This is how we Dreem Reality: G is for Garden: Humbly cultivating life

G is for Garden: Humbly cultivating life09/03/2011

I am beginning to feel like a pilgrim these days, and I couldn't be happier about it. Yes, for some unknown reason I associate pilgrims with harvesting, canning, jamming, and drying. I am glad to say that my summer days have been spent doing just that. Ever since that anticipated day in June when we harvested our first head of lettuce, I have been frolicking around our backyard and garden anxiously spectating the growth. It truly is humbling to watch beauty emerge right before your eyes. It is also quite appetizing. Just three short months ago I had never eaten a blueberry off of the tree, let alone made and canned applesauce from those which grew only 17 feet away from me. Lucky for me (and you), all of these are a cinch to learn and will keep you smiling even in the cold winter months.

The first project was to pick and dry our vigorously growing chamomile. Since none of us had done it before we tried two ways. One of which was hanging a bouquet upside down inside of a paper bag. The paper bag was used to catch any fallen flowers and keep dust out. The photo on the left is the dried product. The other way is to cut the top of the flowers off first, then dry them flat on a cookie sheet with some sort of covering for dust. When covering them make sure they can breath. After testing both ways I suggest the latter. It is much easy to cut the flowers off of the living plant than the brittle, fragile, dried bouquet. It is also nice to do all of the time consuming work before the couple week drying stage. As for how many weeks, it depends on where you live. Check them periodically. You will be able to tell when they are ready.

As summer steadily drifted on along with it came one of my favorite fruits, strawberries. Since we do not have the pleasure of having strawberry bushes, Eliza and myself set out to find a u-pick. Conveniently, a co-worker and friend of Eliza's volunteers at an organic farm that had...yep you guessed it, strawberries. We spent the afternoon giggling and munching over rows of pungent shades of red. When all was said and done we went home with 17lbs of strawberries. Within the next few days I consumed enough juicy fresh antioxidants to fight off small pox. We froze about a third of what I managed to leave behind and with the rest we made jam. Our shopping list consisted of strawberries (check), honey, pectin, and mason jars. There were super easy step by step instructions inside of the pectin package. I am assuming all pectin boxes include directions. This one was extra handy, because it had measurements and recipes for multiple sweeteners and canning/storing methods. We chose to follow the freezer jam recipe. There was no cooking necessary and since the jars were going to be frozen we didn't have to boil them once they were filled. Piece of cake. Or should I say toast?

By the end of a fleeting July we had enough apples on our tree to make applesauce. This new experiment was also as easy as can be. Once we had a sufficient amount of apples we peeled, cut, and quartered them. Remember to drizzle lemon through out so they don't turn as brown.

If the cut apples are not already in a pot/deep pan put them in one and place it on stove. Fill the pot with water until you have just barely covered the apples. If you prefer watery applesauce, add more water. On that same note, if you like your applesauce to be think and chunky add less water. Quite a simple concept. Once the apples have been boiling start testing them with a fork. Once they are soft enough, smash away. You can either use said fork or if you are fancy and have a potato smasher use that.

The next, and last step, is to can and boil the jars. Make sure the jars you are using are hot (yet cool enough to handle safely) and super clean. What we did was put all the jars and lids in the dishwasher while we were peeling the apples. That way they were done just in time and still hot from the dishwasher. The heat prevents the glass from breaking when introduced to the hot applesauce. Once the jars are filled and tightly capped put them into a pot of boiling water. Make sure the water level is at least one inch above the top of the jars. The boil for 15 or so minutes. Stores have all sorts of fancy canning racks, utensils and pots, but who has money for that? We just used a huge soup pot and macgyvered a way to get the jars in and out of the boiling water. Please keep in mind that you are dealing with hot water, hot glass, and hot applesauce. These are either a recipe for disaster or a recipe for tasty home made applesauce. I prefer the edible version. Let the jars cool over night then store in a dark cool place. Just as a tip, do not add any sweetener or cinnamon to the batch. That way you can change up the flavor with each bowl you have.

The abundance of food coming out of my ground has also allowed me be play around with my cooking. One of my favorite concoctions has been zucchini latkas topped with yogurt and homemade applesauce, served with a tomato salad and sauteed leeks.

I collected all of the goods from my garden. I was happy that when all was said and done almost everything came from my house with help of a friends organic and vegetarian fed chicken. The only exceptions were salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, oil, and wheat germ.

Simply just saute the leeks in water until they are tender. As for the tomato salad cut them in half and add your favorite salt and pepper, then toss in oil (I used flax and extra virgin olive oil) and balsamic vinegar. Done and done.

As for the laktas I kinda just made it up as I went along. They surprisingly turned out lovely. I shredded half of one huge zucchini (by huge I mean the size of a small child). Which by the way, I didn't realize how insane zucchinis are. They grow crazy fast and will get just about as big as you'll let them. After shredding them drain out as much water as you can. I then added one beaten egg and wheat gem until the consistency seemed right. Usually latkas call for Matzo mix, but being the Irish Italian health nut that I am I only had wheat germ, so that is what I used. Add a good amount of oil (I used coconut) then fry away. I ended up with 4 medium sized latkas.