We're Feasting on Peppers, Too

Yesterday, I harvested all the ripe sweet Italian frying peppers - snatching them away from the leaf-footed bugs! I fried them in garlic imbued olive oil and served them with plain stoned - wheat crackers as an appetizer at suppertime. The thick, juicy flesh of these peppers is absolutely delicious! They would make a fine pepper sandwich on some nice crusty bread.

This morning I roasted two pans of sweet red Italian peppers and one pan each of mildly hot poblano and moderately hot anaheim peppers. Later today, I'll clean these peppers, removing skin, seeds, membranes, and freeze for future use. THAT will be a job!

Feasting on Peppers

I found these leaf-footed-bug nymphs all over my sweet Italian frying peppers. Related to stink-bugs, they are sucking insects. That's right ... they suck! They have long piercing-sucking mouthparts that they poke into leaves, shoots, and fruit (veggies) to suck up the juices. This can result in depressions or discoloration / mottling to the surface of the fruit (veggie) at the feeding site. The good news... the food is still good for human consumption.

I think I saw the parents of these young'uns making whoopie on my tomatilla plants a few weeks ago. I should've been more diligent removing them!

Dry Fried Chinese Longbeans

Dry Fried Chinese Long Beans

yield: 4 servings• 

1 lb green beans, haricots verts or Chinese longbeans
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
2 scallions (spring onions, green onions), white parts only, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili paste
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Pepper to taste, optional
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil, or as needed

Preparing the ingredients: 

Wash the green beans, drain thoroughly, and trim the tops and bottoms. Cut the green beans on the diagonal into slices approximately 2 inches long. Chop the garlic, ginger and scallions. 

Dry-Frying: Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the green beans and stir-fry until they start to shrivel or "pucker" and turn brown (6 to 7 minutes for longbeans). Remove the green beans from the wok and drain in a colander.

Cooking the aromatics: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the wok on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the chili paste and stir-fry for a few more seconds until aromatic.

Assembling: Add the green beans and the dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper if using. Stir everything together, and taste and adjust the seasoning if desired. Serve hot.

From: Epicurious website

A full morning in the kitchen...

I found a new recipe for Dilled Green Bean Pickles. The recipe I've been using is too salty! Hope the ratio on this one is better.

Dilly Beans - WaterBath Canning
makes 6 pints

3-3/4 cups vinegar
3-3/4 cups water
1/3 cup pickling salt
6 cloves garlic, crushed or thinly sliced
3 teaspoons dill seed (or 6 dill heads)
3 lbs beans, trimmed and cut into jar-length pieces

PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
TRIM off ends of green beans and discard. Cut to length. Wash.
COMBINE vinegar, water, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve salt.
PACK dill, garlic, and beans in jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
REMOVE air bubbles. Wipe rim, center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fingertip tight.
PROCESS filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.
CHECK for seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

from: Fresh Preserving website

Stevia Extract

It's been 2-1/2 days since I immersed the stevia leaves in vodka.

Time to finish the process.

375 ml bottle of vodka produced 54 ml, perfect amount for a 2-ounce bottle.

• STRAIN liquid off the leaves.
• SIMMER 30 minutes (do not boil!) to cook off alcohol and precipitate out impurities.
• STRAIN through something like a coffee filter.
• COOL
• STORE in opaque glass containers.
• USE to sweeten coffee, tea, etc.

See blogpost from July 2, 2014 for more discussion and pictures of entire process.

Okra Pickles

Okra Pickles
yield 4 pints

3-1/2 pounds small okra pods
1/3 cup canning salt
2 teaspoons dill seed
3 cups water
3 cups vinegar
4 cloves garlic
2 small hot red peppers, cut in half

from Ball Blue Book of Preserving

See posting from September 8, 2011 for discussion and photos of entire process.

Stevia Extract

Step 1  Harvest and wash the leaves. Spin dry. Submerge in cheap vodka. Cover and store in a cool, dry place. Wait a couple of days ...

See post from July 2, 2014 for what will happen next.

Still Life with Squash

Fingerling Potatoes

One-half raised bed yielded 4 pounds of Ozette, fingerling potatoes. Thin, tan skin and creamy, flaky, light yellow flesh. Exellent flavor, good storage.

Bonus! Acorn Squash in the compost pile...

... ready to harvest!

a pile of acorn squash

The kitchen fairy had all the day's pickings cleaned and ready for the next step when Rouse the Spouse and I came home from our anniversary dinner out. I could get used to this! Thanks, Mom!!

Okra, Asian Long Beans, Rattlesnake Beans, Acorn Squash

Garden Buddy

Argiope Aurantia, aka Garden Spider, Writing Spider

Butterflies on the Butterfly Weed

They've been loving it!

Let the pepper feast continue ...

Poblano peppers, ready for roasting in the oven

Aphids on the long beans

Today's bucketful ...

Asian long beans, sweet mexi-bell peppers, sungold cherry tomatoes,
rattlesnake green beans and okra at the bottom

Rain... yay! Damage... boo!

We had a nice rain yesterday evening, but the weight of the drops on some of the plants was too much!

Moon Flower vine
The supporting structure failed at the base.

Sunflower stalks broke under the wet weight.

This pepper plant couldn't stand up to the weight!

Red Jalapeña Jam

Start with gorgeous, red, ripe jalapeñas.

Mise en place ... everything prepared and in its place

Processed jars of jam, with a little bowl for enjoying NOW!

Here's the recipe I use, from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving:
One disclaimer -- They say to remove stems and seeds. I remove only the stems, leaving seeds and membranes. Otherwise, it's not flavorful enough for this household!

Jalapeño Jelly
3/4 pound hot peppers
2 cups cider vinegar, divided
6 cups sugar
2 pouches liquid pectin

Wash peppers; drain. Remove stems (and seeds.) Puree peppers and 1 cup vinegar in a food processor or blender. Combine puree, 1 cup vinegar and sugar in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil; boil 10 minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in liquid pectin. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat.  Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. Yield:  Six 1/2 pint jars

Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned. Take care not to rub your eyes, nose, mouth or other sensitive body parts with hands that are contaminated with hot pepper juice. Don't clean the peppers under running water. The "hotness" will be dispersed into the air, causing sneezing, coughing, runny nose, and much discomfort. Put pepper waste directly into the compost bucket or trash can. Wipe down counters and cutting boards with a paper towel that is then placed directly into the trash.

What to do with the tomatillos?

Roasted, sautéed, raw ... made into fresh salsa verde or a traditional guacamole, there are many ways to enjoy tomatillos out of the garden.

husk removed, washed, ready to roast

roasted under the broiler

blended with jalapeña, garlic, onion, cilantro
ready to add avacado for guacamole

Tomatillo Guacamole
Delicious!

My friend, Maria, told me that guacamole made with tomatillos is common in Mexico ... indeed, "traditional." I searched the internet for instructions and was inspired by this recipe from the NY Times. I added sweet onion.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013258-tomatillo-guacamole

Interesting factoid: Tomatillos remind me of little green tomatoes. Indeed, they are closely related to Cape Gooseberries (of no relation to the common gooseberry)... a relative of the tomato in the Solanacae, aka Nightshade, family.

Roasted Sweet Italian Peppers

The sweet Italian red peppers are perfectly red and ripe!

in the garden

under the broiler

blistered and charred

in the bowl, covered for ~30 minutes

skinned, seeded, sliced

generous 2-oz portions ready for freezer

Italian red pepper antipasto ready to enjoy NOW

Sweet Italian Peppers

Time for the pepper roast to begin! I'll start with these beauties...

Garden Feast

Sharing the bounty with family. On the menu:

• sautéed Italian frying peppers, on crackers (appetizer)
• boiled new potatoes
• pink-eyed peas
• sautéed okra
• yellow squash, stewed with onions
• cucumber / tomato / onion salad
• grilled chicken (not from the yard!)

Pea Sheller

I didn't make my mom do this work... I promise! She just HAD to try that hand-cranked pea sheller!

Hmmm ... What shall we name the roo?

Soon to be a Black Swallowtail Butterfly ...

These green, yellow, and black caterpillars feed on plants that belong to the carrot family, such as dill, fennel, and parsley. Since I'd rather eat my garden plants than feed the caterpillars, I relocate these critters down the road to a nice patch of Queen Anne's Lace, their preferred snack.

My mom samples the okra

She likes it!

see post from July 30 for "how to"
Sautéd Okra