Garden Fuss

A couple years ago we delved into the world of fermented foods. We started out by ordering cultures for greek yogurt and kefir grains for fizzy gingered water which was delicious btw. After a while since I as the one doing 99% of the work without essential equipment I threw in the towel and gave my kefir grains away. I still have yogurt cultures but need an actual yogurt machine not my crockpot which became too hot to create a good yogurt or cheese. Well not too long after this we had an opportunity to try kimchee from a local Asian Market "United Noodles". This fetted smelling concoction was too much for my nose but my daughter braved the stench to taste the cabbagey combination of veg. She quickly bought a jar and googled a recipe to try with cubed beef. A little leary I ventured to try a small bowl before I knew what was in it. Mmmmm I loved the turnips and thought what are these other yummy bits? when she told me it was Kimchi I couldn't believe it. I researched ...

 I have been looking forward to having squash and tomatoes from my garden ALL YEAR. Now that these tasty veggies have gotten their start it's already getting blustery out. I am praying for an Indian Summer so we can extend the summers bounty.

Our first visit to the St. Paul market was all I wanted and more. It started with a horse drawn carriage ride from the "FREE"parking lot. The brawny pair of studs carried us as if we weighed nothing at all. With just a sight whistle they new when and where to turn down the city streets avoiding both pedestrian and vehicle when they do. With such great service we couldn't help but donate to their "apple" fund. Once we arrived at the actual market stands; which we could have walked to less than a block away mind you; we got busy venturing for honey comb and peppers. However, we couldn't stop at peppers and honey. We found MN Grown eggplant, rutabaga and kholrabi, "Young Thang" goat cheese from Love Tree farmstead cheese , and "Lorz Italian"garlic from The Herb Man out of Farmington Mn all for $20 dollars which was a great price. I'm always happy to go to farmers markets; I meet so many nice people and always seem to find something new ...

Every few year for 11 years a local bakery Buttercream Wedding Cakes has been getting our business. The cake they made for our wedding years ago is still all people talk about when the topic of our union comes up. They not only have amazing cake, but excellent customer service. I was at a loss for decorating this years cake so I left it up to them. They came through with a beautiful clean design that tastes AMAZING! The DH is digging in with a fat wedge and I and the kids will follow suit shortly. So with that said it's my anniversary and I am getting my updates done early so the festivities can begin. Eat Local People! It's so delicious!

Summer salad with grilled pattypan, heirloom tomatoes, and cucumbers with fragrant jasmine rice and ribs. Dinner is served.

I figure our summer grillin days are really numbered and what would make supper super today more than fresh heirlooms from the garden? So hooray for the 1st pineapple, and black krim tomatoes making their debut.
Happy Planting and sunning your self in the garden!
Tina

Yes those are plums but there are mystery items involved as well. More to come in a later post whether it's a success or a failure. Good Nite!

I've been waiting all summer for these beautiful tasty squash to ripen. But, after it turned cool on us I thought for sure I'd missed the mark on these. The plants are gynormous and there were male blooms galore. However the female blooms were no-where to be seen until just a week and a half ago. Now the little she's are popping open all over the squash patch. I have been purposely not buying squash at the market as I skulked by jealosly gawking at their pleantiful trays. I didn't go so far as to wish borers on them but felt like an envious red headed step child watching the fat kids eat cake at the garden party. What is their secret? Alas my fare weather people answered that for me in the paper last week. It's all about location, location location this year. Some of us were too wet some were too dry and all of us were too hot. Not to mention slugs,boreres, and japanese beetles... Now I fall into the lucky category and have been able to actually and literally eat th...

For a few years now we have heard from our closest friends all the benefits of finding a CSA and how it helps local farmers as well as the community and of course us to feed ourselves and family's. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. This is a movement that allows consumers to buy locally grown seasonal food directly from farmers by pre-purchasing shares. Shares are bundles or boxes of a variety of produce. Shares can contain everything from vegetables and fruit to meat and cheese. Now that I have become educated and in the know, I for one will stand up every chance I get to support them. However getting the DH to agree to it is an entirely different animal. (ie. think husband agree to prepay hundreds of dollars for food he can't see in fridge). Since I am the main shopper and home chef in this family I ultimately took the lead and forced the issue. We took the plunge and delved into the CSA pool early this spring. I tried very hard to be proactive...

Look at some of the bounty we recieved today from the concrete beet farm. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of the extra share items before processing them but I've been waiting for pickling day since our sour mexican gerkins turned out to be a disappointing waste of time. I can say with some sense of assurity that I will not attempt them again. This is my first year attempting relish. Though it's not as green as the relish found at the grocery store I am excited to try my favorite pickled item on a nice beef hotdog or maybe even a bratt. I'm so excited about CSA's this year and utilizing them to feed my family s well as help out some young famers in the process.... But more about that later because the kale has yet to be processed and the pesto I made from the basil needs to be frozen. 
Happy harvesting and a good night to you,
Tina