Late June Garden 2010

I went out on this beautiful cool morning to take pictures of our garden to show you. Here is a view on the way there:



The Broccoli ~



New little strawberry row ~



The kale ~



Not much happening in the greenhouse right now, I've just let some of the seedlings remain and also the sweet potato tubers ~



Cucumbers ~



Some of the tomatoes ~



Onions ~



Kentucky Wonder pole beans ~



Sweet potato vines ~



Zinnias and Marigolds ~



Leeks ~



Potatoes ~



We have a rotting tree stump in the garden. My husband piled the barn litter on there last fall and I made little "bowls" of garden soil in there and planted a variety of squashes and pumpkins. It is going crazy!



A view of the early corn ~



The late corn ~



French horticulture beans and Top Crop green beans ~



So far we've had some nice cucumbers, about a peck of green beans, onions, kale, Swiss chard, basil, collards, and radishes to eat. If we can keep out the raccoons, we'll have corn before long. I put some lumps of Irish Spring bath soap in the beans to keep the deer away, and some "Shake Away" (LOOK HERE) on the sweet potatoes to keep the rabbits from eating the vines.

It sounds like if there were no hunting laws and seasons, I could grow my own game. Of course, the bunnies are so cute and the deer are beautiful and fascinating.... I couldn't harvest them anyway.

I LOVE this time of year. I even enjoy the heat and humidity. It is delicious to me. One thing that has helped this year is that we are not using our air conditioning. We just have a lot of fans. That way, I am not "afraid" to go outside, because I am adjusted to the heat.

Barn Swallows

Years ago we lived on a small farm and had a very large barn. And in that barn every year the barn swallows (who migrate) would come and build their mud-daubed nests and raise their sweet little families. When we moved here, there was no barn and I always missed the swallows. My understanding is that they tend to return to where they were born, to nest, so I thought I would never have them again, which was a little sad.

3 years ago a pair built a nest on top of the window casing outside one of our bedrooms, and we've had return visits each year since! It is so interesting to see them build the nests and of course very sweet to watch as they lay, set, feed and fledge their little peeps.

My husband was able to get this picture yesterday. See the little heads? See the carefully constructed mud and moss nest?

:-)

Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

When I have too much milk and don't have time to make cream or Farmhouse cheddar, I make whole milk ricotta cheese.

Here are 4 gallons of fresh goat milk in my large stock pot:



For each gallon of milk, I will need 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar, so here are 2 cups of vinegar:



Heat the milk gently (so it won't scorch in the pot) and bring it up to almost boiling (at least 200 degrees F.) Remove the milk from the heat, pour in the vinegar and stir for a little while. Let the pot sit for 15 minutes and most of the curds will float to the top:



Strain the curds from the whey through a cloth placed in a colander. I do not save this whey, as it has been cooked.



Gather up the cloth and press out most of the liquid:



Turn the curds into a bowl and add 1 teaspoon of salt for each gallon of milk used:



While it is still hot, I press the ricotta into bowls, cover them with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator:



When thoroughly cooled, wrap the cheese in plastic wrap and if you are not going to use it soon, put the wrapped cheese (s) in freezer bags and freeze.

We slice this and eat it out of hand or use it on sandwiches. Since it is cooked, it will not melt. I also like to use it in salads, casseroles, lasagna, etc. And it keeps well for a long time in the freezer. As a matter of fact, it will stay nice in the fridge for several weeks as well!

Daylily Fritters

Oh my! The daylilies were so glorious this morning!



You can use any type of daylily and this time of year where we live there are thousands of them all over the place that grow wild, but these are the ones in our yard.



In a bowl, combine 2 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of sugar and a little grated nutmeg. In case you have never seen one, that little brown lump there is a nutmeg. :)



I picked 3 blossoms and let them sit on the counter for a while so any little hangers-on could escape. Then I shook them to make sure no one was left.



Melt 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil on medium heat.



Add enough unbleached flour to the egg mixture so it is as thick as pancake batter.



Coat the blossoms with the batter and fry them in the oil. Fry one side until nice and brown, and then cook the other side.



Here they are:



I like to eat them with a drizzle of raw honey.



I don't eat the hard little green stem part.



This is a favorite early summer treat for breakfast ~ quite delicious!

Whole milk ricotta cheese

When I have too much milk and don't have time to make cream or Farmhouse cheddar, I make whole milk ricotta cheese.

Here are 4 gallons of fresh goat milk in my large stock pot:



For each gallon of milk, I will need 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar, so here are 2 cups of vinegar:



Heat the milk gently (so it won't scorch in the pot) and bring it up to almost boiling (at least 200 degrees F.) Remove the milk from the heat, pour in the vinegar and stir for a little while. Let the pot sit for 15 minutes and most of the curds will float to the top:



Strain the curds from the whey through a cloth placed in a colander. I do not save this whey, as it has been cooked.



Gather up the cloth and press out most of the liquid:



Turn the curds into a bowl and add 1 teaspoon of salt for each gallon of milk used:



While it is still hot, I press the ricotta into bowls, cover them with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator:



When thoroughly cooled, wrap the cheese in plastic wrap and if you are not going to use it soon, put the wrapped cheese (s) in freezer bags and freeze.

We slice this and eat it out of hand or use it on sandwiches. Since it is cooked, it will not melt. I also like to use it in salads, casseroles, lasagna, etc. And it keeps well for a long time in the freezer. As a matter of fact, it will stay nice in the fridge for several weeks as well!

Remember the Egyptian onions?

Earlier this Spring, I posted about Egyptian (walking) onions. Here is how they look now.



Each plant is topped with a cluster of little "sets". Eventually, they will fall over and the sets will take root. Yesterday, on a whim, I ate one raw when I was out there. It was really quite nice! So, I decided an experiment is in order.



Some mustard seeds..



2 bay leaves...



The "sets" all cleaned...



I also added some peppercorns, but do not have a photo here. I put all of these things in a jar with a rubber seal and wire bale and covered the contents well with a brine made of 1.5 Tablespoons salt and 1 quart water.



I went out and found some wild grape leaves and washed them carefully.



I put them in the jar and put 2 clean stones on top. I will let it set on the counter until it starts to get cloudy and a little bubbly, and then transfer it to the fridge for 6 weeks. I'll let you know how it turns out!