Strawberry Fields

TIME for the annual pilgrimage to pick strawberries! This time we took a few little friends along and had a wonderful time filling our baskets and tummies. The juicy berries later became boats as we washed them, then were frozen whole, pureed, made into ice pops and jam. And of course we saved some to have with whipped cream for a real Ascot treat.

First Foraging of the Year

TODAY we harvested from our garden - and we haven't even planted our vegetable garden yet! The plants we harvested are often called weeds, which, as 'plants growing in an undesirable place' (i.e. the flower bed) they were to us too. 'Undesirable plants,' however, they were not.

Yellow wood sorrel has compound leaves divided into three parts, each shaped like a heart. In England it's also known as cuckoo sorrel, because its small yellow flowers bloom when the cuckoo sings. The delicate leaves close at night and supposedly when it's about to rain too. Most of all they have a delicious lemon flavour and are great for snacking.

Chickweed is one of the most common edible 'weeds' and has a tiny white star-shaped flower. The leaves and flower buds are hairy. It's very nutritious and a good addition to salad.

And today we found some tiny shoots of pokeweed! See here for previous adventures with this leafy green vegetable. I have to admit this is more fun to harvest than to boil twice, but somehow it is reassuring to know that we can eat from the garden/the wild just by knowing what to look for. However far so many "foods" in the supermarket are from their original state, it is still possible to eat the healthy way of our ancestors. Providing, of course, your backyard is not sprayed with pesticides :-)

Photo credit: www.all-creatures.org and Emily Porter

Herbal Lesson

"There were once two mice who set out on a journey. They were hungry and thirsty, and were happy to find some dandelion and wood sorrel to munch on. A little while on, one mouse was bitten by a wasp! Luckily, they found some plantain nearby, so he chewed up a leaf and applied it to his bite. Within a short time, the sting went away. They continued on their way. Later, the other mouse felt a cold coming on so made a tea from echinacea and soon stopped sneezing. That night, as they made camp, the mice saw a grandmother elder tree. She had made syrup from her berries and offered it to the mice. She said that if they respected plants, plants would send their healing powers to them. "

This is an abbreviated version of a beautiful and enlightening hands-on introduction to herbalism for preschoolers, led by a friend. Later, Emma looked for all the herbs we had talked about in our garden - and found several.

"We must take our children into the woods and introduce them to the plants and teach them of their connection to the earth. In instilling in our children a respect for plant medicine, we not only care for their tender bodies but help pass along the seeds of a tradition that is as old as human life itself."

- Rosemary Gladstar, herbalist

Apples!

WELL I thought we had picked enough apples to last us a lifetime. (We certainly picked enough for me to carry once the little ones grew tired of carrying their own sack.) But after making some jars of apple butter, a crumble or two, apple sauce and our favourite - apple leather - I found myself going to the farmer's market and having to buy apples from - horror - Washington State!! Not that there's anything wrong with Washington State, just that it's an awfully long way from here, when there are orchards right here in Georgia. Maybe we'll squeeze in another day trip to an orchard before the season's over.

Way up high in the apple tree

Two little apples smiled at me

I shook that tree as hard as I could

Down came the apples... mmh were they good!

Snack Garden

OUR vegetable garden has not been prolific, to say the least. And the few vegetables that have grown have not made it to the kitchen. The latest two vegetables - a red pepper and a cucumber - were on their way to the kitchen, via four little hands, when they fell into two little mouths. It's snack time Mama!

Jams, Jellies and Chutneys

AFTER all our recent fruit picking excursions and farmers market visits, it was time to do something with all these baskets of fruit! And so it happened that the afternoon was filled with chopping and boiling, sticky-fingered children, singing, laughing and a delicious-smelling kitchen. By the end, we had managed to assemble quite a little stock pile of yummy preserves. We had: peach-ginger chutney, peach jam, blueberry jam, tomato chutney and stewed blackberry and apple which we enjoyed over ice cream at dinner time.

I don't use any 'real' method of processing, rather the inversion method, which is no longer recommended by those in the know. I've never had any problems canning this way, however I did discover that you're only supposed to invert the jar long enough to seal the vacuum and not for a really long time like - ahem - overnight. My blueberry jam was upside down long enough for the jam to set, which left a gap of air at the bottom of the jar. I wasn't comfortable with this so ended up reboiling and recanning this jam.

Blueberry Picking

I had never been blueberry picking before. But I understand that our first experience was far from usual. Over 50 years old, the blueberry trees (not bushes) were the size of apple trees! The owner of the small orchard was telling us how it had been passed through the family and lovingly tended over the years. This care was evident and Emma and I gathered bucket after bucket while Alexander trolled the ground, his face competing with his fingers for the most-purple award.

It was a blisteringly hot day, but the avenue of trees kept us in the shade. Nevertheless, after lunch at a nearby park, a babbling brook was a welcome sight and we all plunged in to cool down.

Strawberries!

JUNE in the south is strawberry time! A fun time was had by all when picking but the real fun began later in the kitchen. Smoothies, jam, pie, mmh mmh good!

Veggie Reclamation

ANOTHER successful reclamation from the landfill! Actually, from the compost heap this time. I have discovered a new love, which most people throw away - watermelon rinds. A long time ago I enjoyed watermelon rind pickles in Japan and have looked for a recipe several times since then. It turns out these are also a southern US delicacy, but there are other things to make with a watermelon rind too! In fact, there is a whole website dedicated to this: http://www.watermelonrind.com/ ! Today I enjoyed a watermelon smoothie (flesh and rind together). It was naturally sweet and very refreshing. It was a little too textured for my taste, but a few turns through a cheesecloth fixed that. Watermelon rind salad was delicious and crunchy. Will try my hand at the pickles tomorrow, I think.

Edible Ivory

GERMANS are a little obsessed with asparagus. White asparagus, that is. As soon as the season begins in April, little farm stands pop up at the side of the road and all restaurants from the smallest eatery to the classiest establishment offer at least one special dish featuring local harvest. Far away in the US, we thought wistfully of the tender shoots, until we received a lovely surprise package full of the yummy veggie! We quickly cooked it up and served it traditionally with a hollandaise sauce and boiled potatoes.

Once in Germany at the appointed time, I was looked at in astonishment when I asked if there was any kind of 'pick your own' we could go to. I've since discovered there is great skill involved in harvesting asparagus, which is all done by hand. The shoots are kept from turning green by keeping earth piled up around them, preventing the production of chlorophyll by exposure to sunlight. Workers scour the mounds of earth looking for cracks, which would indicate a spear is about to burst through. Then they dig around in the earth and cut off the shoot at its base. To give the shoots maximum growing time yet prevent them ever seeing a sun ray, a field is harvested two or three times daily. Asparagus season always ends on June 24, the birth date of Saint John the Baptist. After this time, no asparagus may be bought or sold by law.

The Mulberry Bush

WHAT a surprise to discover that there is really such thing as a mulberry bush. And there was me thinking it was just a song! The discovery began at the farmer's market where we noticed a bag of strange looking dried fruits. They were indeed mulberries, and very tasty they were too.

Then, we found a mulberry tree! There are two species in the US - red mulberry and white mulberry. The red mulberry actually turns almost black when ripe and looks like a small, elongated blackberry. None were ripe when we found them, but we plan to go back soon.

Herbal Delights

WE expect great things from our garden this year! Our vegetable patch is way too full of baby plants: tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, lettuces, kale, summer squash, aubergine and yellow watermelon. I don't know what we'll do if they all grow well. Make a new veggie patch?

Dotted around the back garden we also have garlic and onions, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. All of them are very tiny plants - we are enjoying them more for the experience than the yield at this point.

Most of all we're excited about the new herbs, which we planted among the rockery. Added to the rosemary, marjoram, sage, mint and parsley which survived the winter, we now have cilantro, dill, chervil, sorrel, thyme, fennel and basil. Emma already knows all their names and insists on running out alone to pick a sprig every time I need some for cooking. Sometimes a humdrum plan for dinner turns into an inspiration when she presents me with a surprise crop!

Roots, Fruits & Leaves

WE'RE deep into an Autumn bounty that spans the gamut from fruits to seeds to leaves to roots, including some late summer crops. In recent weeks we've brought home from the farmers' market: sweet potatoes, apples, turnips, all manner of greens and herbs, beans, field peas, pecans, aubergine, peppers, muscadines, squashes, kohl rabi, pumpkins and more.

Butternut squash soup, wild rice pilaf, Asian garlic greens, sweet potato-lentil casserole, kale and sausage stew, kasha-aubergine patties... aah delicious. We have a new family favourite: roasted apples and sweet potatoes with maple glaze, served with a salad of fresh greens, dried cranberries, chili-toasted pecans and goat cheese with a lime-yoghurt dressing. YUM!

Apple Pickin'

NOTHING tastes as good as a fruit you've just picked off the tree. Our first visit to an apple orchard was an exciting discovery of all kinds of apple varieties you can't find at the supermarket. We picked Arkansaw Black, Golden, Cameo, Rome Beauty, Honey Crisp and Mutsu. The children were delighted to have so many apples within reach - Emma was able to pick many at her own height (they were dwarf trees), and Alexander just had a field day with windfalls.

We came home with a 1/2 bushel of crunchy goodness. Luckily I found this site with all kinds of apple recipes.

Apples
(sung to tune of "Frere Jacques")

Picking apples, picking apples
One by one, one by one
Put them in a basket, put them in a basket
Oh what fun! Oh what fun!

New Garden

TIME to say adieu to our first successful little garden plot. The tomato and squash plants returned to the earth by way of the compost heap, which, we were delighted to discover, had actually yielded some useable compost! This we used to prepare the bed for autumn plantings, and Emma and I had lots of fun choosing seedlings and seeds at our favourite gardening shop. We planted dandelion, green and red kale, rainbow chard, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts transplants; then turnip, golden and red beets, rapini and spinach from seed. It has been fun to watch the seeds sprout and produce tiny leaflets just four days after planting (pictured are turnip seedlings); however, something has been gnawing mercilessly with equal speed on the larger plants' leaves. Not sure what kind of animal is responsible, but I dare say a little fence wouldn't go amiss.

Wild Jam

WE missed the picking seasons for strawberries and blueberries to make jam, but a cycle ride to pick blackberries was something worth waiting for. Emma found the brambles too prickly so was happy to be in charge of the basket. Back at Oma's house, we set to work washing, picking over, heating and juicing, simmering with sugar and gelatine and finally pouring the delicious hot syrup into jars. We had all kinds of fun ideas for decorating the jars once we got home to Atlanta, however sadly the jam had a different destiny and didn't make it onto the plane.

We came home to find muscadine grapes ripe in the garden. Four. Since four grapes do not a jam jar make, we were happy to find an abundance of muscadines and scuppernongs at the farmers market. Once again the house was filled with the sweet scent of cooked fruit and we had fun pressing the pulp through the sieve and watching the pink liquid drip down. These little grapes have a unique taste and make a wonderfully refreshing sorbet! Here's where I found the recipe (called Scuppernong Grape Ice).

We Plough The Fields

AH, life in the country! We're in Germany visiting Oma and Opa, and just a few streets away is the edge of town and field upon field of crops. Whether you consciously observe it or not, you can't help but notice a change in the season when the landscape literally changes colour. We were fortunate that our trip coincided with the wheat harvest. We saw combine harvesters at work, watched tractors pulling trailers of straw bales into their barns, and noticed how some bales were round and others rectangular. Emma wondered why she could see 'lying-down stalks' in some harvested fields and 'little tiny stalks all still standing up' in others. I didn't know the answer to this one so had to research how the whole harvest works.
So here's a suburbanite's understanding of the harvest:
First the weather has to be warm and dry (ever mown the grass in the rain?)
The combine harvester both cuts and threshes the wheat. During threshing, the grain is separated from the stalk and chaff and collected in a tank, which is periodically emptied into a grain truck. The leftover bits are dropped back onto the field among the 'little standing up stalks'.
Then a baling machine comes along and gathers the stalks into straw bales, which are used mostly for animal bedding. (Hay is grown in its own right, rather than a by-product, and is more nutritious than wheat stalks, which become straw.)
Finally the last bits of stalk are tilled back into the ground.... and the 'short standing-up stalks' (stubble) are now 'lying down'.

The wheat crop was the most obvious, as it was being currently worked on, but we have also been driving, walking and riding bikes through fields of corn, rye and oats. Today we picked a sample of each of the cereal crops and then went home and looked in our cupboards for things that were made from these plants.

Garden Update

HOORAY! Our first harvest from our own vegetable patch! We have three varieties of tomato growing, two types of bean, carrots, Swiss chard, kabocha squash, cucumber, courgette (zucchini) and red bell pepper. The tomatoes and kabocha are growing like crazy, while the others are lagging a little. Every day we inspect the plants, and the first cherry tomato was an exciting event! We also have a little raspberry bush (thank you Forest). It looks somewhat puny, but we have had a few fruits from it and they were oh so sweet. Mmmmhhh...

Vegetable Destiny

LADIES and Gentlemen, we have liftoff! We finally got a raised bed built, filled and planted. And we even have shoots already, just a week later! We planted three kinds of tomato (transplants), snap beans, Swiss chard, kabocha squash and carrots. Next we'll plant aubergine, which is seeding safely inside. Alas the jalapeno seedling I bought at the farmer's market did not survive long enough for planting, as its earth and pot were apparently needed for a scientific experiment. I found the wizened little stem lying forlorn on the patio in blazing sun. But this little plant had a different destiny - one of a didactic nature. Surprised at its demise, Emma noted that baby plants are like worms. If you take them out of the earth and put them on bricks in the sun, they die. Indeed they do.

Foraging Part II

AFTER my success with pokeweed, I wondered what else I could scrounge from the garden. The most obvious was the wild garlic that sprouts all over our lawn. They have long stalks like chives, and if you dig them up, clusters of tiny bulbs. I'm not 100% positive that it's wild garlic - there seem to be differing opinions all over the web - but it's definitely some kind of allium and is not poisonous. So a bunch of that went into my goulash soup.

And then there was the lowly dandelion. Despite their place on many a lawn-lover's most despised weed list, dandelions have multiple uses. Eat them, drink them, grind or chew them. Fresh young leaves make a great and nutritious salad and may also be boiled for a spinachy taste. The roots may be ground up to make a coffee-like drink and the flowers boiled for tea, eaten raw in salad or battered and fried for a crunchy little appetizer. And don't forget dandelion wine! Dandelion has been used as a herbal remedy for centuries and is an ingredient in many common pharmaceuticals in use today. Its root is particularly good for urinary and skin complaints, and with all the vitamins A, C, E and K as well as minerals in the leaves, it's no wonder there are so many rabbits around. We forewent the more complicated preparations and simply picked a few leaves to add to our salad. Yum!