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Appreciating the beauty of the garden. Looking out the kitchen window at this time of year is glorious. The dahlias are in bloom and are strutting their stuff. My husband planted some new varieties this year and they are just starting to bloom- and are they ever beautiful! The house is filled with them.
Vegetables a plenty
The vegetables are doing well too- tomatoes, squash, herbs, greens, potatoes, onions, garlic, brocolli, peppers, beets, pumpkins , gourds and some popcorn ( which is a new addition). The deer have loved the green beans (boo) eating the bulk of them.The peas were plentiful but are now long gone. I forgot to mention the raspberries- red, yellow and black. We didn’t do a very good job keeping up with those- some are in the freezer, but we lost more than we care to admit.
Freezer peaches became jam, some peppers became pickled with the rest awaiting their fate. I’ve roasted tomatoes and have plans to make salsa with some more. The spiralizer has become a staple lately turning yellow squash and zucchini into “pasta”. Why didn’t I use this cool tool in the past! The beets have yet to be spiralized but definitely is in the back of my mind for a fun treat.
The wildlife dilemma
The sunflowers survived the deer this year- maybe because they have been busy devouring the hosta plants around the yard ( another boo).
The potatoes, winter squash and onions will keep through the fall and early winter. We will decorate with the pumpkins and gourds. The canned vegetables and preserves will last us too. This has been a good year for us and next year will be even better when my husband retires and is home to garden his heart out!
Did you garden this year? what did you put up? do you have any recipes that you found that you loved?
Any recipes to share?
Cookie and Kate is a great site to visit if you need some ideas for what to do with all of your bounty. I did buy some kohlrabi at the farmers market, you can’t grow EVERYTHING… and I want to try the recipe in their link soon. Smitten Kitchen is another great site to check out for yumminess. There are so many!
I’ll share a quick peach jam recipe that my daughter shared with me. Some basil leaves were added to the last batch. Maybe add more next time around since the flavor isn’t coming through like was hoped.
Peach jam
4 pounds of peaches (about 8 cups)
5 cups of sugar
2 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
basil leaves
prepare the peaches by peeling, pitting and slicing
put all of the ingredients into the same heavy bottomed pot
bring to a slow boil until it reaches a temperature of 220 degrees
add pectin if you think it is “too thin” – not necessary if you love the consistency of what you are seeing
ladle into your sterilized jars, placing strips of basil leaves into the bottom of each jar
attach lids and covers
place in a hot water bath and process for 15 minutes
remove from canner and let cool – you should hear a pop as the covers seal – if one doesn’t seal- place in the refrigerator and enjoy right away.
I will be finishing up this rug this week- a nod to the harvest. Also some more Jack pumpkins on vintage spools – watch the ETSY shop for these soon.
So how do you appreciate the beauty of your garden? Tell your gardener how much you appreciate all of the work that goes along with it. Then pat yourself on the back for making sure that it isn’t wasted- maybe share some of the bounty. In any event- enjoy!
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