My apologies for disappearing from this blog.  The start of the semester, flooding and disaster services training, too many meetings, and a month of being under the weather have kept me away.  I hope to remedy this very soon.  Lots of exciting developments in my life including a likely new home in which to nest and the development of an actual inground garden.

A yet to be identified sparrow

White-breasted Nuthatch

Swallowtail

The reason I need to learn to like eggplant

A mosaic of green and herbal scents create a symphony of aroma that is punctuated by notes of sweet, spice, and citrus. Underneath it all is the rich loamy smell of damp earth and damp wood. The scent of soil and decking ground and deepen the scent of plants so much that you can almost taste the air.

After several hours of steady but gentle rain late summer rain, this is how my deck garden smells. I wish it were possible to save this bouquet until some cold and gray March day. As wonderful as the experience is now, I can only imagine the ecstasy of savoring the fragrance and memory by wrapping it myself in like a favorite blanket while listening to winter winds howl.

*Some might say that green is not a smell but I do disagree. It is the smell of winter wheat fields in the early spring and freshly cut grass. It is the smell of leaves after a summer thunderstorm. It is the smell of fresh peas and just picked picked string beans. For me it is one of the fundamental smells of life.

• Picking a cucumber and fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden just outside my deck.  Halving the  cherry tomatoes, slicing the cucumber, and mixing the two together. Topping with a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar and calling it dinner.

• Fresh peaches and nectarines

• Corn steamed until just tender and eaten without anything to obscure the taste.

• Watching hummingbirds, swallowtail butterflies, and bees while sipping coffee surrounded by the container garden on my deck.

• The smell of fresh herbs while watering.

• The challenge of photographing butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies.

• Fireflies and shooting stars accompanied by the serenade of insects in the dark.

Saturday at the Chesterton Market I purchased a package of beef for boiling from Farm Direct Meats. I used the meat and other purchases from the market along with goodies from my garden for a crockpot meal.

I started by slicing two very small onions, also from the market, into the crockpot. Next I added the cloves from one head of garlic and a the stalks from small bunch of celery; both also purchased at the market.  I placed the meat on top of this.  The meat was about 1/3 each bones, meat, and fat.

After adding water to just reach the top of the meat, I dropped in a few saltless vegetable bullion cubes.  On top of the meat I sliced a pepper from my own container garden.  Next I added some small potatoes from my garden and the few tiny carrots that my container garden managed to produce.  Over all of that I placed two big handfuls of celery leaves.

After the mixture had cooked for a couple of hours, I added a dozen or so beans from my plants and some fresh corn on the cob from the market and left everything to cook for another hour or so.

The verdict:  The corn was amazing.  The celery leaves on which it rested gave added interest to the sweetness. It needed no butter or additional seasoning. Cooked on top of everything else the corn was steamed rather than boiled which I liked. I must remember to experiment with more combinations of herbs and corn in the crockpot. Cooking corn in the crockpot has possibilities for processing corn for the freezer.

After cooking the meat was tender enough but with more grease/fat than I like.  There wasn’t much of it after it cooked down.  II think the beef for boiling would be better used for creating stock.  I can’t imagine truly boiled.  Next time I try this cut I will brown it first before using it to make stock.  I think browning the meat would add to the flavor and also reduce the amount of fat in the broth. After the initial simmering for the stock, I will probably refrigerate broth overnight and skim off the excess fat before reducing it for use as a soup base.

Overall the meal was good but not great.  It was however almost completely local.  The only nonlocal item were the bullion cubes. With the veggies it was more than enough for a few meals.  I will be transforming the bones and left over aromatic vegetables, herbs,and broth from the crockpot into stock which will stretch it even further.

First the bad news, there is still no sign of the Garlic Guy. I should also note that this was an abbreviated shopping trip. My knee was giving me fits so I grabbed what I needed from some of my favorite vendors and skipped the rest. I am sure I didn’t miss the Garlic Guy because several people were talking about his absence.

My first stop was Farm Direct Meat to say hello to two of my favorite vendors and make some craving related purchases. The hints of fall have me craving pot roast or something similar. I picked up some ground grass fed beef, some chicken breasts, a piece of “beef for boiling.” I’ll be experimenting with the last later this weekend. (total $32).

My second stop was a small grower and maker of pet treats. I bought 2 dozen eggs ($2 each), some small onions, and a bunch of celery (to be used in the beef for boiling experiment). She also had a variety of other things. I think I remember okra. I know there were tomatoes, basil, various greens, beans. My grand total there was $6.

Next I stopped at Lehman’s Orchard for fruit. I said hello to my other favorite vendors. I purchased my first pears and Gala apples of the season ($3 each), another basket of Red Haven peaches and a basket of nectarines (also $3 each). My final item there was another pint of their wonderful blueberry honey. Grand total there was ($18). They also had raspberries and blueberries (I think), donut peaches, and dried products.

My final stop was a seller who has both local and non-local items. From there I purchased two heads of read leave lettuce (2 for $3), six summer squash of various varieties (2 for $1), 6 large heads of garlic (3 for $1), 6 ears of corn on the cob (also 3 for $1), a cantaloupe ($2). My grand total was ($12). They had lots of other things peppers,beans, and tomatoes which I have in my own garden. Peaches, apples and pears. Potatoes, garlic, greens, watermelon, and several other things. By the time I stopped at this booth my mind was on coffee and the start of the LSU football game. Go Tigers!.

I have decided to add my garden notebook entries to the blog.  This will allow me to keep track of them and others who container garden may find something useful in them.

• I pulled the carrots today. There are enough for one meal and leftovers. The small amount of carrots is better than the beets.  I gave up on entirely and pulled those out a few weeks ago.  In general, I am not sure root crops are worth the space in my container garden. I will give them one more try and do a better job of thinning them. I think I will try them in the box shaped containers on the deck rail next time.

• My spring crop of peas was a wash.  The first bunch didn’t sprout.  The second planting produced a handful of peas before fading in the heat.  Though they are not organic, I think I will just buy spring peas from Johnson’s in the future.  Earlier this month, I planted the remainder of the packet of seeds for a fall crop.  The germination on those was excellent and they are off to a good start.  The carrots I pulled today were replaced with peas. I also tucked pea transplants around the rhubarb and into a couple of other corners in pots.

• I started a fall crop of spinach and lettuce.  I have missed those during the hot part of the summer.

• The green onions haven’t done as well in the past two months as they did in the spring and early summer.  I started another wave to see how they do in the fall.

• Kale remains the big winner of the year.  I transplanted 6 slightly overgrown seedlings back on May 4.  I thought it might be too late for them but this year has been about experimenting.  The three seedlings that were tucked in among other plants were cut back after I harvested the young leaves for several weeks.  Two of those three plants have sprouted and are producing young leaves once more.  The three plants that were in a container (a wire basket with a coconut fiber lining) by themselves have done well all summer.  They now look a bit like something from a Dr. Suess book as I have been harvesting the bottom leaves as they grow.  They now have long spindly stalks.  I need to work out a companion planting that will hide those and better utilize space for next year.  Other than the spindly stalks the kale has made an attractive as well as tasty addition to the deck garden.

• I recently started seeds for more kale and those seedlings are just starting to get their first true leaves.  Next year I want to try more varieties especially open pollinated ones.  I have added the very young leaves to salads and chopped older leaves to add to scrambled eggs, quiche, pasta sauce, and quesadilas over the course of the summer.  I have also dried leaves and added them to a jar with other dried greens; I plan to use the resulting mix for soups and beans this winter.

• The eggplants are attractive and doing very well. I have picked five so far and there are more than three dozen in various stages on the three Little Fingers plants.  Those were purchased at the Valparaiso Farmer’s Market.  The plants I started from seed (a mixed packet) are just starting to produce. It is a shame I don’t like I eggplant more as they are doing well and are quite attractive. I particularly like growing them up on the deck rail.  The leaves and fruits are showcased that way.

• Sungold tomatoes are not something I want to grow next year. I don’t care for the taste of them and they don’t keep as well once picked. Next year focus on trying open pollinated cherry and paste tomatoes. I won’t be growing Juane Flame tomatoes again either as I found them to be sour without enough complexity in the flavor — they were just plain sour and nothing more.

• The peppers are doing much better than last year when I entire pepper harvest was three small peppers.  They are just beginning to ripen.

Taste buds say, “We want goulash (the American version) or mac & cheese.”

Brain says, “Sorry that isn’t healthy and can’t be made with what I have available in local ingredients.”

So began the improvisation that is my One Local Meal for Week 10

First the pasta.  My only local pasta comes in the form of various sizes of egg noodles from Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury, IN.   The noodles were purchased during my visit to  Birky Farms just south of Valparaiso, IN.   For lunch I started with the wide egg nooldes.

Once the noodles were in the boiling water, I grabbed the scissors and headed out to the deck to find some thing green to add to the mix. From various containers in my container garden, I plucked a few kale leaves, some green onions, and a large handful of parsley.

The kale leaves were fairly large so I rinsed and coarsely shredded them into the boiling water so that they would not be tough. While the kale and noodles continued cooking, I grabbed about 8 ounces of browned ground beef and some cheese from the refrigerator. The beef was purchased from Farm Direct Meat of St. John, IN; the cheese was parmesan and purchased from The Cheese People.  I am not sure of its source for the cheese but both the meat and cheese were purchased at the Chesterton European Market.

I grated about 1/4 cup of the cheese and chopped the parsley and green onions.  Next I sorted through the ever present basket of tomatoes on my kitchen counter to find the ripest of the cherry tomatoes.  My vines are producing one to two cups of cherry and grape tomatoes per day so there were lots from which to choose.  I rinsed and halved about 1 cup of the tomatoes.

Once the noodles were done I drained those and then added the mixture of meat, cheese, veggies/herbs and mixed along with a splash of milk from Fair Oaks Dairy of Fair Oaks, IN.Taste, smell, and sight tests all suggest that the result wasn’t quite right.  It needed more zing and more veggies.

The veggies came in the form of a zucchini that I had blanced and started drying a pit earlier this morning.  It was at the cooked but not yet dry stage so it was perfect for tossing into the noodles.  The zing was provided by some lemon basil from my deck garden.

While not exactly what I was craving it was a good compromise and can easily be adapted to make use of what happens to be ripe and what cheeses I have on hand.

What I spent at the Chesterton Market this morning.

I was feeling a bit under the weather  and feeling anxious about finances so I didn’t linger or buy much.  I made a quick sweep looking for the Garlic Guy who hasn’t made is annual appearance yet.  I used the last of what I bought last fall a couple of weeks ago, so I am eagerly awaiting his appearance.  Other than garlic my goal was peaches and fresh corn.  For my just shy of $20 dollars I brought home:

2 quarts of Red Haven peaches, 2 white peaches, and 2 pints of blueberries from Lehman’s.

1 large bunch of beets, 1 cantaloupe, 2 large cucumbers, 1 small head of broccoli, and 9 ears of corn from a vendor out of Michigan City who’s name I do not know.

Question 1:  What to have for dinner when I didn’t feel like cooking?
Question 2:  What to do with an abundance of cherry tomatoes and several types of basil?
Question 3:  How much longer will that goat cheese last?
Question 4:  Why is that spinach going bad so fast?

Solution to all of the above: One very tasty creation (something between a pizza and focaccia ) that started with some of the multigrain/heavily seeded bread dough that I made yesterday.

The process was simple enough that it didn’t feel like cooking.  While the oven preheated to about 375 degrees,  I mushed (technical term you know ) a handful of the dough onto the bottom of cast iron skillet that I had coated with a film of olive oil.  When the oven was hot, I popped the skillet into the oven.  While it cooked I halved a handful of cherry and grape tomatoes from my garden.  I rinsed, patted dry, and tore into bite sized pieces three types of basil and some spinach leaves.  Then I went on a scavenger hunt and found a jar of marinated artichoke hearts so I pulled out and coarsely chopped a few of those.  Next I pondered additional seasonings and settled on some freshly dried parsley and chives; the herbs were also from my garden.

Once the dough was lightly toasted on one side, I flipped it over and drizzled a bit more olive oil on top and added the veggies and herbs and topped with dollops of goat cheese.  A few minutes later a warm and very tasty dinner that created few dishes or garbage, took little time, and was very satisfying.

My container garden will never make me self-sufficient but it certainly makes for some tasty meals.  It also keeps me in touch with the seasons.  Between what I grow and buying local, I seldom need to be concerned with the latest food recall. The biggest plus of growing my own and buying local is the taste.  Too bad the flour wasn’t local; with local flour and forgoing the artichokes and it could have been my One Local Summer meal for the week.