As we harvest from the vegetable garden, we use that space replant. Sometimes we play a game of tag with Mother Nature’s idea of our first freeze date...but most of the time we’re rewarded by our efforts. Thankful for another harvest of ‘Snow Crown’ Cauliflower! More to come!
Freezing Tomatoes For Instant Pot Recipes
It’s the day after our Fall Open House and I have two card tables filled with very ripe tomatoes in need of attention. I use this fast and easy method to get them into the freezer for future Instant Pot meals such as ‘Sue’s From The Garden Instant Pot Chili’ and ‘Sue’s Instant Pot Bean And Bacon Soup’! Simply wash, core and cut the tomatoes into pieces and place them in a gallon sized freezer bag. It’s a good idea to place the bags in a baking dish until frozen and when thawing to contain any liquid that may come from an accidental tear in the freezer bag. When you are ready to use the tomatoes in a recipe just thaw and crush them!
Hoping For A Fall Garden?
Hoping for a fall garden? Get a head start with these ‘KK Cross’ cabbage and ‘Snow Crown’ cauliflower plants...only $1.00 each. Fall Open House September 6th through 9th. Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9 to 5 and Sunday from 10 to 4. Locally grown pumpkins, gourds, squash and other farmer’s market goodies from one of our favorite farm families...The Fitzkes! Local raw honey, freeze dried florals, furniture, garden art, vintage treasures, lots of succulents and beautiful fall-blooming mums grown right here on the flower farm! Bring your camera! We have some great places to get fall photos of the kiddos and the hummingbirds are having a blast out here!
An Afternoon’s Harvest
A colorful and delicious afternoon harvest! There’s more cucumbers under there too! 🙂
It’s Salsa Making Time!
It’s salsa making time! This fermented, probiotic-filled recipe is a favorite at our classes and it’s fast and easy! Happy Fermenting!
Honey Fermented Garlic Cloves
It’s time to prepare for the upcoming cold and flu season! Honey Fermented Garlic Cloves help lessen the effect of colds and viruses....even keeping them at bay! It takes about a month for this ferment to be ready so now is a great time to get started. Use caution if purchasing heads of garlic. American grown garlic will still have it’s roots attached. Garlic imported from China and other countries will have had it’s roots removed. Peeling garlic cloves can be a tedious job but we personally avoid pre-peeled cloves since we’re not sure what they have been rinsed in to inhibit mold growth. Fremont’s Hy-Vee carries beautiful heads of garlic with large cloves that are easy to peel. Their produce manager assures me this is the only variety they sell. We have local, raw honey coming to the shop sometime next week. If you need some before our open house please send me a message and we’ll arrange a pick up time for you!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/honey-fermented-garlic-cloves
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Our first hill of potatoes weighed in at 5.3 pounds! That means there should be over 200 pounds of home-grown garden goodness under all these vines! Garden tip: We use a vintage wire egg basket to harvest our root crops then wash the produce outside with a garden hose. Less of a mess in the kitchen!
From Farm To Freezer
From farm to freezer! This year’s last order of chickens from our friend and neighbor. If you’d like contact information for 2019 send me a message!
Sue’s Fermented Mexican Cucumber Salsa
Those stubborn tomatoes are finally beginning to ripen and we have plenty of cucumbers! Time to make a batch of one of our favorite summertime ferments...’Sue’s Fermented Mexican Cucumber Salsa’! This recipe makes a wonderful salsa and it also doubles as a great probiotic-filled salad!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/sues-fermented-mexican-cucumber-salsa
Eggplant Parmesan
First eggplant of the season and my version of Eggplant Parmesan! Dip thick slices of eggplant in a beaten egg thinned with milk. Coat slices in breadcrumbs. Season with salt, pepper, dried oregano and basil. Place slices in an oiled baking dish. Spritz with olive oil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes until crispy and browned. Remove from oven, top with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with dried oregano and basil. Return baking dish to oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned.
Most of the ingredients in this dish came from our garden or were locally sourced. Breadcrumbs from our homemade tomato basil bread, eggs and raw milk from local and organic farms. Amazing flavor from fresh, quality foods!
Autumn Boutique
Join us for our Autumn Boutique September 6, 7, 8 and 9! Thursday through Saturday from 9 to 5 and Sunday from 10 to 4. Custom designed and freeze-dried wreaths and arrangements! Furniture, garden art, original prints and vintage treasures! Pumpkins, gourds, fall bloomers and Farmer’s Market goodies! Lunch and refreshments served Thursday through Saturday to benefit Trinity Lutheran Church’s Comfort Dog Program. Come meet Katie Comfort Dog!
Sue’s Fermented Cucumber Relish
There’s a bumper crop of cucumbers this year! ‘Sue’s Fermented Cucumber Relish’ is a great way to use some of the harvest and it’s delicious on grilled meats or in salads...another way to get natural probiotics through deliciously fermented foods!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/sues-fermented-cucumber-relish
Today’s Incredible Harvest!
An incredible harvest from the veggie garden today. Ken picked while I processed:
14 quarts of green beans pressure canned
4 quarts of green beans frozen for Instant Pot recipes
6 quarts of cauliflower frozen
1 quart of ‘Fooled You’ peppers diced and frozen
The tomatoes are finally beginning to ripen. They’re not pretty but they are absolutely delicious! This gorgeous head of cabbage will be sauerkraut but it’s going to have to wait until tomorrow...we’re tired! 🙂 Dinner tonight is a grilled mostly grass fed steak from a local family farm served with cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans and a kale salad from our garden. I am in heaven!
Giardiniera
One of our favorite fermented veggie combos...Giardiniera!
For each quart jar:
2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon dried dill seeds
1 Bay leaf
Broccoli florets
Cauliflower florets
Carrots, sliced
Onion, sliced
Don’t hesitate to add sliced broccoli and cauliflower stems. They turn out tender and crisp when fermented!
Brine ratio: 1 Tablespoon finely ground pink Himalayan sea salt dissolved into 2 cups of water.
Layer veggies and spices into jar, packing tightly. Tuck kale leaves over veggies to keep them submerged beneath the brine. Use a proper weighting method. In this case, we criss-crossed kale stems that we pushed beneath the shoulder of a small mouth jar. Cover veggies with brine, place a lid on the jar and allow to ferment for 1 to 2 weeks while burping jars daily. Place jars in refrigerator where they can be stored for several months. Helpful hint: Wrap spices in cheesecloth and place in the bottom of the jar to keep them from floating.
Giardiniera is the perfect ferment to use in our Quinoa Salad With Fermented Vegetables. Finely dice the kale leaves and add them to the salad, too! A serving of Quinoa contains as much protein as a serving of meat. Protein together with probiotics make this salad a powerhouse of nutrition!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/quinoa-salad-with-fermented-vegetables
A Special Gift
A huge thank you to Bob and Mary Lou Pycha for this very special gift! Grown with love!
Sauerkraut!
More Sauerkraut in our future! Here’s a link to our basic recipe! Happy Fermenting!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/basic-lactofermented-sauerkraut
Perfect Timing!
Perfect timing! The country sprinkler watered all of our newly planted fall crops in the veggie garden!
Onion Harvest!
Candy, Walla Walla and Red Bull onion seeds sown in flats in the greenhouse on January 30, transplanted into the garden in May and harvested today. We’re estimating well over 100 lbs.!
‘Jade’ Green Beans
One of today’s projects...’Jade’ green beans! We have 3 quarts fermenting, 7 quarts pressure canned and 2 quarts in the freezer for Instant Pot meals! This variety is prolific! Many more to come!
‘Snow Crown’ Cauliflower
Harvesting our first heads of ‘Snow Crown’ Cauliflower! It’s done very well in the garden...especially taking into consideration the extreme temperature swings we’ve experienced this season. We’re replanting this area with new plants with hope for a second crop!
