So tell me...........

Do you know what these items have in common in relation to the State of Wisconsin?

Tomatoes, potatoes, basil, thyme, peppers, cows, eggplant. Got an answer yet? Well, then, let's add to the list:

Oregano, brussel sprouts, cabbage, okra. Got the answer, or need more hints. Here's a few more:

Thai eggplant, thai peppers, lemongrass. Give up? I'll tell you what they have in common.

They are not from here. They came here with the folks who migrated here. And aren't we glad for it? Just think of all the good local foods we have because of it. Local eating is not boring eating!

I'm enjoying my own frozen and canned tomatoes, and lemongrass and peppers, but I'm sure looking forward to eating fresh in a few short months. How about you?

My, my

...........I have neglected this blog.

Went to South Dakota for a fast visit over Thanksgiving, had an incredible time. There's nothing like travelling with good friends and making good friends and having a good time with all - and still being good friends when you get back home.

Here's one new friend I almost made. Met this behemoth on a rural road and was using my much misplaced "tourist logic" while snapping the photo -- which immediately placed us in danger of being pushed off the road by an unhappy fellow.

I swear he did not have those glowing eyes when I snapped the picture, but I think they reflect his mood as a result of being blinded by that darn camera flash - stupid tourist.

Canning, canning

Ran out of freezer space long ago - probably mid July. So it's drying and canning for me. What's in those jars?

Sun dried tomatoes - Cherokee purple cherry tomatoes, yellow pears, and red cherry tomatoes
Tomato marmalades of all descriptions. Here's a great recipe to start off your tomato marmalade collection.
Pear chutney
Apple pear chutney
Citrus mango marmalade

Waiting on a load of grapes and tomatoes from Dr. Soozi's garden. Grape juice to start with - until we can figure out what to do with it. And stewed tomatoes.

I can't wait to dive into all these goodies when it's cold and freezy outside. Ohhhhhhh the taste of summer.

And then there's been the kefir, yogurt and mozzarella making episodes. More on them later.

Busy Putting Food By

I love this time of year - putting food by is a much loved activity for me. As a child, I loved helping put up pickles, and tomatoes, and corn, and relishes, and pickled beets, and bread and butter pickles, and lots, lots more. We'd work hard all day and sometimes late into the night. There'd always be a bit left over - not enough to fill a jar, so we would "have to" eat it.

Put up sauerkraut and pickles today. Open crock sauerkraut. Got the recipe from the Wild Fermentation book by Sandor Ellix Katz.

These pickles started out as the huge Hmong cucumber in the photo below. Egads! half a cuke filed a quart jar. These cukes are h-u-g-e!! For size comparison, the tomatoes are medium sized.

Summer food

What's your favorite summer food? Mine? Well, mine is whatever is available. I pretty much love it all - fresh corn on the cob, carrots, garlic, zucchini, patty pans, lemon grass, heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, beets, cukes, beans of all sorts, fennel, leeks, flowers, dill, parsley, cilantro, basil, farmstead cheeses, summer savory, rosemary, eggplant

And I love all the great dishes one can enjoy - fresh corn and tomato salsa with cilantro, grilled eggplant with summer savory, vinegars flavored with summer herbs, heirloom tomatoes topped with a slice of fresh homestead mozzarella and basil, lemon grass tea. And how about a vase of freshly picked flowers for the kitchen table?

Egads

Can't hardly keep up with the garden stuff. Way too much going on right now. The weather's great - for visiting the beach and flying the kite and swimming in the big lake, and dealing with the garden which is producing.

Yes, the gardens are producing! Check out my friend's croft - croft is a fancy word, well actually a scottish word - for a certain type of garden.

Swooning...........

Ooooooooooh the garden's kickin' into high gear. The asparagus is put to rest until next season and look what's taken over!

Strawberries, I've consumed pounds and pounds of strawberries this past week - in every form imaginable. Strawberries and fresh whipped cream for a fourth of July treat, strawberries with home-made granola and fresh cream for breakfast, strawberry - rhubarb jam, strawberry jam, strawberries drizzled with local honey and some more of that fresh cream, strawberries dipped in golden granules of raw sugar, and strawberries right out of the box. I am in love with strawberry season. As a child, I relished the indescribable flavor of an ever-bearing variety of strawberries raised by my grandmother. Everbearing means the strawberry plant continues to produce throughout the summer, not just for the two to three weeks of the newer varieties. So we had strawberries all summer long and into fall. I'm hoping someone around here has such a variety. I hate to think that in another week or so strawberry season will be finished for this year.

And garden greens - Whoaaaaaa! I've been dining on the most fabulous of garden greens, all mixed together as fresh salads and maybe drizzled with a dab of olive oil, but not always. Close your eyes and imagine tasting heirloom leaf lettuces, baby spinach, wild spinach, amaranth leaves, chive blossoms, baby mustard greens, young kale, swiss chard and young cabbage and broccoli greens, chives, dandelion greens, fresh baby dill and oregano - all gently tossed together in a perfect array of summer colors and flavors, and served with freshly picked French breakfast radishes, and maybe a spring onion or two. Food fit for gods, truly it is.