Edibles '11 chapter 2

Umm - he wan't looking. I gave him a popsicle to distract him. (He is such a good guy - never makes a mistake with the mail and writes a thank you note for the apple butter I give him for Christmas.)

always a good idea to take care of them

Made 4 pints of bread & butters today.....

Had to fight Wallingford for my dinner of fried patty pan squash. Who would have thought?

LOL.. have to sneak cherry tomatoes from Lily.. if she sees me with any .. she thinks they are hers

My pattypans are so huge by the time I get to them... I have yet to cook or eat the little cuties I thought I was planting...

Next year? But the mini cukes are wonderful.

Pam

Next year I am looking at pumpkins. No More Tomatoes! Seeing red coming and going out the door.

My son grew pumpkins one year in the compost....I think he was about 7.....we sold them all up by the roadside.....

I try and try every year.. no good.. this year we have 3 or 4 so far.. hope they turn orange this year.. unlike the past

Will pull some beets to make beet soup for the weekend.....it's served cold, so if I lose my power, it will be ready.....

Interesting! Thanks.

I'm awash in squash...pattypans for days... And J has decided he doesn't like it, it's boring. He tried it in a casserole with tomatoes and onions, topped with breadcrumbs and Parmesan - yummmmmm! But he's still lukewarm...

Pam

That does sound yummy, Pam! Today I'm making sugar-free jam for my Mom, using the blueberries I picked yesterday.....

Picked beautiful eggplants! If I can get olive oil I will follow the recipe and put them in oil to store. If I can get pectin - I will also make aronia jelly. I have a gas stove so I can cook even if the power goes out.

need to pick eggplant tomorrow before the storm and make some eggplant parm!!

I have a couple of watermelons in the front yard lying next to a stone retaining wall. One if pretty big - if I pick it will it still get ripe? Or should I just let it be and cross my fingers?

Anyone know about tomitillos? I have a few in their cute paper lanterns but I have no idea when to pick them.

me too.. and me either.. need tomitillo help!

But aren't they just so cute in their little paper lanterns? I haven't looked inside the husk yet - have you?

Tomatillos (toe-ma-tee-ohs)


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Tomatillo is a member of the nightshade family, related to tomatoes. It now grows everywhere in the Western Hemisphere and is common in Texas gardens.

They are also called "tomate verde" in Mexico (which means green tomato) and are considered a staple in Mexican cooking.

The fruit of the tomatillo is green and about the size of a large cherry tomato. The inside is white and meatier than a tomato. They grow to maturity inside of a husk. They can range in size from about an inch in diameter to the size of apricots. They are covered by a papery husk which may range from the pale green color of the fruit itself to a light grocery-bag brown. The husks are inedible and should be removed before use.

Some delicious recipes using Tomatillos.

Growing:

When growing your own, they are ripe when the tomatillo fills out its papery husk but are still green in color. If they turn yellow, they are still useable but at this stage loose much of their tangy flavor.

The plants will grow to a height of 3 to 4 feet. They are generally available from May through November and are drought tolerant.

Some people will let them ripen until they are yellow-white; some even turn purple (the skin at least). The flavor of the fully ripe tomatillo is very sweet and adds an unusual taste to salsas.


Purchasing:

Choose small tomatillos. They are sweeter than the larger, golf-ball-size ones.

The condition of the "husk" is a good indication of the freshness of the fruit. The husk should be light brown and fresh looking (not shriveled and dried).

Unlike tomatoes, tomatillos should be firm and free of defects.



Storing:

If you are not going to use them immediately, leave the husks intact, wrapped around the fruit like little paper bags.

Either store on the counter or in the refrigerator. They should never be stored in air-tight containers.

They will keep well for several weeks to a month. They may also be frozen whole or sliced.



Preparing:

Remove the husks before using, the husks are inedible. Tomatillos are very easy to cook with because they don't need to be peeled or seeded. Their texture is firm when raw, but soften when cooked. When growing your own fresh tomatillos, they are ready to harvest when the husks burst.

Rinse before using as the tomatillo is covered by a sticky substance. Do not peel the green skin.

eeww sticky???.. no I haven't looked at one yet.. but I do love them!!

Is it too late to plant out any cucumbers? The plants I have are about 18" long

What have you got to lose?

Yeah I was going to do it anyway but figured I'd ask ☺

I'm sitting in the city waiting for Irene...we're driving up to the house Monday morning, assuming there are any roads left. LOL...What a hoo-hah about a little rain! Just kidding...

I was on the east end of Long Island for Gloria and Bob, which was down-graded from a hurricane but actually did more damage... It's a big drag to lose power, and it's a bigger drag when it goes on for a week!

I wonder what's going to happen to the tomatoes? And the baby cukes? And all the floooowwwwers! And some hurricanes blow all the leaves off the trees so there's no fall foliage turning...

We're staying at the house until the end of next week. I was counting on harvesting lots of nibbles from the garden...I hope there's something left!

Stay safe, east coast-ers!

Pam

I picked every single asian pear this morning and am passing them out to the neighbors and eating as many as possible. *burp* Oh dear, excuse me!

lol

Smart!

Picked most of our tomatoes last night and this morning and DH is ripening them all in brown bags/bandanna routine so we can make sauce. Slow roasting a mess more of the little guys. A bunch were ready to pick so that was good. I made a huge amount of slaw today, but still have more cabbage growing. I think they and the kale will be fine.. I need to do some quick pickles in the morning. I think the eggplants will be fine too. Picked the peppers....how many peppers could..... Left some of the hot ones. Beans are on there own and all the root veggies. I don't think getting blasted with a lot of wind will hurt them. I should pick the basil too in the am and make more pesto.

Stay safe all. Patti

http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2011/08/ripening-tomatoes-indoors.html

Good to hear from you, Patti....hope all goes well for the island!

holy have some peppers, bannana, nardello, soreno and the dreaded BHUT Jolokia's.

Little humor to break things up around here ;-)

Very pretty picture with all those colors!

Great peppers, Sherrie!

Going down to the garden to see if I can get 24 tomatoes and 40 jalapenos. Going to make some salsa today. Jim says I cant even begin to make a dent in tomatoes. A part of the sea of red

Oh MY! Have fun!!

Whoa that's a lot of tomatoes!!

Wow, Impressive and daunting. Good eating. I would be roasting away, but high heat way to getter'done. We got no rain, just some wind and so DH is watering the garden now as it got dessicated, but no damage. Not a branch down or even anything except some flowers off the Rose of Sharons. Vermont is a mess, but our VT house is OK, not sure yet about the lower part of the barn or shed. Patti

Glad to hear, Patti!

Glad to hear that Patti.

Here's whats left of the cantaloupe and muskmelons in the garden. These are just about ready for picking, Brian has already consumed 3. :)

Heres an idea of the size of them.