Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Let There Be Pickles!



I left town for a day or two and when I came back, the cucumbers had actually started producing! I'm hoping for enough cukes to attempt some lacto-fermented pickles next week.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Harvest

The measly harvest so far:

Oodles of herbs (except for dill which was pillaged by slugs)
6 green beans
5 pea pods
3 celery sticks

It's kind of depressing.
Cucumbers and zucchini are blooming, but so far, no fruit. A handful of tomatoes have been struck down with blossom end rot.

On the other hand, the coneflowers, lilies and dahlias are going gangbusters.

It's been too hot to be in the garden. I fear that by the time things cool down, everything will have fallen victim to powdery mildew or mold or some other wet-heat-loving-fungus-like disease.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Korean Style Potato Salad


I did a little bit of cooking this past weekend, and it seemed only fitting to have potato salad on the 4th of July. I'm not a big fan of the mustardy-yellow potato salad that seems to be all to common around these parts. But I do love it when I go out for Korean food and the banchan includes potato salad. Actually, my all-time favorite Korean potato salad is from Yummy Korean BBQ in Hawai'i. This isn't their version, but it's quite tasty!


1 bag "teeny tiny potatoes" from TJs - steam or boil them until tender (I like to steam them with the skins on them). Let cool a little bit and then roughly mash with a big fork.

1 small cucumber, sliced thinly
Pinch salt
Pinch sugar
2-3 T rice vinegar
Mix these together and let sit for about 10 minutes. Drain (but consider saving a little of the brine to add to the mayo in the next step).

1 c mayo
1/4 c finely chopped celery (I usually use some of the leaves, too)
Handful of chopped herbs: parsley and chives
1/2 finely diced jalapeno
Mix these together. I like to add some of the vinegary brine from the cucumbers to this.

Handful of shredded carrots

Mix everything together. Add more mayo if it's not creamy enough. Salt and pepper to taste.

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Blooming Leeks!

I was reading some things about leeks last night and learned that they form something called "leek pearls" - basically little bulblets that look like garlic cloves near the roots. They can be eaten or planted to form new plants. Or just left in the ground, I suppose, for another crop next year?

Saturday, July 02, 2011

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Excuse the bad cell phone pic, but I was so excited to see multiple clusters of tomatoes on the "Principe Borghese", I just had to take a picture.