes. In a bowl combine all the ingredients to the potatoes and mix until everything is incorporated. In a frying pan over medium high heat add 4 tbsp of cooking oil or fat of your choice. Wait till the oil is hot. Form the potato pancakes into little patties and place into the pan to fry for 3 minutes each side. Serve with sour cream and chopped chives.

Pepper Storage Tips:

Peppers will last in your fridge crisper drawer for up to 2 weeks.

To freeze peppers, slice or dice the pepper to the desired size. Next evenly space out the peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for 2 hours. After 2 hours remove the peppers from the freezer and place in zip lock freezer bags and put back into the freezer. Peppers will store like this for up to 6 months.

Sheet Pan Roasted Veggies

1-2 peppers cut into 1/2 inch pieces

10 mushrooms cut into 1/4’s

2 onions, diced

1 zucchini, diced

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp garlic powder

Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl toss together all the vegetables, oil and seasoning. Evenly spread out the veggies on a sheet tray and roast for 15-20 minutes.

This is a great stand by veggies after a long day at work. Throw it into a pasta and tomato sauce for a quick tasty meal.

Pickling Cucumber Storage Tips

Storing cucumbers is easy as wrapping them in dry paper towel and placing them in an open plastic bag. Make sure the bag is left open to allow air flow. Cucumbers will store in the fridge like this for a 10 days.

The alternative method is to just store the cucumbers on the counter. They will delicious and crisp like this for 7 days.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

4-5 Pickling Cucumbers

2 cups water

1 cup vinegar

2 tbsp salt

1 tsp sugar

4 tbsp chopped Dill

4 cloves of garlic

Optional- 1 hot pepper, diced

In a pot combine water, vinegar, salt, sugar, and hot pepper. Bring to a simmer and give the brine a quick stir to make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove from the heat and let it cool.

Slice or cut your cucumbers into 1/4’s. Place into jars. Make a layer of cucumbers and 2 tbsp fresh dill and 2 cloves of garlic. Then another layer of cucumbers and the rest of the dill and garlic. Once the brine is cooled slightly, pour it over the cucumbers. Let it come to room temp on your counter before storing it in your fridge for 5 days before eating.

These pickles will last in your fridge for up to 6 months. For more details check out my YouTube video on how to make Refrigerator Pickles. https://youtu.be/-D7_2_lcSJo

CUCUMBER STORAGE TIP:

Storing cucumbers is easy as wrapping them in dry paper towel and placing them in an open plastic bag. Make sure the bag is left open to allow air flow. Cucumbers will store in the fridge like this for a 10 days.

The alternative method is to just store the cucumbers on the counter. They will delicious and crisp like this for 7 days.

Tzatziki

1 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded

1 bundle of green onions, chopped (optional)

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp fresh or dried Dill

1 tsp salt

Using a cheese grater, grate the cucumber and combine the salt. Let the salt and grated cucumber sit for a couple minutes until the cucumber starts releasing its water. Next place the cucumber in a clean dish towel and squeeze the cucumber pulp, releasing the water from the cucumber. In a separate bowl combine the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, dill, green onions. Add cucumber to the yogurt and mix well.

RADISH MICRO-GREENS

I put that shit on everything

Micro Green Storage Tips:

The greens will store in the bag it’s self for up to a week. To add extra length to the life of your microgreens. Put the greens between two layers of paper towel and put into a plastic bag or resealable container. This will store up to 10 days in the fridge.

Radish micro greens add a punch of flavour to your sandwiches and wraps, but in the summer I love to add it to pasta salads. It adds great flavour and bumps up the nutrition value of your favourite summer time meal.

Garlic Storage Tips:

Store the garlic in a cool dark place. It will last up to 6 months if stored properly.

Roasted Garlic Cheese Toast

1 garlic bulb

1 tbsp Olive oil

1 loaf of French bread or crusty bread of your choice

1/2 cup butter

1 cup of cheddar and mozzarella blend (or any cheese you like)

1/4 chopped parsley

Salt and Pepper

Cut the top off the garlic exposing the cloves inside. Put the garlic in a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over to and salt and pepper the top. Wrap the garlic bulb in the foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Once cooled you can squeeze the garlic from the cloves.

Add the roasted cloves to the room temp butter, add in the parsley and salt and pepper and mix well. Add a thick layer of the butter to the cut half of bread. Add cheese to the top and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Week 9 CSA Veggie Haul

Peter picked a pickle -pepper

All hail the squash!

What’s In The Haul

Week Nine Recipes