Hibiscus Sabdariffa

a.k.a. Roselle, Red Sorrel

Good news ... flower buds are present!

A sure sign of the end of summer, these plants begin to bloom as days shorten. Hope there's time between now and frost date to collect plenty of the calyces for making tea! Harvesting encourages more flower buds to develop.

In addition to tea:  "The small leaves and tender branch tips are a refreshing addition to fresh salads. You can also use them to make a tea or jam similar to the ones from calyxes. You don’t need to add pectin because hibiscus leaves contain 3 percent pectin. Hibiscus tea needs to be boiled to get the deep red color and great flavor."  How to grow hibiscus from Mother Earth News

Info about harvesting from Green Talk
More harvesting info and how to process from Tyrant Farms

About those late season green beans...

Good try, but the bunny rabbit has consumed every baby plant!

Okra Gumbo

Isn't that phrase actually a redundancy?
From the google dictionary...

gum - bo
noun
noun: gumbo; noun: Gumbo
1. okra, especially the gelatinous pods used in cooking.
2. (in Cajun cooking) a spicy chicken or seafood soup thickened typically with okra or rice.

Whatever. It makes my mouth water!

My recipe for Okra Gumbo (okra soup) is based on Emeril's Shrimp and Okra Gumbo - made with NO roux! Perfect for the gluten-free folks in the family. Emeril got me off to a good start, but I do believe mine is the better version :-)

Sue's Okra Gumbo
2 pounds okra, caps removed, cut into 1/4" rounds
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped (or 2 cups chopped canned tomatoes)
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup roasted poblano peppers, chopped
1/4 cup basil pesto
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
5 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or equivalent fresh, if you have it)
6 cups water or broth (chicken or veggie)
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound pre-cooked andouille sausage, sliced

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Fry the okra, stirring constantly, for 10 - 12 minutes, or until most of the slime disappears. Add tomatoes, onions, celery, peppers, and cook, stirring often, for 18 - 20 minutes, or until the okra and other vegetables are soft and the slime has completely disappeared. Add basil pesto, salt, cayenne, bay leaves, thyme, and water (broth). Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Stir, add the shrimp and sausage just until heated through. Remove from heat. Delicious served over rice.

Another inch of rain last night!

Tomato Season Always Ends Too Soon

We had a deluge last Thursday and Friday. 5 - 7" of rainfall were reported in the area, within 48 hours!

While the cherry tomatoes are barely hanging in there, the full sized tomatoes are done for... dead, brown, wet leaves hanging down. They look terrible. I've picked all the tomatoes that have color and am allowing them to continue the ripening process on the kitchen counter.

I decided to harvest all the green roma tomatoes and roast them up with tons of garlic for use in sauces and soups. Disappointed to report that I had a significantly smaller harvest than anticipated. Lovely green tomatoes, with no visible sign of decay, were rotten to the core when I cut into them. I managed to scrounge up one sheet pan full of quartered fruits.

The okra is still prolific and delicious, but some of it is getting "warty" ... stinkbugs at work. I see them on the plants. Tomorrow morning, I'm going on a stinkbug hunt and will attempt to drown every one I see, adult and baby, in soapy water. Dad gum bugs!