Summer's winding down. Last week she who Runs With Scissors talked about cleaning out her garden beds, pulling up the exhausted tomato plants, and getting beds ready for the winter. At my house the heat has finally broken. Every day I pass my sad, dying tomato plants (dying because we are in Stage Five Drought and have been under water restrictions all summer) and every day i tell myself "It's time to pull them up." Last year I harvested my last fresh tomato in December and we ate it for lunch on New Year's Day; with this kind of history, I've been reluctant to pull up the plants in August.
However. This morning I went out to salute my gallant plants and put them to rest. And I found... new flowers and three tiny tomatos on one plant. Buds for new flowers on another. Three small, ripe tomatoes on the Rutgers plant. These guys aren't ready to give up yet! So I watered them and trimmed off the worst of the dead branches, stuck some fertilizer spikes in there, and patted them on the head. Good plants. Maybe this year, tomatoes on New Year's Day again.
Volunteer cooks wanted!
If you'd like to guest-host a "What's For Dinner?" diary, please email me -- kate at jazz-cooking dot com. We'd love to have different voices and flavors in here.
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The sorrel is looking much better with the slightly cooler weather. I lost one of the mint plants and the lemon balm when we went away for a weekend in August, but the chocolate mint is crawling all over the deck trying to take over the place. Oregano is rejuvenating itself. The Japanese maple, which I thought sure was dead, has leafed back out again just in time to start turning red. Summer's winding down and my garden is coming back to life.
In a way, autumn has always been the beginning of the year for me. My birthday coincides with the equinox, so autumn and I are reborn together every year. I love the first crispness in the morning air, the clear skies, the late light as it slants across the trees in my back yard. Just like my plants, I come back to life after the grueling heat of the summer.
This year's been particularly upside-down for me. As most of you know, I broke my hand in late spring, limiting the amount of from-scratch cooking I could do. It's hard to chop onions with your dominant hand in a cast. I went to the farmer's market just once this summer. I didn't smoke any tomatoes, I didn't get a chance to use that 16-quart canner I bought in March, and I know I'll be craving fresh flavors all winter.
So I'm going to plant a winter garden this year. Spinach. More sorrel. Other greens - I'll have to find out what grows well here. I'm seriously considering breaking out my Hydro Harry grow light and seeing if I can get some tomatoes going this winter. (At worst, I'll have a head start on next summer's tomato crop.) Onions. Garlic. Potatoes!
Mmmmmm, potatoes.
Easy Greek Potatoes
- about a pound of small red potatoes
- about 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice of two lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- salt and pepper
- Wash the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Place them cut sides up into a microwave-safe container.
- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano. Drizzle over the potatoes.
- Microwave on High for about 10-12 minutes. If the potatoes are soft, they're ready. If not, increase cooking time by 2 minutes and check again.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Yes, definitely I need to grow more potatoes.
I'm also looking forward to the winter squashes coming back. Delicatas. Butternut. Acorn. Even spaghetti squash, which I don't buy unless my daughter is coming for dinner, because just one spaghetti squash feeds about 47 people. It will be time for robust cheeses again, and apples. I'm definitely going to try this idea I found through Relish magazine:
Grilled Apples with Parmesan Cheese & Honey Recipe
- Cooking spray
- 4 large tart apples, such as Granny Smith, cored, cut in 1/2-inch rings and cut in half again
- 4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved with a vegetable peeler
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Spray a grill rack or grill pan with cooking spray and heat until smoking.
- Thread apple slices on skewers. Place on grill until warmed through and well marked, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large platter.
- Lay cheese over warm apples and drizzle with honey. Serves 12.
Tonight I'm going to sort through the packets of seeds I didn't get planted last spring. I'm going to plan what to put into my winter garden, and I'm going to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of my year. The wheel goes round once more and we are all still here together.
L'chaim.