Garlic Harvest, Part II

A couple of weeks ago, I pulled the garlic from the garden and spread it to dry, stems and all, on the concrete floor under our deck. A couple of days later, I peeled off the outer leaves, culled for the refrigerator a few of the bulbs that were showing some deterioration, and, for convenience’s…

Wild Fruit

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted anything about foraging. Once the garden started coming into its own this spring, I felt less of the urge to snoop through the tufts of wild greens encircling the yard in the hopes of finding something edible. Eating from the garden just seemed…well, easier. Until now. It…

It’s Summer!

Today’s temperatures peaked in the nineties again, but that’s not why I’m exclaiming about its being summer. It’s because the first squash came in from the garden today–Yellow Crookneck and Tender Grey Zucchini. Along with them came a gorgeous green pepper (Jupiter) and the first Riesentraube cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes and green pepper we ate…

Brussels Sprouts for This Fall

It’s hard to believe it’s already time to start planning for the fall and winter garden! We just brought in our first ripe tomato (of the extra-early variety Zarnitsa), and the early corn is just showing its first silks, but indeed it’s time to get some of the slow-maturing crops for this fall underway. Brussels…

Garlic Harvest

I’ve been watching my garlic patch for the last few weeks, trying to determine whether it’s time to harvest yet. Ten days ago, I pulled the first plant, just to see where it was in the bulb-making process. There was a decent-sized bulb there, maybe two inches across. But once I peeled back the layers…

Frying Flounder

Recent storms over the Chesapeake Bay have been stirring up the flounder, which normally hide out on the bay bottom. We’re fortunate to have a fisherman acquaintance who shared his catch with us, bringing us three pounds of fresh flounder filets! Since my dad is a big fan of fried seafood, we decided to go…

Pickling Beets

You might think from the number of posts I’ve written about beets that I must have planted rows and rows of them, but in truth I only planted about five feet! And yet I’m still eating them…for lunch every other day… The problem of excess beet greens does seem to have been solved, however. The…

Perfectly Chewy Granola Bars

Store-bought granola bars and granola cereals are so expensive and have such simple ingredients that it doesn’t make sense to me not to make our own. Of course, the right recipe is essential. We’ve tried some that have turned out bars so hard you might chip a tooth! But this one, modified slightly from one…

Kale Chips

We’re starting to get to the end of spring here in Virginia. Know how I can tell? Everyone’s tired of eating greens! Lettuce, spinach, tatsoi, beet greens, now kale. We’re ready for some tomatoes and peppers and corn around here! But in the meantime, so as not to waste spring’s generous green bounty, here’s a…