Butternut Squash Stew

With some butternut squash ready for harvest in the garden, I did some searching for a good recipe and discovered a gem!

Mel's Kitchen Cafe never disappoints. See her recipe and pretty pictures here. I forgot the spinach the first time around, but never fear, we made it again! In fact, twice in one week, which is saying something around here. My kids scarfed it both times, and my mom and sisters loved it too! I hear it's good with brown rice in place of quinoa, too. Yum!

Fall Planting + Grandma's Garden

The front end of my garden was feeling really bare, so I took my mother-in-law's advice and tried planting a fall garden for the first time! I am really excited about it. 

She planted at the end of July and says that is ideal for good development before the frosts come. I did it the second week of August because that's how long it took me to decide, find the seeds, and get them in the ground! We planted broccoli, lettuce, spinach, and peas again. I am so excited about these cool season veggies because they just don't last long enough in the spring!

As I was writing this I went out and checked the garden and there are pea and lettuce seedlings! Aaahh, the miracle of life never ceases to amaze me!

I took some pictures of her garden while we were visiting Grandma a few weeks ago. She has the same feeling that I do, that gardening is therapeutic and good for the soul!

Cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, lettuces, cabbages, chard, cantaloupe... they make a pretty display in this square foot type planting.

Two sizes of pear trees. She is good at thinning them and they are getting big and juicy!

Maddie knew where to look for her favorite treat--red raspberries!

Maddie's favorite thing to do at Grandma's is hang in her maple tree in the front yard.

Ella wanted to try it too.

Even Mike couldn't resist the easy-to-climb branches! Fun memories. 

Freezing Green Beans

We have green beans coming out our ears.  After sharing them with lots of neighbors and eating them multiple times a week, I decided it was time to save some for later. Since I don't have a pressure canner, and prefer the freshest produce possible, freezing was the best option.

Obviously, the first step is to wash and trim your green beans. 

Then you need to blanch them in boiling water. Most sources say 3 minutes is enough to stop harmful enzymes that would alter them during the freezing process.

Next step is an ice bath to stop the cooking process and keep them nice and fresh. I then laid them out to dry on a towel.

Flash freezing on a cookie sheet helps the beans freeze separately instead of all stuck together.

Lastly, I put them in smaller portions and sealed them as tight as I could. This may seem like a lot of steps, but it's worth the fresh garden produce put away for another day!

Tall as a Beanstalk

 

The sunflowers are blooming, the sunflowers are blooming! I am just so excited!

We tried a different brand of seed this year, and they just keep growing and growing and growing. Last year's were shorter with bigger heads, but I kind of like this year's that remind me of Jack and the Beanstalk.

The cornstalks are also a source of excitement... the tassels are browning, so we tried a few for dinner. They weren't quite ready, but I didn't want to miss the window like I almost did last year!

We also ate our first broccoli grown ourselves... I am still trying to figure out the right timing. The head seemed too small a few days ago, but when I picked it, it was almost ready to flower. It tasted great, but I am learning by trial and error!

Garden Update

It amazes me how fast the garden grows. It seems like all of a sudden everything is huge!

The Walla Walla onions are doing so well this year!

The tomatoes are getting close! I just cannot wait for the first one. A year is just the right length of time to get over being sick of them (when they are coming out your ears!) and ready to start over.

I am excited about the butternut squash! The leaves are so big and round and pretty.

The mammoth sunflowers are, well, mammoth! There are a few flowers developing.

Peppers are setting and getting big. We used our first jalapeno this week.

Pumpkins are developing! I started late, but they are getting going now.

Green beans are ready! Ella helped me pick our first bowlful for lunch on Saturday. They are delish with a little butter and salt.

We did out first cleaning project on Saturday too. The peas were done and turning brown, so I recruited my little guys to help pull them out.  The lettuce is done too, and starting to flower, but it's just so pretty I can't pull it yet!

Zucchini Trouble

One day I checked on my garden and the zucchini looked like this. It had been so healthy and productive already, I was shocked. But, I was not surprised to find this:

A squash bug. I am sure they are called that because they like squash plants, but I call them that because I squash them. When you are trying to grow an organic garden, it's the only way to control them. I am hoping that by checking every few days I can keep them from finding my other curcurbits (cucumbers, butternut squash, melons, and pumpkins). They kill plants by sucking the sap from the leaves.

This photo is unclear, but the squash bugs are mating. Arg!

Their eggs look like this, on the underside of leaves. I check every leaf and squash them with rocks or sticks. I'm too chicken to use my fingers.

You would be too if you found this when you turned a leaf over. EWWWW! It gives me the heebie jeebies. These are the newly hatched nymphs. I cut this entire leaf off and threw it away. Hopefully I can persevere and preserve a few plants!

Bloom Time

Everything is beginning to bloom!

The strawberries are starting to produce. If I remember right, I am not supposed the let them until they grow more vegetation, but I forget and then we find ruby red gems.

The green beans are flowering, which means we'll be eating them soon!

I had never really thought about it, but broccoli is the flower of the plant.

The cantaloupe is flowering, and I can't wait for some melons!

Outside the garden the colors are picking up too. The phlox is in full bloom. 

I have never seen my sedum bloom, which means it is happy where it is now!

The daylilies are in full flower production. The name is very literal... each lily is only good for one day.

My hosta sent up buds and will bloom this week.

And my lime green hydrangea is just about to burst. So exciting!