Mid-September Denuding of the Vines + Bread Baking

I managed to find my bread maker book along with the little instruction manual for using the two small pans that goes with it and sync it up with a recipe I found online here ... with a few changes (added garden chives instead of onions, and cheddar instead of parmesan, etc). I became impatient with how much mixing and waiting time was going on with the machine and whipped the dough out, put it in bread pans, bowls and muffin tins and into my toaster oven.

It goes well with the zucchini marmalade I also adapted to my own taste & what was in my cupboards from the BerNARdin Preserving Book.

It reminds me a little of an interesting vegan recipe for a wacky cake from thekitchn.com that I want to try.

It was a nice way to finish the day off after spending time in the garden ...


I was surprised to find raspberries bursting forth like there is no tomorrow at such a late date. I've had them in the garden now for three years and they've done nothing ... to the point I thought they were pretend look-a-likes and I even uprooted one only to find the tag attached to it still letting me know it was a bush I'd paid good money for (so it's now sitting in a container of water trying to fully overcome the trauma I set upon it). Happily it's doing very well again.






When I first looked at the vines I thought there weren't very many ripe tomatoes; but then when I began collecting them, I realized I'd have a batch big enough to be able to can. There are still so many green tomatoes left and I really hope we have some sunny days so it's not all going into green tomato relish. I was 2 weeks late planting tomatoes this year and it's really showing.




I am afraid I am going to have to uproot the morning glories very soon so they don't seed themselves here again next year. Who am I kidding right - no matter what I do, they are going to keep coming back here. What have I done? I really like them but I've had enough infestations to deal with already - the mint has actually grown through the creeping charlie that I didn't have time to get to the root of over on the far left-hand side of the garden ... so I'm going to really get in there and do it some damage once I get all the tomatoes off their vines.





The door frame has once again toppled but I'm not too worried about it now. I needed it to get into the potato patch and I just trampled over the vines and went in (and pulled up what appear to be the same seed potatoes I originally planted in Spring) ... the toppled doorway still allows the vines to breathe.













Here are 3 of the 6 cream coloured pumpkins growing on the fence - they are doing really well up there.












Here's another 1 of the 6 pumpkins - it's about the same size as the ones on the fence and it too is doing really well.













... and a baby pumpkin - I wonder if it will be big enough to pick by the end of October ... maybe I can leave it on the vine longer so long as we don't get early snow.










And I was very happy to see some baby zucs - as much as I'm almost sick of them - I know I'm not and won't be - there is something about them makes me smile - maybe I'll get these guys while they're still relatively small.









Up at the top you can see the bag of lemon balm beside the small silly amount of potatoes that you can't even see in the photo that I was able to farm after digging almost down to China and into my neighbours garden searching for any wayward ones that might have gone astray. There is a nice bag of fancy large tomatoes and a fair number of red figs and cherries. There are not many pastes which I find surprising but I guess I've harvested most of them already. There were some tomatilloes that had fallen off the plant (I usually like to wait and get them all at the very end of the season) and some cucumbers which I was pleasantly surprised to find because I really thought they were finshed. I have lots of herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary) to add to breads and sauces. And I'll be making teas.

Oh - and the entire time I was in the garden - there was a brazen little chipmunk in as well eating breakfast as if I wasn't even there.

It Got Canned

Two pots on the stove. In the small pot are all the yellow and green tomatoes from the last haul, chopped & simmering on the back burner. It provides a nice colour change to the red and tastes quite fresh. It supposedly has a lower acid content than the red which is good for anyone with dietary issues.



In the big pot at the front is a zucchini marmalade that I've altered this recipe from the cosmic cowgirl and the BerNARdin Guide to Home Preserving magazine bought at Canadian Tire along with most of my canning gear. Instead of using fresh ginger and putting it into a cheesecloth bag with the pith, I've sliced candied ginger in syrup and added it directly into the zucs, oranges, lemons and sugar. Even after hours on a slow boil, it never gelled - there was little liquid left though so I was able to spoon it over the top of the slaw. I will use it as a condiment with cheese and foie gras.





At back are jars of dark tomato sauce that was in the slow cooker on high for 3 days total (I would only have it on high for 2 days if I did it again - I think) or maybe on low for 3 days). That said, I need to taste it on pasta to see if the flavour is too deep. It's a work in progress. I will dilute it with another sauce if necessary. I like the colour and think the layers of flavour will prove to be good so it was worth experimenting.






I made a simple syrup using organic golden cane and threw in a dash of pink salt harvested in the Andes Mountains to give it a caramel taste. I poured the boiling syrup over the tomatoes and let them stew for over an hour then placed them in the dehydrator on high for a few hours with thick cut zuc chips dipped in syrup as well (eaten & not shown)!






There is not a whole lot to say about a pot of pure chopped tomatoes slow cooking and filling your home with the rich smell of Summer harvest that reaches deep into your soul and touches your bones with the shiver of Autumn ... hmmm



... maybe there is ...





but I'll leave it up to your imagination





I have finally figured out a system for labeling - writing directly on the lids with a laundry 'sharpie' works well with the metal lids because they can only be used to seal the jars once (I'm not sure yet how I'll label my Tattie Lids which are reusable - I have to find a label that stays on yet is easy to remove once it's done it's job - the ones I got a year ago from Lee Valley already look like they've lost stickiness.




SEE INDEX PAGE

All in all - yesterday's annual first day of canning went well. There are dirty dishes galore piled on the floor waiting for some soap and water ... and the kitchen, dining and living rooms look like a pack of wild animals were let loose to party in them ... other than that ... smooth as dupioni silk!

Note to Self - get a gel mat for the kitchen sink/stove area. Woah was Me & my aching back!

Second Canniversary

Canning in Memory of Wayne on the 2nd Anniversary of his Death

Three bags full & three days in the slow cooker!






Meditations & Good Vibrations and ...

seven 500ml jars of gardening goodness.




I canned for ten days straight after Wayne died.