Tips, Tricks 'n Recipes From The Garden

A few quick tips before I head out to the garden.

Making pesto? Was your local market out of pine nuts? That's happened to me before, so now I buy them way ahead of time and pop them in the freezer until I need them for pesto. I try not to munch on them. That doesn't always work.

I freeze our pesto in ice cube trays, same as our tomato paste. After they're frozen, I store them in freezer bags or containers.

Fall's just around the corner. No, really it is. People rake their leaves and put them in bags next to the road for the county to pick up (in Nashville). We go around in our trucks and bring them home. We add them to our compost pile, mulch our beds with them (topped with pine needles), and turn them into our gardens. We stack bags next to our compost pile to use for mulch between the rows in the garden the following year. It's free gold!

Speaking of mulch and compost. We pick up our grass clippings with a grass bag and add them to our compost pile. We also use them in between the rows in our garden, usually layered on top of the leaves. In the fall, it's all turned under. Our garden soil used to be solid clay and now it's incredible dark, rich soil.

I freeze our bell peppers, whole, to use throughout the year. Simply cut off the top, scoop out the seeds and freeze in freezer bags. If you use them for stuffed peppers, stuff them when they're still frozen.

Planting a fall garden? Start thinking about it now. Since we usually have super wet springs around here, we rely on our fall garden for greens for the year. By the end of August, we'll start sowing spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, turnip greens, turnips, beets and I'm sure I'm missing some. Just make sure to keep them watered, if you go through a dry spell.

That's it for now. I've got a long day ahead of me.

Until next time.....

Tips, Tricks 'n Recipes From The Garden

Tomato Paste:

The Roma tomatoes are coming in now. Time to start making pasta sauce, tomato puree and tomato paste. Thought I'd pass along my tomato paste recipe. Tis very easy and oh, so good~

I quarter raw Roma tomatoes and put them in a large pot. I bring them to a slow boil and heat them up just enough to get the juices flowing. As I'm doing this, I mash them slightly. I then run the puree through a food mill to separate the skins and seeds from the meat.

Now, I ladle some of the puree into a metal, mesh colander. The colander sits above a large bowl or pot (this catches the tomato water). Ladle the puree in the colander slowly. At first some pulp will wash through, but eventually the puree will stay in the colander, with the water draining to the bottom container. I add all the puree and let it drain for several hours or until there is no more water draining out. At this point, I spoon the tomato paste into ice cube trays and freeze. When frozen, pop them out into freezer bags.

You can also freeze the tomato water, if you have freezer space, to use in soups, etc.

Until next time.....

Tips, Tricks and Recipes From The Garden

We're knee deep is summer squash right now. I don't plant very many plants, but they sure do produce like crazy! We don't really care for canned or frozen squash (gag), so I don't put up much of it.

But I do put up a few quarts of frozen yellow squash slices for casseroles. I steam or boil (do whatever is easiest for you) a large pot of slices for about 10 minutes, cool in cold water and pack in quart freezer containers. When ready to use, thaw, drain any liquids and casserole 'em up.

And, I also put up a few quarts of frozen, grated zucchini squash for breads, casseroles and zuke puffs. To do this, I simply grate the zukes and pack in freezer containers. When ready to use, thaw, SQUEEZE out the liquid and continue with your recipe of choice.

So, if your squash is starting to take over the frig and your friends are locking their doors when they see you coming, try these simple tips. I promise, the squash will taste fab in the middle of the winter, when fresh, local produce is scarce.

Stay tuned for more Tips 'n Tricks.

Until next time.....