harvest

the zucchini harvest

| circadee

Zucchini is taking over my life (with squash in a close 2nd).  This summer, zucchini has been harvested early and often.  Although we harvest a bunch at one time, it has averaged one a day.  Ironically I couldn’t find one zucchini last year.  We didn’t grow any nor did I see them at the farmer’s market.  I suppose we’re making up for lost time this summer.  My thoughts and research are consumed with zucchini and different ways to cook and eat it.  I refuse to waste any of it and giving it all away is just too easy at this point.

I’ve challenged us to eat zucchini at least twice daily.  And you know what?  It hasn’t been as difficult as I thought. There is the obvious choice: Grilled Zucchini.

the great zucchini harvest of 2015

And the most pleasing choice: Zucchini Bread… and muffins… and mini muffins.  We’ve had our share but I’ve also found healthier ways to utilize the harvest.

Zucchini muffins

 

Zucchini Soup

Last week, I made zucchini soup.  Yes, soup!  It was very tasty as a gazpacho as well.  Unfortunately I do not have a formal recipe to share as this is a work in progress but I can explain the process.  Almost all of our zucchini goes through the food processor for shredding, aside from those that we slice up and grill.  I used about 4 cups of shredded zucchini for our soup.  After sauteing onion and garlic in a large pot, I added the zucchini and 2-3 cups of water to boil.  Plus all of the fresh herbs I could get my hands on.  Namely, basil.  About 2 cups.  Plus oregano, marjoram and chives all snipped fresh from the garden.  I seasoned with salt & cayenne pepper.  I reduce to a simmer and used my immersion blend to puree the combination.  We ate it just like that but decided the smooth soup would make a great base for shrimp.  Next time!  There will definitely be a next time to continue to tweak zucchini soup.

Shredded Zucchini

Zucchini Juice

We also tried juicing zucchini which I am not a big fan of on its own.  It tastes like, well, zucchini water.  But with the addition of lemons, it was much sweeter.  Zucchini-ade anyone?

Heirloom Zucchini seeds

Zucchini Smoothies

I’ve found the easiest way to use up all of the zucchini is in smoothies!  I fill the blender with the shredded zucchini as a base for the smoothie.  I’ve cut out yogurt and banana completely so this smoothie is lower in fat than our usual.  Once the zucchini is blended, I added in berries which completely dominate in flavor.  As an added bonus, I’ve been blending fresh mint from the garden as well.  When blended, like in the soup, zucchini takes on a creamy texture.

cocozelle zucchini harvest

Summer tastes so good!  What is your favorite zucchini recipe?

 

 

garden to table

| circadee

Welcome to our new layout!  We’ve switched things up a bit at circadee.com to make more of a landing page for those looking for information on our shop.  If you’re here for the blog posts, you’ve found them!  We’ll continue to post regularly about our adventures, finds & projects.  That’s how this little business got started after all.

broccoli & edamame

Lately I’ve been spending all of my spare moments in the garden.  Early morning seems to be ideal.  Before the sun peaks but also when the mosquitoes are at bay.  It’s amazing how rapidly everything is growing.  The sporadic thunderstorms have certainly helped.  Alleviating the plants from the 90 degree temperatures and also alleviating me from the chore of watering.

oregano & lemon balm

Our harvest has already been plentiful with much more just around the corner.  At this point, the snap peas are about spent but I’m hoping to yield another harvest later this summer.  I’m still tucking bean seeds in vacant spots as I see fit.  They sprout almost immediately!

snap peas
snap peas

There have been a number of volunteer plants including two tomatoes, beans and a few squash – we’re not sure which species yet.  I’m certain that we can thank our compost pile for this surplus.  It has made for a few crowded beds since we weren’t expecting them but everything seems to be content.  The more the merrier!  I like to practice close planting to keep the weeds down anyway.

squash flower

We’re almost ready to harvest the kohlrabi and broccoli.  We’re seeing the first signs of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.  The potatoes are growing like wild fire.

This is actually our first year growing potatoes which we did in two plantings.  The first cycle in containers and the second in the ground.  The containers we’re using this year are actually terracotta chimney flue liners.  I’m digging the height they add and the border they create at the end of the garden.

chimney flue liners as raised garden containers

I seem to be favoring the herb garden most this year.  Last year, I was all about the flower bed but I think the herbs are stealing the show.  I expanded their footprint this year by taking three large galvanized tubs and creating a double-decker border so each herb has its own pot.

galvanized tub herb garden

The herbs have made a cameo in almost every dish.  There’s the obvious basil pesto but we’ve switched it up and added it to fish and fruit like shrimp and watermelon.

Basil Pesto

We can’t eat pasta everyday but when we do we’ve used oregano pesto with whatever veggies we can steam or saute.

oregano pesto

My tried and true summer carb is rosemary bread.  I follow a simple beer bread recipe and fold in loads of rosemary right from the garden.

Rosemary Bread

But what to with all of the that dill?  It makes a pretty, airy bouquet!  I’ve also mixed dill with chives to create a tasty little dip that complements homemade pita chips.

Dill & Chive Dip

What’s growing in your June garden?  I’m off to figure out how to use this morning’s marjoram harvest…

 

seed saving

| circadee

seed saving-4678We had a prolific crop of bush beans this year.  It was probably the best yield in the garden, second to lettuce, with no pest issues.  We planted three rounds of bush beans in purple, green & yellow.  The purple is my favorite simply because they turn green when you cook them.  Right before your eyes!  We’ve been eating them fresh for a couple of months and I blanched and froze some for winter.

As we continue to harvest more, I’ve grouped the pods together in bunches to dry out.  Once the bean pods are all shriveled up, they’re ready for seed saving.  The pods open up pretty easily along the seam with a fingernail or scissors. And boom, there’s next year’s seeds so we can do it all over again.  A frugal little DIY…

seed saving

I have repeated these steps with snap peas as well so we have a little stash of peas to plant next spring.  This is a fun garden task to engage kids in.  The seeds are big so they’re hard to lose although I’ve had a few pop out of the pod and fly across the room!

These seeds are, in fact, the actual bean.  As in, the dry bean you buy from the store so we could always soak them and eat them this winter.  It is just another way to preserve the bean harvest.  I think we’ll plant a bigger crop next year so we can produce a decent amount of dry beans.  At this point, we have a few dozen – enough to plant but certainly not enough for a bean soup!

seed saving jar

Speaking of next year, The Old Farmer’s Almanac for 2015 is now available at The West End Garage.  I took a sneak peek at the weather forecasts!  Let’s just say that we may have been spoiled by our mild summer weather this year.

The Old Farmer's Almanac 2015 now available at The West End Garage