Aside from a brief warm spell over the weekend (it got into the mid 70’s) it has been getting colder and darker, it seems, each day.  A sure sign of the oncoming winter.  We have been wondering what kind of winter we’ll have this year, and you can’t guess accurately based simply on what it’s like right now.  There have been years where it was frosty by the end of September but then barely got under 40 the rest of the winter.  There have been years where it was in the 80’s in October and then snowed through December and January. You just never know.

Either way the colder temps and grey days have us wanting to settle in and stay nicely bundled inside.  But we can’t yet.  There is still far too much work to be done outside.  I have a new garden gate to paint, there is still weed – whacking to be done, there is still brush to be moved and burned, stock tanks for water need to be placed and hay needs to be ordered and delivered.  We can’t settle in yet.

It’s all coming along, though and I think we’ll be happy we put all the effort in.

Speaking of……. I am happy I managed to get a big bag full of garlic cloves planted in the garden this fall:

It doesn’t look like much but this is my garlic row, which has been composted and mulched and is sleeping until spring.

I also planted my potted strawberry plant into a ore permanent home in the garden.

I always kept my strawberries in pots because I was warned they grow and spread and take over everything like mint.

Then I realized…..they’re strawberries.  Would it be a bad thing if they took over the whole front garden?

Not really, no.

While most everyone else we know is barbecuing and relaxing for the holiday weekend we’ve been working our backsides off inside and out.

Paul’s been playing in the mud rescuing the stream from the mangled tree debris that our less than wonderful landscaper piled there, and I’ve been cleaning, working on lesson plans and making pasta.  There was also a brief time out for the new season of Dr Who.  Because we’re still obsessed, y’all.

We had to install this culvert so we could extend some logs and mud over to stream as a land bridge without interfering with the water.

Did I mention that neither of us has any idea how this kind of thing is supposed to get done?  At least Paul is having fun with the backhoe attachment on our friend’s tractor.

Now all we need is more dirt and maybe some gravel to cover over it all.

The side Paul has finished up is flowing nicely again.  We even saw a fairly large crayfish (crawdad for you Southerners) hanging out on the bank.

See all the debris still on this side?  Don’t you love it when you pay someone to do a job for you and then you end up having to re-do it all?

All I know is it’s getting done.  Paul even thinks we may start fencing next weekend.

What a fabulous birthday present for me!

As for inside the house, there is pasta drying in preparation for the freezer.  September is when the basil in the garden has grown into a giant, bushy shrub and must be harvested before the first frost.  My favorite thing to do is make up a huge amount of pesto and make ravioli with it.  I can freeze enough to last all winter if I don’t get sick of making pasta before I’ve used it all.

I use Susan’s pasta recipe – in fact if you click that link you’ll see my hands creating the last big batch of pesto ravioli we made last year at this time.

Sweet heavenly pesto.  I could eat it for every meal.

Little pillows of delightfulness!  I let them dry on a cheesecloth or clean dishtowel for an hour or more (until they are not sticky anymore) and then toss them into a ziploc freezer bag.  They can be tossed in boiling water from frozen or fresh and take very little time to cook.

For my pesto I fill a blender with fresh basil leaves, toss in a handful of cherry tomatoes, a handful of parmesan cheese, a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic, about half a teaspoon of sugar, a handful of pine nuts, and 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil.  These are all approximate values, and I adjust according to taste.  Not everyone likes sugar or tomatoes in their pesto, but I find it gives it an extra something.  You can also substitute walnuts if you don’t have pine nuts, but I prefer the pine nuts.

Lately I am having a heck of a time keeping up with the tremendous output of cucumbers in the garden.  Somehow, despite the onslaught of squash bugs and cucumber beetles that have been plaguing us for weeks, the cukes have done pretty well.  Only now are they starting to show signs of the bacterial wilt transmitted by those pests, which all of my other squash plants have fallen prey to.

Growing an organic garden is a challenge. Even in a good year, when pests aren’t that awful, it is a chore.  Every evening you’ll find me out among the squash, smashing squash bug eggs and their adult counterparts in an effort to pare down the population.  Japanese beetles get collected in a mason jar every night, shaken well (to stun them so they don’t fly away) and fed to the chickens.

But this year.  This year has been something else.  I knew it would be bad; the warm winter we had meant that bugs would be numerous.  Even so, I was unprepared for the epidemic that we’ve suffered.

Basically, I’ve given up on the squash.  If I had known just how bad it was going to be I’d have invested in some Neem oil,
but I’ve had such success in past years by simply picking off eggs and bugs that I hadn’t bothered.  They are just so incredibly out of control, and it has been in the 100’s here for a few weeks so I was unable to spend as much time as I’d like to keeping them in check.

The good news is we’ve gotten quite a substantial crop of cucumbers despite the bugs.  We’ve also had a bumper crop of surprising little things called “Mexican Sour Gherkins”.  These are tiny sour – tasting cucumbers that look like mini watermelons.

They are terrific for snacking and for salads.  I may even pickle them, which is what I have been doing in mass batches with the bigger cukes.

My favorite pickles are refrigerator pickles, and my favorite recipe for them is adapted from Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it by Karen Solomon.

I slice up my cukes however I want them (I like to do some jars bread and butter style, some spears, some halves).  I stuff each jar with cukes, a spoonful of minced or crushed garlic, a dash of ground cinnamon (the recipe calls for one cinnamon stick per pint jar) , a teaspoon each of yellow mustard seeds and brown mustard seeds, a tablespoon or better of dill, a teaspoon or better of red pepper flakes (more if you like heat), a couple grinds of black pepper, and a few teaspoons of kosher salt.  Exact science, right?  You’ll get to know how to adjust these for taste after your first jar or two. Since you’re not canning it the recipe doesn’t have to be perfect.  It is more important that you end up with the taste you want.

Then I fill up half the jar with vinegar (generally you use white vinegar, but I’ve used apple cider vinegar to great success.  I imagine champagne vinegar works nicely as well) and the rest with water.  Then seal and let it sit in the fridge for 48 hours before eating.

They are supposed to last in the fridge for about a month – but let me tell you, we generally eat them all before that.  I’ve had a couple of stray jars hidden in the back of the fridge that go unnoticed for around three months and were still just fine.

Happy Father’s Day!  We’re spending our holiday weekend buried under squash.

The garden has gone fairly berserk with zucchini and yellow squash.  Every year I overgrow them and every spring I always forget and do it again.  This year I am making a note in the farm journal to plant LESS summer squash and more potatoes and peppers instead!

So squash.  We had several days of rain last week and I didn’t venture out to the garden at all.  Once the clouds parted and I could get back out there I discovered some monster zucchini growing under the jungle – like leaves.  I don’t like them getting too big – they’re not as flavorful; but they are funny.  Here’s one next to a normal – sized zucchini:

The same day I harvested the squash I also pulled some carrots and peas.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to grow carrots!  They are far more “carrotty” than any store bought variety.

But while the carrots and peas have been coming in at a slower pace the squash has been taking over everything.  I’ve been sneaking it into people’s cars when they are foolhardy enough to stop by.  I’ve grated some of the zucchini and frozen it in ziplocs for baking later.  I have blanched and frozen slices of squash for use in soups later.  And I am still overloaded.  Fortunately we love squash on the grill, and I also have a smashing recipe for zucchini that even the pickiest ones around here love.  It’s adapted very slightly from Cooking Light.

First you roughly chop up about 8 cups of zucchini (I slice it, then quarter the slices).  Along with it, chop up half a medium sized yellow onion, and toss them in a stock pot with about half a cup of vegetable broth.  You can also use chicken stock, but I have a vegetarian in the house, and it doesn’t make much of a difference in the final dish.

You’ll want to boil it, covered, on medium heat until the squash softens up.  Then remove it from heat and mash it slightly.  Drain any excess liquid.

While the squash is cooking make 2 cups of rice.  Combine the cooked squash and rice in a large bowl and add a cup of sour cream, about a cup and a half of shredded cheddar (we like cheese around here!), a quarter cup of grated parmesan cheese, a quarter cup of breadcrumbs, 2 eggs, salt & pepper.  Mix it all up and spread it into an oiled or sprayed casserole dish.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 350.  You can also broil it at the end to get the top nice and crisp.

Super easy, super yummy, and it uses up a good amount of zucchini.  And if you don’t have any, come over and get some!