Ode to Peter and his Pumpkins

It was a bright and sunny day... Beautiful and blu skied, buttery with sun and chilly with breeze.  In other words, it was the perfect sort of saturday morning to be in the pumpkin patch picking pumpkins.  If only I had been named Peter.  Alas, Pierce will have to do.  

A poem, ahem:

Pierce picked pumpkins in the pumpkin patch

pink, purple, pastel, plus plum

pretty, plump, plus pickable--PERFECT!

So, not going to win any awards... But a nice ode to Peter and his pickled peppers I think.  

I dragged my best friend out of bed in the morning to take her with me, because as we all know, pumpkin picking is a plural activity.  We belong to a coop past Leesburg that allows for u-pick strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and of course pumpkins per season of course.  

When we arrived (after really delightful and excellent driving on my part if I do say so myself, though we started with about a quarter tank of gas...) we were greeted by a field of corn and a backdrop of mountains.  It was utterly picturesque, with, I kid you not, not a single cloud in the sky.  There were many families with little children squawking and laughing and making joyous noise, and it took us about a second to realize that we were the only teenagers there.  Maybe that should say something... But really folks!  Even teenagers could get their tushes out of bed for this! 

Unfortunately we didn't get the chance to take a hayride... But we did get the chance to choose a wagon and march ourselves down to the swath of pumpkin patch!  It was reminiscent of a December holiday... 

Before being allowed to make the pumpkin trek, my mother had made me promise--as she was suppling the money and the car--that I come back with two (note the number) pumpkins of the huge and oddly shaped variety.  

Well.  We came home with various shapes, sizes and colors.  Eleven to be exact.

Yes, eleven.  With forty bucks to spare!  It was a miracle on the order of loaves and fishes!  But then again, pumpkin-picking season is when miracles happen right?  Or am I thinking of that December time again...?

I felt like a five year old again, toting my red wagon around!  The last time I sat in a red wagon, I weighed less than that white pumpkin, and my mother dumped me out on my head... It explains so much.  

My friend and I spent the drive home wondering if mother was going to kill us, as eleven is 9 more than 2.  Yes, I can add.  Though we were delightfully pondering the delicious soups and breads and muffins and all around goodies we were going to make with our frozen pumpkins in the winter.  But that is a story, and a recipe, for a different day.

And so the moral of this story, ladies and gents, is that there is no such thing s too many pumpkins.  And mother is a pumpkin freak too.

Biography of Lettuce

Being a vegetarian until a more sustainable meat source is viable, the majority of my meals comprise of salad in some capacity.  Thus!  A little story about one of my favorite greens. 

There once was a seed.  His name was lettuce, and he was getting tired of waiting around in a dark pocket with other seeds.  He wanted dark, thick, nutrient-rich soil in which to grow.  He wanted a home. 

One day, a light appeared at the top of the pocket, and two long fleshy things reached down and grasped Lettuce and some of his brothers and sisters.  Lettuce was on his way up in the world.  Up, of course, until he was deposited in the damp, brown earth.  

As soon as he was nestled in his new home, Lettuce began to grow.  He stretched up, and up, and up, unfurling as he looked for that light he had seen the moment of his drop from his mother plant, and the moment he had been lifted from the pocket.  Finally, Lettuce poked out of the soil, and took a deep breath of fresh air.  I was a sprout, he was green, and he was ready to see the world 

I suppose you can guess what happens from there, I wouldn't want to completely write a biography, because then I would have to cite it, and that is a pain.  Long story short, Lettuce is plucked and happier than a pig in mud on my plate into my mouth.  

I'm writing this now, at the end of September because we are just planting our fall greens.  I fully recommend getting some seeds in the ground, in pots that you can put outside on your steps that act as ornaments as well as food.  Seriously!  Get on it people!  These lettuces are lovely in more ways than one! 

Composting! Not just for hippies!

It’s an excellent alternative to trash.  It’s called compost.  First, a definition.  Compost is “decayed organic material used as fertilizer.”  It really is just that.  It’s all the vegetable food detritus from your kitchen, all the pulled weeds from your garden, and all the manure you can acquire from local farms.  It’s so much better for your plants than any NPK fertilizer you can find it’s almost laughable. 

When the organic movement started some 20 years ago, there was a distinct outcry against all things artificial—this included fertilizers.  The boycott led to a need for new forms of fertilizer.  Enter compost.  The communes in California would use their food waste along with the weeds that they pulled to make a decaying heap of vegetation that would release their nutrients back to the soil as it decomposed. 

Compost allows for the food to be grown by the soil (the plants take the nutrients), and for the soil (the plants are composted after they’re done growing). 

One of the more common fears about composting is the odor.  It’s a heap of decaying matter, doesn’t it smell?  I promise it doesn’t smell that bad!  Really, as you don’t put any meat-material except eggshells in the heap, it doesn’t take on the pungent rotting smell that is so expected with detritus.  It’s not a trash pile!  It’s a compost.  It does not waft like the garbage trucks. 

I suppose you’re wondering about the how.  There are many different types of compost actually.  My family uses two.  We have one pile that all our food detritus, our plants, and any other organic material is tossed in, and the other is a barrel of organic matter that houses worms.  The worms eat the material, and turn it into loamy soil matter that spreads nicely. 

For those of you looking to start a compost, the easiest manner is to set aside a small area of land, just a square, then ring it with a wire fencing, and toss stuff in it.  Grass clippings make the best start up for compost, as the clippings tend to be rather numerous.  Then keep a bucket on your counter (we have our buckets from berry picking), or a large bowl, and chuck the detritus in there instead of the trash.  Remember though, that meat products do need to be thrown in the garbage, or they attract flies, maggots, and all sorts of nasties that you don’t want to spread on your garden. 

Once you’ve gotten a compost that has been, for lack of a better word, fermenting for a season, it’s ready to be spread on your beds.  If you aren’t totally up for the idea of straight compost on your plants, you can always mix artificial fertilizer with compost.  Some is always better than none!

Also published on The Herndon Environmental Network Blog

Waste not want not!

The other day, my mother sent me some pictures from her Facebook.  Now, while this doesn't seem like sustainable agriculture, it is absolutely sustainability.  SO!  I'd like to put a plug in for these ideas, especially as we are also attempting to eliminate waste in any way we can.  Please, enjoy, giggle, then ponder, as you digest (no pun intended) the possibilities of these lovely ideas! 

This actually works surprisingly well.  You'd think that a bottle would work better, but with all those hungry people at a barbecue, well, it does wonders.  

I love pancakes.  I am also OCD.  This little invention allows me to cover all my bases, and end up with not only perfectly shaped circular pancakes, but also letter pancakes.  

Just pure genius, this avoiding of waste! 

A decent idea.  I've found that it depends on the bread type.  Some breads need top down, like soft bread.  Those with crusts, go for it! 

It's almost too good to be true!  Now, while you don't get to lick the scoop, this is really the best way I've found to eliminate birthday tears.  

Never again will all the goodies fall out either end and go straight into the trash!  Now we have the ability--dadadada--to eat all of what we cook!

I won serious brownie points with my elders on this one.  Seriously, who likes watery wine? 

When I switched from my preferred holder (scotch tape) to this brilliant beyond brilliant idea, I saved so much plastic, they're erecting a statue for me in the park!  

Now, while this did not apply directly to gardening or agriculture, it applies to waste, which is always an extension of agriculture.  I'll soon talk about the industrial food waste, but for now, take a minute to delight in the simple ways to make that trash can, that compost, and that recycling a little lighter! 

Carrots, Beets, and Deer! Oh My!

Well, they're cute right?  The deer, or some herbivore, pulled a Mr. Rapunzel and stole into our garden to commit thievery.  AND to top it off, the varmint ate only the tops of our root crops.  Our poor beets were half eaten by the time they made it into our kitchen!  Oh well, I suppose it wasn't a tragedy.  We were still able to cook all our harvest.  There are worse things that can befall a garden.  

We ended up boiling our beets, as there wasn't enough of each one to pickle.  My dad calls beets the HFCS-less candy.  My mom calls them delicious.  I don't call them anything; I just eat them.  

This doesn't mean, however, that I don't have words for them!  In fact, I would like to compose a haiku about beets for you.  

Oh beets, you are fine

You make me wish spring lasted 

Forever, oh beets.

Ok, so not my finest.  I save my best poems for my books.  

Since summer has been so cool, we've actually had beets for a good long time into the "hot" months.  It's been lovely!  The flavor actually intensifies with the heat, until, I suppose, it would get too nutty to eat.  We've never let beets go that far (nor have our ruminant friends) so I don't know exactly... 

Each beet is different, just like a person.  Wherever the beet has grown, the soil shapes the taste.  Every vegetable is like wine, nature trumps nurture in the taste department.  Nurture does play a part in the living department though.

While beets are our veggie desert, carrots make up the main course.  There are so many lovely things to do with carrots, from stewed cinnamon carrots to plain dipped in hummus.  Our neighborly herbivores seem to feel the same way.

While our garden enters peak harvest season, I still spout about our spring crops.  They're just that delicious.  Fear not, a plethora of tomato posts are on the way, as well as squash, but as the kitchen gods were against me lsat night, I haven't a tomato recipe for you... I'll share that-ah-explosion with you soon.  

Boiled Beets 

Ingredients 

As many beets as you like

1. Add beets to enough water to cover the tops.  There's no need to wash the beets first, unless you feel there might be pesticide on them.  
2. Bring water to boil, let simmer for 12 minutes.  
3. Peel and serve. 
4. Savor.  

Cinnamon Carrots

Ingredients 

Water

Carrots 

Cinnamon

Nutmeg 

Honey*

1. Add 1/4 cup water to a small saucepan. 
2. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar to the pan to make a syrup, simmer two minutes.
3. Add carrots and let sit for 10-20 minutes depending on how soft you want the carrots. 
4. If you like, you can mash the carrots to make a sweet mash.  

*feel free to use agave nectar, brown sugar, maple syrup

Zucchini Boats!

We were the Ishmaels of the kitchen set.  CALL ME ZUCCHINI!  My mom had just brought in some baseball, well, some put-put size zucchinis.  We use the baseball size zucchinis for relish.  Fear not intrepid readers!  I'll get to that! 

We were struggling to find good zucchini recipes that didn't include sautéing the zuchs in garlic and olive oil.  We were only partially successful.  I was determined to do something more.  So we decided to stuff a zuch.  

It didn't go well.  First of all, stuffing implies that the entire vegetable stays, well, entire.  Well, mine stayed in canoe form.  I found it a quite flattering shape, I must say.  And there were many different forms, let me tell you!  It doesn't help that the dietary restrictions of the people in my family range from vegan to gluten free to carnivore.  It was lucky that this was such a versatile recipe.

The actual zuchs were baked with various "stuffings."  And the flavors of all of them melded deliciously.  The meat in the carnivore's complemented the zucchini flavoring subtly, without being overbearing, and the bread in the non-gluten free's boats made for an excellent flavor support.  

I have to say, for the simplicity and the magnitude of the use of a produce that usually crowds the counters well after they are picked, the boats were well above satisfactory! Most times, one can only find a recipe that is fast but not tasty, or tasty but takes as long as Ahab took to catch that whale.  This recipe was both.  

I do have one confession to make.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  I know, given my track record you aren't surprised.  But I did start off trying.  Hard.  I promise.  But it ended up as a sort of melange again.  I'll get there.  I promise!  

I know you're dying to get to the end of this post!  And again, I promise that you will finally get that whale.  You now have the tools to build the boat! 

You can mix and match any of the ingredients to make your boat what you want! 

Zucchini Boats 

Adapted from Clean Eating

INGREDIENTS:

3 tsp olive oil, divided

 1 clove garlic, diced

 1 small yellow onion, diced

8 oz mushrooms, diced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp whole-wheat bread crumbs

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

2 zucchini, halved, seeds and pulp removed

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Prepare stuffing: In a large saute pan on medium-high, heat 1 tsp oil. Add garlic, onion and

mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms soften, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining 2

tsp oil, vinegar, bread crumbs and Parmesan. Mix thoroughly.

3. Spoon an equal amount of stuffing into each zucchini half. Bake on a foil-lined cookie sheet for 10

minutes.

CHEESE!

First of all.  Just to be honest, I am lactose intolerant.  Which means, I can't digest milk.  However, the harder the cheese, the more lactose has been squeezed out of it as the whey is siphoned off from the curds.  Cheese making is basically the way water, lactose, and all those other minerals in milk are removed form said milk to produce a concentrate of protein and fat. 

Here is an elementary description of the chemistry of cheese.  I hope you appreciate it dear Watsons.  

1. The milk is heated, and the rennet and the bacteria sort of curdle the milk, separating the curd and whey
2. The whey is drained, and the curds are stretched and pressed.
3. The more the whey is let go--the less lactose there is in the milk 
4. Ta Da!

Whey.  

So I'm telling you that I don't eat milk, because this cheese was good enough that even I ate it.  Granted, it was mozzarella so I did have quite the stomach ache after, but I won't bore you with the details.  

Stretching the mozzarella! 

I had one of my best friends over to help me with this process, I wasn't about to attempt this alone.  Heaven knows that the first time something is tried in the kitchen, it's good to have backup.  I don't even want to tell the story of the exploding potatoes!  Who knew you had to fork them first?  That was a stressful night.  And I couldn't even drink!  

But I digress.  It's a bad habit.  I'm trying to quit.  Anyway, my friend came over and we went to Mom's Organic to buy local, non-pasteurized milk.  We couldn't find any.  Apparently that's not allowed.  So we got only so-so pasteurized.  It worked fine!  I've never seen milk that has the fat separated.  It wasn't completely emulsified.  Needless to say, we didn't drink it.    

The whole process was very cool!  We used a big pot!  The curds were squeezy and the final flavor was slightly salty and creamy.  The stretching was my favorite part though.  We got it about half the length of our kitchen!  

The cheese keeps really nicely, and though the flavor is supposed to ripen with age... We didn't get that far!  The best part was, besides the stretching of course, that the milk was local.  We proved in an afternoon that easy thirty-minute mozzarella is completely within the grasp of the local suburbian kid.  Seriously folks, it's doable!  Heck, it's even fun!   

Mozzarella in 30 Minutes 

courtesy of the New England Cheesemaking Company 

The Milk:Make sure the milk you use for this cheese is NOT ULTRA- PASTEURIZED --Homogenized milk will work fine. --Fresh farm milk will also work well but we encourage you to try with1 gallon of store bought whole milk first. --Low fat milk will work but the cheese will be drier and less flavorfulYou will need: --A 6 to 8 quart stainless steel pot. Aluminum or cast iron will not work. --A stainless steel or strong plastic slotted spoon. --A two quart microwave safe mixing bowl --measuring spoons --A thermometer which will clearly read between 80 - 120 degrees F. Prepare your work area:Do not prepare any other food while you are making cheese. Put all food products away. Move all sponges, cloths and dirty towels away from your work surface, wipe your sink and stove with soap and water. Finally use your antibacterial cleaner to wipe down all surfaces. Process: Crush 1/4 tablet of rennet and dissolve in 1/4 cup of cool,  unchlorinated water and set aside to use later. Add 1.5 tsp. of citric acid, diluted in 1 cup cool water, to  1 gallon of cold milk and stir well. (Add the citric acid solution to the empty cold pot - the photos show adding this dry but do mix with water).

Now, pour cold milk into your potquite quickly to mix well with the citric acid . This will bring the milk to the proper acidity to stretch well later. Next, heat this milk to 90F. As you approach 90F, you may notice your milk beginning to curdle slightly due to acidity and temp.NOTE: If having problems with milk forming a proper curd, you may need to increase this temp to 95 or even 100F At 90F,  remove the pot from the burner and slowly add your rennet(which you prepared in previous step) to the milk. Stir in a top to bottom motion for approx. 30 seconds, then stop.  Cover the pot and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes. Check the curd, it will look like custard, with a clear separation between the curds and whey. If too soft or the whey is milky, let set for a few more minutes. Cut the curds into a 1" checkerboard pattern (as in photos above) and, if a drier  cheese is desired, carefully cut and stir this curd to release more whey. Place the pot back on the stove and heat to 105F, while slowly stirring the curds with your ladle.  (If you will be stretching the curds in a hot water bath heat to 110F in this step.)Take off the burner and continue slowly stirring for 2-5 minutes.(More time will make a firmer cheese) With a slotted spoon, scoop curdsinto a microwave safe bowl. (If the curd is too soft at this point let sit for another minute or so.)You will now press this curd gently with your hand, pouring off as much whey as possible. Reserve this whey to use in cooking.

Next, microwave the curd on HI for 1 minute. You will notice more whey has run out of the curd. Drain off all whey as you did before.Quickly work the cheese with a spoon or your hands until it is cool enough to touch (rubber gloves will help since the cheese is almost too hot to touch at this point.) Microwave 2 more times for 35 seconds each, and repeat the kneading as in the last step. Drain off all of the whey as you go. Knead quickly now as you would bread dough until it is smooth and shiny. Add salt near the finish. At this point the cheese should be soft and pliable enough to stretch like taffy. It is ready to eat when it cools. Form it into a ball and drop into ice water to cool and refrigerate. When cold you can wrap in plastic wrap and it will last for several days, but is best when eaten fresh. Option: --A substitution of reconstituted dry milk powder and cream is a great option if you can not find the right type of milk --Lipase may be added to the milk to provide a typical italian cheese flavor --If you want a softer texture, do not let the curd set as firm and work less when draining and kneading, this will make a moister cheese.