Blackberry Lemon Zucchini Bundt Cake

Baking with family in the house does not always leave me time to get some photos before the munching begins. This is what is left of the Bundt Cake I made today. I just had to share the recipe because it was so scrumptious coming out of the oven all warm and the fragrance was such shear delight!

This Bundt Cake is full of garden goodness making it moist with. Blackberries, Lemons, Heirloom Zucchini, nuts, raisins and spices. I still have large amounts of different squash varieties being picked from the garden. I decided to take a break from canning on this cloudy and rainy day for a bit of baking for a change.

Downsizing our sugar consumption has still been a priority here. I played around with this recipe and found I didn't need all the sugar it called for, or the oil for that matter. This left a much healthier treat and aloud for the flavors of the fruits and veggies to stand out. I did decide to sprinkle just a tiny amount of powdered sugar on top. That part really could be completely optional. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups unbleached organic flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 heaping tsp. cinnamon (Just love it)

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup raw organic pure cane sugar or brown sugar

4 large eggs

1/2 cup walnut oil

1/2 cup plain whole Greek yogurt

2/3 cups organic whole milk

2 cups fresh blackberries (frozen will work, just thaw them)

2 cups finely grated zucchini squash

2 lemons, juice and zest from both

1/2 cup finely crushed walnuts

1/2 cup organic golden raisins

Directions

1. Oil and lightly flour the Bundt Cake Pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Rinse berries and let drain. Grate the zucchini and lemons. Crush walnuts.Set it all aside.

3. Add all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk it well. Set it aside.

4. Beat together eggs, yogurt, milk and oil. Add this mixture to your large bowl of dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Batter will be very thick at this point.

5. With a spoon stir in the zucchini, walnuts and raisins. Gently fold in the blackberries.

6. Spoon batter into the prepared bundt cake pan. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. It is done when toothpick comes out clean.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

 

Canning Spicy Pickled Ginger Patty Pan Squash

Patty Pan Squash and Heirloom Lungo Zucchini 

Pickling all the garden goodies is such a quick, creative way to put up the garden. I love pulling these down in the winter time when there will not be any summer squash available in the garden.

Most people love pickling Bread and Butter squash, but honestly, as much as I love them there are many other delicious ways to pickle squash. By experimenting a bit with different spices, you also get the opportunity to cut down on your sugar usage and enjoy the unique flavors that different herbs can offer.

Take the fresh flavors of Lemons and Ginger mixed in this recipe, along with some spicy peppers to give them a little heat and YUM! This recipe might be close to enjoying some Asian flavors. I also love the texture that fresh grape leaves give in providing crispier pickles, but grape leaves are wonderfully citrus with a unique flavor of their own.

Note: For safety, do not vary the proportions of water, vinegar or salt. Always check that your vinegar is of 5% acidity. Spices and flavorings may vary however without concern.

For this recipe all summer squash of any variety can be used or mix them up to enjoy all the colors and flavors of green, blue, yellow, green and white.

Ingredients
(Makes 4 Pints)

• Prepare your squash:
    21/2 to 3 lbs. patty pan squash, or a mix of yellow & green (zucchini) summer squash (over filling a quart size colander after slicing.)
• 4 tbsp pickling salt 
   
  1. Scrub the squash. Slice in half horizontally and remove the seeds before slicing. and slice into 1/4-inch slices.Layer in a large bowl and sprinkle the salt and mix it through the squash. Cover your bowl and leave it for 2 to 3 hours to leach excess water out of the squash. 
     
     
      
     Spices, per jar:
  2. 1 garlic clove
  3. 1 quarter-sized slice of fresh ginger
  4. 1  nice long strip of lemon peel for zest
  5. 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
  6. 1/4 tsp cilantro or coriander seeds
  7. 1/8  tsp hot pepper flakes
  8. 1 long serano pepper (halved lengthways and seeds removed)
     (Optional, but worth it) 1 Grape Leaf (young) rinse and rolled up
     
     
     Brine:
  9. 2 cups water
  10. 2 cups white vinegar (at least 5% acidity)
  11. 3 tbsp pickling salt
  12. 1 tbsp organic raw sugar or brown sugar
      
      
      Method:
      1. Sterilize jars and lids. Add brine ingredients to a stainless steel pot, cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Keep covered and maintain at a low boil.
      2. Drain the squash and rinse well in cool water. For each clean, cool pint jar add your spices and then pack squash slices in, tightly, but leaving room for brine to permeate the pieces. Pour boiling brine into the jar, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Process in boiling hot water bath for 15 minutes.
         
         

         Happy Gardening!

         Pammy 
  
  
  
  

Storing And Freezing Harvested Potatoes

The excellent time to put up potatoes in the freezer is right after they are harvested. Freshly harvested potatoes are amazingly hard and crisp.Especially our beloved Texas Red Potatoes!

I cull out the small ones for storing in baskets that fit nicely under the island table in the kitchen. It stays fairly cool and dark there. They get all the dirt brushed off with a soft brush outdoors though before i bring them inside. It is important not to wash them before storing. It is also a very bad idea to store them in the refrigerator. They will keep well as long as it is cool, dark and perhaps very slightly humid. We don't have the luxury of some of those northern garden root cellars down south.

In Texas is gets extremely humid and hot in our neck of the woods near the gulf coast. It's very hard to keep potatoes here without them wanting to sprout. So all of the large potatoes are being prepared to go in the freezer.

Potatoes, like most fruit and vegetables will last 8 months to a year in the freezer. Fresh, hard crispy potatoes will stay nice and creamy in the freezer if processed correctly. Many people are surprised at the prospect of freezing potatoes, but they are not so different than frozen french fries or hash browns you would buy in the supermarket, except you know your own organically grown potatoes will taste so wonderful processed fresh from your own garden.

The potatoes can be cut like fries if you wish. We just prefer wedges because we avoid frying food. The wedges are fabulous added to your favorite dishes or just steamed with a tiny bit of butter and salt. They can also be oven fried with just a little oil on a baking sheet and come out awesome.

I use a firm scrub brush to scrub and wash up the potatoes and place them in a colander. The red potatoes are very thin skinned so much of the skin is removed during this process. Next we take them to the cutting board and begin chopping. I keep a quart size bowl handy and as they are chopped I add them to this bowl until it is almost over filled with cut potatoes.

Instead of bathing them in boiling water, I prefer to steam them in my double pasta pot and strainer. They must be steamed or boiled for at least 2 or 3 minutes. 

I keep my large enamel canning pot handy and filled with cold water and ice. Once I have steamed the potatoes it is easy to lift the strainer out of the pasta pot to drain off the boiling water. Then I can simply set the whole strainer down into the ice water.

I then dump out the boiling water to refill it with new clean water. It doesn't take long for the water to heat back up since you are only steaming. The pot doesn't need that much water in it as it would if you were doing a full boil.For steaming you only need enough water in the pot to where it would just barely hit the bottom of the strainer. 

I was so happy that Mr. Garden was here to help me put up the potatoes this year. We had quite a large harvest and I wanted to put up at least ten nice large quart size bags in the freezer. I'm hoping this will take us through most of the winter. 

The reason why I used the quart size bowl in the beginning to put the chopped potatoes in is because I only steam that many potatoes at a time. Once they are cooled off in the ice water I have another strainer handy that holds just about a quart. The potatoes need to drain a little before they are placed in the bag. Press as much air out of the bag before sealing it and lay it out flat. Place them flat in the freezer. Don't stack the bags until they have frozen. Then they will stack quite nicely.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

Pickled Three Bean Salad for Canning

Pickled Three Bean Salad

It seems the heat is turned up in Texas already and the bush and wax beans are already slowing down. It will be time to turn them under to grow something else. At least we will get another chance to grow them for the fall garden and put up some more for winter. Spring is just whizzing right on by way to fast for me!

I do love adding Three Bean Salad to my winter green salads! They make a great side dish treat as well. I use our green bush beans, yellow wax beans and dry beans (either kidney or red). I much rather cook up a pot of dry beans for a recipe than simply buying a can of something or other from the supermarket. That just seems plain wrong to me for some reason. It's easy after cooking up a pot of kidney beans to put the rest not used up in the freezer in an air tight container for another recipe.

This recipe is basically an old Ball Canning recipe that I've changed just a little. Makes 6 pints.

Ingredients

About 1 1/2 lbs. Green Bush Beans
About 1 1/2 lbs. Yellow Wax Beans
About 2 to 3 cups cooked, drained Red Kidney Beans
1 large white or red garden onion, thinly sliced
6 peppers (one per jar) Banana, Pepperoncini or your favorite
Boiling water
2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
1 Tbsp. celery seeds
4 tsp pickling or canning salt
3 cups 5% white vinegar
1-1/4 cups distilled water


Directions

1.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.) COMBINE green and yellow beans, kidney beans, onions and peppers in a large stainless steel saucepan. Add boiling water to cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, until vegetables are heated through.
3.) COMBINE sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, salt, vinegar and water in a separate stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, until spices have infused the liquid.
4.) DRAIN hot vegetables and pack into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover vegetables leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot pickling liquid. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
5.) PROCESS jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

.

Key Lime Pie

What's left of the pie?

Well it was Mr. Gardens Birthday this Mother's Day weekend and we were really misbehaving with this Key Lime Pie! No, mine isn't green because I don't use food coloring. This pie will surely put a dimple in your cheeks. YUM!

The last time I made it was a couple of years ago at Christmas. We had decided to have a seafood Christmas dinner that year with Snow Crab, Coconut Shrimp and fresh Wild Caught Cod. Of course Key Limes are just so tropical and go so well with seafood.

So I asked Mr. Garden what kind of birthday cake he wanted me to make him this year and out popped, "I want one of those Key Lime Pies you made that time." Oh Boy!! He has no clue that I have to hand squeeze practically a whole sack of tiny little key limes to make this pie. But of course it is his birthday too! 

The recipe I use can actually be found on the internet quite easily because it is a rather famous pie! This refreshing Key Lime Pie is the most requested dessert on the menu at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. I wouldn't know because I've only eaten the pies I've made myself.

I will add that there is absolutely nothing healthy about this pie, except the fresh limes perhaps. It is a special occasion sort of pie. Even with that information, you must know that I still changed a couple of things. Only because I didn't see the point of all that sugar in the crust and WHOA Nelly on the butter!! I also didn't make the whipped topping. Shhhhhh!!.....don't tell, but I actually made Key Lime Cupcakes for the grandbabies as well and they had cream cheese frosting...I reserved a tiny bit to dot the pie.

Ingredients

Pie Crust

• 1 whole section of graham crackers, crushed
• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 stick melted butter
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• Note: They actually use 4 Tbsp. of sugar and 2 sticks of butter and 3/4 pd of graham crackers OUCH 
•  
• Filling

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 can (14 ounces) condensed milk
• 2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice
• 1 lime , grated zest

Directions

To make the crust:  Crush the graham crackers and whisk in the sugar, melt the butter and mix it in. Press the mixture into a glass pie plate. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Take it out to settle while you prepare the filling.

To make filling: While the crust is resting, in an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, whip the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until fluffy, or 5 to 6 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to whip until thick, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice until incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until the filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack, and then refrigerate for 20 minutes

The little bit of frosting I used was so good on this pie. You could choose to use whipped topping or even yogurt would be great.

Frosting Recipe

FROSTING

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

So I warned you!! =D

Happy Gardening and Happy Birthday Mr. Garden!!

Pammy

Spicy Pickled Dilly Beans

Pint Jars of Fresh Canned Green Beans

This year I decided to do a whole lot more pickling with all sorts of garden goodies. The bush green beans and Cherokee yellow wax beans are the first to be harvested in abundance. I've been busy picking beans everyday for over a week.

I'm thinking these will be great this next winter when all of the plentiful salad greens and cole crops are readily available in the garden. That is when I am usually really missing things like pickled okra, squash, green beans, peppers and cucumbers that would go so great with a fresh garden salad.

Pickles of all sorts are easy to can and take very little equipment. Basically a enameled pot for the hot water bath, your jars and lids, canning tongs and a canning funnel will take care of everything. It is usually all available to purchase at most supermarkets or local hardware stores. You may even find things online to make your shopping easier.

With things like fresh garlic, peppers and dill all available at the same time from the garden as the bush beans you can create a very flavorful Dilly Bean Pickle.

After I finish picking beans for the day, I cull them. To cull I simply pick out all of the nicest straight and long beans for canning. I try to keep them all about the same thickness as well. This will help them process more evenly and look pretty in the jar too.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 4 Pints

Bush Beans, green, yellow and purple (Approximately 3 pounds)

4 large nice fresh dill heads with about 1 inch of stem intact

4 large fresh garlic cloves (each sliced in three pieces)

4 slender peppers with a small slit cut in the side (I used Shisito Peppers for these)

1 tsp. of celery seed

1 tsp. of black mustard seed

2 1/2 cup of 5% white vinegar

2 1/2 cup of distilled water

4 tbsp. Kosher Salt

Note: Using distilled water for pickles will assure a crispier pickle. Well water or hard water has so many minerals that it usually causes pickles to be to soft or even mushy. 

DIRECTIONS

First get your canner and jars filled with water and put on the stove. Turn on high with the lid on. It takes awhile to get a large canner boiling. Once your jars have boiled in the bath, turn the heat off and let it cool just a tad with the lid off. Then you can drop your lids and bands down in the water to sterilize them as well.

The reason I like to start with that is because by the time everything else is ready the water will still be pretty hot in the canner and won't take long to heat back up with the jars are packed with goodies and lids sealed for the bath process.

I usually have my beans ready as well. After I culled the ones I want to use for the pickles, I cut them to size to fit the jars. Things need to be at least 1/2 inch from the top, including your liquid.

Next in a saucepan, combine the vinegar, water and salt and bring to a simmer. This is the base or the brine. Turn the heat off and put a lid on it.

Lift the water filled jars out of the canner with your tongs. Poor the water back into the pot. Set each hot jar on a thick towel. Put one dill head, one sliced garlic clove, one pepper, 1/4 tsp of celery seed and 1/4 black mustard seed per each jar. 

Next pack the beans length ways tight into each jar. Make sure you are leaving 1/2 inch head space in the jar.

Turn that large canning pot back on high with the lid on to start letting it heat back up.

Place your wide mouth canning funnel over each jar and spoon in the liquid brine. You may need to run a narrow spatula down through the side of the jar to let bubbles out. The funnel will help keep the rims of your jars dry and clean. To be sure, I usually use a paper towel and carefully dab the rim. Place on the caps and screw bands.

With your tongs lift each jar back into the canner. Place the lid back on and set your timer for a 15 minute hot water bath. At the end of the time lift the jars back out and place back onto your towel to cool. Keep your hot jars away from drafts or fans and let them cool naturally. 

Once they begin to cool, you will begin to hear that wonderful popping noise the lids make as they begin to suck down and seal.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

Diatomaceous Earth Tips and Tricks

Bug season is here and organic gardeners know the importance of monitoring the insect activity closely. We have already discovered our first batch of stink bug nymphs on a blackberry cluster. 

The stink bug nymphs, which is the immature stage of this garden pest appear almost ant like. They are larger than an ant with bright reddish orange bodies and black legs. 

This is not the clearest picture of the nymphs, sorry! I got over zealous with my close up I  think. Although there are a few different types of stink bugs, the one most common and that does the most damage in the southern regions are the leaf footed. They virtually suck the juices right out of your juicy fruits right as they begin to ripen. 

We use Diatomaceous Earth for a whole host of natural and safe preventive methods as well as spot on treatments. I've recently written an article for Natural Family Today about precautions when using DE and exactly what the stuff is. The most important thing to know about DE is that it is dangerous for your beneficial insects if not used properly. So please read the article to see what it is all about before using it.

So I call this sort of our Shake-n-Bake method, although we are really not doing any baking here. Basically you take a plastic bag or even a paper bag would work for this. I have to say that I like the plastic bag because it is clear and I can see what I'm doing better. Place a little bit of Diatomaceous Earth in the bag, close it and shake it. The DE will stick to the bag in the same way flour would. Then slip the bag over the branch with the cluster of nymphs on it and close the open end with your fingers. Gently tap the branch around into the bag.

As you can see in this photo, the DE was only applied to the affected area. DE contains no harmful chemicals or poisons and is a completely natural and safe substance. Although it was a possibility with this experiment of drying the tender berries out with the DE, I've monitored it on a daily basis. So far the fruit has not dried in any form or fashion.. Most of the DE after a couple of days has vanished with the dew.

It appears as though all of the nymphs are trapped in the bag. I would say there were easily a dozen of the rascals.  I know we won't have to worry about them turning into the adult leaf footed stink bugs to damage our other fruits.

CAUTIONS:

• NEVER use pool filter grade or any Diatomaceous Earth other than those labeled “food grade”. Pool filter and some DE sold as insecticides contains additives that are harmful to you and your animals.
• Because DE acts as a drying agent, avoid contact with eyes and lungs.
• Do NOT use heavily on carpets to avoid vacuum problems.
• Use wisely around pollinating and beneficial insects

 Happy Gardening!

Pammy