October 12th, 2009
It’s fall. By September, my potted tomato plant had labored and brought forth its last little tomato. The squash plant was completely worn out. The wee zucchinis it produced withered in the pot before they were the size of my thumb. I’ve pulled out the plants and stored the pots and soil for next spring.
Down in the bigger garden, I’ve pulled up all the tomato plants that had withered and turned brown. One remains, with three green and one orange tomato on it. But it grows cold. Its days are numbered. I still hope they’ll mature on the vine. But I may have to pick them green and put them in a little brown paper bag to gas themselves into red. They’ll never taste the same.
I’ve also p ulled up the string bean plants and the rogue butternut squash that produced such a delight ful surprise: two king-size squashes that have been delectable. One is still sitting on my kitchen counter. It will last a long time.
Here’s what I like to do with winter squash.
I cut off a chunk [enough for one or two or howevfer many]. Zap it in the microwave for 5 to 6 minutes [more of it's a big chunk]–until it’s nice and soft. Pour some honey on it. Slice up a pear half and put it on top, then zap again for a minute or so. It’s quick, it’s ultra-easy and it’s great with a chicken or meat dish–or as part of a vegetable feast.
Tags: butternut squash, growing vegetables in pots, tomato, zucchini
Posted in gardening, recipes | No Comments »
August 30th, 2009
My pots of basil are lush and full. The leaves leave a glorious scent. I snipped a few bunches just to put them in a glass of water. They perfume the kitchen. And now they’re growing roots. Can they be potted for the winter?
What else can I do to preserve my basil and have its leaves available to pop into winter pasta? Can I freeze the leaves? Dry them?
Tags: basil, preserving for winter
Posted in gardening | No Comments »
August 23rd, 2009
Batter up. I hadn’t checked my zucchini plant in the lower garden for a while–too hot last weekend to go down there. So what did I find today? A zucchini as big as a baseball bat–well, almost as big.
The trouble with zucchini that are overlooked is that they go wild–growing to enormous size almost overnight. Then, you’ve got a five-pounder on your hands. Plenty of food but a veggie that’s tough to eat. Literally. I love to slice up a normal-size zucchini into coin-shaped discs [about 1/4 inch thick], salt them, spread them on a plate and pop them into the microwave for anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes [depending on the size]. They crisp up into delightful little taste bites: The sweetness of the zucchini is distilled but the texture is as crisp as a top-notch French fry. But with a zucchini this size, forget about it. The crisp turns to rubber.
So what to do with my baseball bat? My plan is to grate it up and use it for zucchini muffins, zucchini bread and other oven-baked produce. The baking can take some of the toughness out. I’ll let you know which recipes work with a supersized zucchini.
Tags: zucchini
Posted in gardening | No Comments »
August 22nd, 2009
Preservation of the tangy taste of basil–that’s what I’m after. I’m going to freeze a few leaves and see where that takes me. Any suggestions? My first attempt consists of laying the leaves out on a sheet of waxed paper, freezing them singly and then popping them into a freezer-proof plastic bag.
So, here’s step one:
Basil bound for the freezer
on its little boat of waxed paper.
Tags: basil
Posted in recipes | No Comments »
August 8th, 2009
A zucchini grows in Bethesda–in a pot. The plant in the deer-proof garden is swooning and failing to grow. The one outside the deer-fence is taking on some big leaves but not producing any zucchini yet. The pot, set up on the patio, gets a regular watering. Every time the leaves look droopy, the watering can comes out. And, the seed was sown in a fresh load of potting soil.
Not so for the garden down below. The soil there has more clay in it and I don’t visit it as often. It is at the perils of storms and droughts–though it does get a watering if it doesn’t rain for several days. That said, if this is a scientific experiment, I’d have to say the pots have it.
Tags: pot gardening, zucchini
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 6th, 2009
Out of town for two weeks. A neighbor waters the garden. What a surprise when we get back: In the deer-protected garden, an overgrown plot with half a dozen ripe tomatoes and dozens of over-ripe green beans. To say nothing of weeds. The zucchini is thriving and appears to have a baby zucchini on it. What a thrill to harvest the tomatoes, even if two have been started by slugs or small animals unknown to me.
But the beans! What can you do with the puffy, tough over-ripe harvest? I open a few to take out the beans–could these be planted for another crop of beans? 
[LJ says use them as you would dried beans. They take less time to cook--between, say, 25 and 45 minutes depending on how long they've been on the vine. Just simmer them in water to cover by 2 inches with some aromatics and a little olive oil for flavor. Like dried beans, they can go in soups and stews. You also can dress them in vinaigrette while still warm for a nice salad.]
Up in the herb garden, the mint is poking its heady stems out from under the hydrangeas and threatening to overtake the chive and parsley. I pull some of it from its roots. Some one has to take charge here. The basil is a castle in the air. It, too, needs a pruning, but not from the roots.
The pot garden is faring better. Nothing overgrown here. The tomato plant is hosting two teeny weeny green tomatoes. The zucchini appears to be bearing the smallest of fruit. But the leaves look healthy all around. They have survived my absence–thanks to a caring neighbor.
What of Les Jardins garden? She, too, was away for a few weeks. Her raised beds have gone to pot–nothing salvageable there. She calls it a disaster! But her tomatoes in a pot are glorious–rich and full leaves and plenty of starter tomatoes.
Pots seem to be the preferred way to go this wet year.
Tags: basil, mint, string beans, tomatoes, zucchini
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
July 27th, 2009
When I think of parsley, I think of chicken soup and what a delightful flavor fresh parsley adds to it. But a few cuts of parsley can perk up other dishes–even a simple side dish of rice. Toast your rice briefly in a lttle olive oil (a little brown rice or wild rice will add a nutty flavor), cook it till done, then toss in some parsley just before serving. You can also add a handful of nuts. If you’re a vegetarian, you can serve it as a main course. For more details of a recipe for wild rice and parsley, check out this one in the New York Times, which calls for cashews as the final touch.
Tags: parsley, rice
Posted in recipes | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2009
I am replanting seeds for snap peas. Try, try again. Maybe we won’t get drought in August. Meanwhile, the farmer’s markets have locally grown snap peas and they are sugary and delicious.
They are not only sweetly refreshing eaten out of hand–a great way to introduce kids to veggies they will love–but they add a delightful crunch to any salad.
This afternoon I threw together baby spinach, corn [straight from the just-cooked cob], a small can of light-meat tuna and a handful of snap peas sliced on the bias and tossed right in. I used a Japanese ginger dressing but any oil and vinegar blend would work as well. Or your favorite dressing. The nice thing about a spinach salad is that it doesn’t need a drenching of dressing. Just a little goes a long way.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
July 7th, 2009
Basil is flourishing in the garden plot and clay pot–growing so tall it needs to be pruned back. What to do with those clipped leaves.
I checked in with The Bitten Word and found a delightful last-minute use: Chop up a handful of leaves and add them to an oil and vinegar dressing. The Bitten Word suggests champagne vinegar, olive oil, a pinch of red pepper and some garlic. Sounds great but almost any oil-vinegar combo would be perked up by adding chopped up basil leaves.
Tags: basil, salad dressing
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
July 5th, 2009
Well, why not? The ground has been so saturated with rain this year that it’s made growing veggies more of a challenge. My snap peas did not like getting so wet. I did stick some zucchini seeds in the garden–half a dozen of them. I have one shoot. But the zucchini seedling I bought at the plant shop–a seedling I was waiting to plant in the garden in hopes of outlasting the dreaded squash worm–has been put in a pot instead. 
It is thriving. Looks like a million bucks. Unfortunately, none of those beautiful blossoms are ones that will lead to fruit. But that will happen in time, won’t it? Or is a single squash plant in a pot doomed to a sterile life?
Stay tuned.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »