let's see your veggie garden {pics}

[deluxestogie]

If it were me, and I wanted caffeine, I'd toast some yaupon holly leaves and grind them with the seeds. I think yaupon holly is the only caffeine producing plant native to North America. I have plans for next summer's garden that involve a few different varieties of okra, and stuffing the leaves like grape leaves in dolma.

I drink one large mug of coffee each morning, and none the remainder of the day. I am aware of the quality of the coffee (fresh-roasted, freshly ground Yirgacheffe, etc.) for only about the first 3 or 4 sips. After that, the rest of the mug is just coffee. I've decided to go with much less costly coffee, and forego the few sips of pricey, gourmet pleasure.

When camping or backpacking, Taster's Choice instant coffee has been just about the only coffee I've consumed over the decades. I gag for the first few sips, then forget to even notice that it's not presentable coffee.

My mother entered adulthood during WW2 and the post-war epoch of "modern convenience". Instant coffee was just about the only coffee she drank for her entire life. When she was in her mid-fifties, I served her some of the finest coffee I could conjure. She grimaced, swallowed hard, and smiled. "It's very nice, sweetie." She hated it.

If coffee became unavailable commercially, then I might consider the time, effort and attention required to grow and manufacture an alternative for myself. Otherwise, growing tobacco and food pretty much monopolize my available labor and focus.

Arabica beans may become rare, given the current disease issues with it worldwide. So all of us may be drinking coffee made mostly from robusta beans in the near future anyway.

Bob

 

[drinkthekoolaid]

Bob,

In regrads to Coffee, have you tasted any of the Cafe Bustelo line? Its really Espresso but I prep it normal drip Coffee style. It doesn't seem to have that bitterness profile of other Espresso's. I know traditionally high pressure Espresso is to be drank quicky. Its cheap, $2.50 for a brick of it at the dollar store. Pairs well with Tobacco, but hell, what Coffee doesn't?

 

[deluxestogie]

Yes. I like Cafe Bustelo for a change of pace. I usually prepare it in my 3 cup espresso pot. The "Supreme" blend is noticeably smoother than the standard.

Bob

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

Do squirrels eat Italian Prunes?

There is an Italian Prune tree two houses down, and my yard seems to be littered with partially nibbled on Italian Prunes. Pesky critters!

I already have volunteer English and Black Walnut trees all over my yard that I'm constantly cutting down. I already know who the furry little culprits are in those cases.

Also, I didn't know that Ravens eat English Walnuts, but the black critters are swarming on the neighbor's yard trying to pick the fallen nuts up and fly away with them. I tried an experiment and walked over there and crushed a couple of whole nuts on the pavement with my foot. Sure enough, said nuts disappeared pretty quickly.

When I lived in Olympia (on the saltwater) I used to watch the Ravens dig up clams, fly up to the nearby parking lot, and drop said clams on to the pavement. The impact broke the clam open making a quick meal for the crafty bird. A pretty clever way to get a meal. Ravens are pretty intelligent critters, and very adaptable. I guess that is why Ravens are so widely distributed around the world.

Wes H.

 

[CobGuy]

Ravens are pretty intelligent critters, and very adaptable.

Extremely smart and sociable birds, indeed!
One very windy day, I sat and watched half a dozen Ravens take turns hopping out to the end of a bare tree branch.
Once there, they would swing upside down and hang on in the high wind as long as possible ... even hanging by one leg.
After the wind had finally won, they would fly a quick circle and get back at the end of the line while the next bird hopped out to the end.
Fascinating to say the least!

~Darin

 

[deluxestogie]

North Georgia Candy Roaster Squash

What do you do with a 2-foot long winter squash? I'm turning half of it into a "pumpkin" pie--actually a squash dump cake.

After slicing the squash into 2" thick rings, I removed the seeds, cut the rings in half, then put them into a pot to boil until tender. I'll peel it after it's cooked, since peeling it raw is a difficult task.

Once it's tender and peeled, it mashes like a cooked potato, and makes a delicious "pie".

As for the remaining half, I would normally cover the cut end with plastic wrap, and send it to the fridge until I want to cook a chunk. This time, I decided to try the method used by the Hidatsa Indians (according to Buffalo Bird Woman's diary), and string up the slices to dry.

I don't have a hot Dakota sun. I don't even have sun right now. And the slices probably should be much thinner. But slicing the rings is labor intensive (a pain in the butt). So these go to my enclosed back porch.

To keep the slices separated, I've clipped a wood clothespin between each of them.

And in an effort to minimize crud and spores and flies and maggots, I've surrounded the string in Agribon AG-15.

I'll follow-up with a post about how it all rotted on the rope...or was a smashing success.

Bob

 

[Alpine]

Ah... you should try “risotto con la zucca” with it, or “ravioli di zucca” is another option...

pier

 

[deluxestogie]

I located this recipe:
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN RAVIOLI, TORTELLI DI ZUCCA

• Roast the pumpkin in the oven – you don’t have to use fresh pumpkin but I highly recommend it;
• Puree the cooked pumpkin and add parmesan, egg, a little salt and nutmeg and, optionally, breadcrumbs.
• Make the pasta dough by combining eggs and flour. Let it rest a little before rolling into sheets.
• Either use a pasta maker or rolling pin to roll out the dough in to thin sheets (though not too thin as they may burst).
• You can use a ravioli mould to form the ravioli, filling each gap with a spoonful of filling then putting another layer of pasta on top and press to form ravioli. Without a mould, lay a sheet of pasta flat and place a few spoonfuls in a row, with gaps in between, then fold over, press in between filling moulds then cut through middle.

Pumpkin ravioli (tortelli di zucca) - Caroline's Cooking

Pumpkin ravioli may take a little time to make, but they are so worth the effort. Comforting little pillows of deliciousness, they're addictively good!

www.carolinescooking.com

The pumpkin risotto is rice, cooked in a vegetable broth, to which diced pumpkin, onion, garlic and seasonings are added with olive oil and/or butter.

Although I don't make any pasta from scratch, I may try a variation of the ravioli recipe with layers of filo pastry with olive oil smeared over it, and bake them into little crunchy morsels.

For my dump cake, I blend the mashed squash with egg (so it bakes firm), sweeten it with a bunch of sugar, and flavor it with vanilla and pineapple. I mostly fill an empty pie pan with it. Then the dry contents of a box of Jiffy cake mix is spread evenly over the top, and pats of butter (maybe a dozen) are laid on top of that. The dry mix and the butter turn this into a wonderfully crunchy and sweet, buttery crust. It's baked until the top is well browned. After refrigerating overnight, it is served cold, with a large dollop of Coolwhip. It tastes nothing like pumpkin pie--more like a vanilla and pineapple pudding, but puts a smile on everyone's face.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

This is very similar to a recipe we’ve had for over 20 years. When I got married my Mother hosted a wedding shower for my wife. Entry to the party was one or more favorite recipes on a 3x5 card to make a book for us. One that we still use is a handwritten card called “Dump cake”.

One can of pie filling spread in a 9x12 baking pan. Cover with a box of cake mix. Cut a stick of butter in slices and spread evenly over the cake mix. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.

Favorite combos are blueberry or peach pie filling covered with “yellow” cake mix, and cherry filling covered with chocolate mix.

We always keep a can of filling and a cake mix in the pantry in case of unexpected company.

 

[deluxestogie]

You can actually make a dump cake on the coals of a campfire. It requires 3 non-stick pie pans. The bottom holds the ingredients. The top is made from two pans with a hole drilled in the center of each, which accommodates a short screw with a wing nut, so that they can be attached together bottom to bottom. All three stack together for packing, and the lid is assembled when you need to use it. The purpose of the funny lid is to that you can not only rest the bottom in a bed of hot coals, you can also pile coals on the lid, turning it into a pie pan Dutch oven.

Same ingredients: can of pie filling, box of Jiffy cake mix, butter or margarine. Skill level: zero.

Baking time is as long as you can bear waiting. Dump cake at a camp-out is a dessert considerably more anticipated than a foil-wrapped, baked apple. The dump cake pan may not even need cleaning afterwards.

BSA's version.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Here it is, 25 November, and I just today planted my garlic: Czech Broadleaf and Slovenian Anka. The whole month, it's either been too wet or too cold or too something. I sprinkled some 10:10:10 fertilizer over the dirt, and raked a deep mulch of brown pine needles over the small bed. Bye, bye, until June!

Bob

 

[Kitke]

I planted my garlic about two weeks ago. Here too it's been way too wet for any gardening so I just pushed them in soil and covered with some brown leaves for protection during winter. The heavy soil was so soaked I could not either make ridges for planting garlic on to avoid at least some overmoisture during winter, or to do the least weeding.
Interestingly, I didn't plant any Slovenian Anka although it comes from where I live (I'm not very particular about the types of garlic I plant/use).
Also, I harvested some smallish winter lettuces, a leek and two forgotten carrots.
That was all - then it started raining again.

 

[deluxestogie]

Remember the Hidatsa Indian method of drying rings of squash?

Well, it's been about 6 weeks or so since I hung the squash. I looked at it today. Not good. I tried to snap a photo of it, but my camera got one glance, then ran to the bathroom and vomited, later mumbling something about a display at a fungus museum.

So, no photo for today. Suffice it to say that the fungal growth was inclusive, diverse, free-range, sustainable and preservative-free. All colors were represented. Both fuzzy and flat. Every cut edge looked just like a jack-o-lantern beyond its prime. I had to throw away the clothespins and rope as well as the earthly remains of the squash.

Bob

 

[Charly]

Sad.
It may work with thinner slices and warm/dry weather.

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm sure you are correct. I found the Georgia Candy Roaster squash difficult to slice, so I sliced it too thick. I'm also missing the wind and mostly dry weather of North Dakota in October and November. I think hanging in direct sun all day would have made a big difference as well.

North Dakota humidity during the autumn:

weatherspark.com

My own relative humidity seldom drops below 50% year-round.

Bob

 

[MAB]

I read this page the day before yesterday, and just yesterday my wife made the Cappellacci di Zucca with the Bolognese Sauce (Ragù) ... so, I put some pictures because everyone usually likes the pics

 

[CobGuy]

There is drool on my keyboard now!

 

[deluxestogie]

A Tale of Salt and Buttery

Okay. Most of that white stuff is sugar. But that's it: squash, salt, sugar, butter.

One of my favorite things to do with the 10 to 15 pound Georgia Candy Roaster banana squash that I grow is to lop off a 1 to 2" slice of it (3 to 5" diameter), and set it up in a little, home-made foil tray. I usually set up two at a time: one for tonight, and one for a later date (with a plastic wrap cover, in the fridge). The remainder of the megasquash gets a plastic wrap cap on the end, and lives in the fridge until it's all been eaten. These things keep a long time. Uncut squash rest on the floor of my darkened pantry.

The squash slice goes into a 400°F oven for about 1 hour (until the top is looking golden and toasty). This is a single serving. The cooked flesh is then easily separated from the rind using a spoon, and the spoon is used to blend the squash with all the sugar and butter, while still resting within its perimeter of rind, in its individual foil tray. It then has the consistency of mashed potatoes, but tastes worlds better. (And you can claim to have eaten your vegetables.)

Bob

 

[MadFarmer]

I have Candy Roaster seed but was never sure how much space they take up and haven't planted any

 

[deluxestogie]

I planted two hills of Candy Roaster, about 2 feet apart. Of the six vines that sprouted, I thinned it down to four total. These spread beneath the adjacent okra (which didn't care), and altogether took up about 10' x 7' more or less. I allowed them to spread into the grass, and just mowed around them, until I clearly had a half dozen well-formed squash growing, then just mowed over any further growth.

Here is one, while it was still growing, and had not yet turned orange.

They are sweeter and less fibrous than pie pumpkins. And more productive for the same space. Their greatest drawback is that the mature fruit is so scary large that they are nearly impossible to give away.

Bob