Sweet Heat Pickle

I was determined to stick to only a few pickle and relish recipes, because, realistically, how many pickles can two people eat in a year? I had been relying on the cucumbers to provide refrigerator dill spears, and then added one dill pickle relish — to compliment the sweet zucchini relish that is such a favorite, and the sweet refrigerator zucchini pickle slices.  But, when I came across this Sweet Heat recipe, I had to give it a try.  Both my husband and I love the combination of sweet and spicy and, well, we still had a lot of cucumbers to use up! Continue reading “Sweet Heat Pickle”

Stuffed Zucchini

 

I have to be honest here.  My husband came across this recipe on the internet, wanted to try it, but chickened out.  He asked me to cook it, as it looked too complicated to him.  My heart wasn’t really in it, because I’ve seen too many mediocre stuffed zucchini recipes to really trust another.  But, it meant a lot to him — actually the addition of Italian sausage to the recipe meant a lot to him — so I gave it a go. Continue reading “Stuffed Zucchini”

Ooo-lee-la-la Crazy Good Cucumber Salsa

 

I know that salsa is a whole lot more than tomatoes.  I make a delicious green tomatillo salsa that is a favorite on our house breakfast burritos. But, this recipe really surprised me!  It holds up really well in the refrigerator for several days, the cucumbers stay nice and crisp, and the flavor may even improve as the salsa ages.

This is another perfect use for cucumbers that have grown too large to use as slicers. Continue reading “Ooo-lee-la-la Crazy Good Cucumber Salsa”

Simply Elegant Green Beans

My mother-in-law lived with us for about a year, after her husband died and she moved to California.  As her birthday approached, we explained it was our family custom that she select the menu for her celebration dinner — anything at all was acceptable, as long as it was something that we could buy or make.  Imagine our disappointment when she asked for a simple hamburger and green beans!  The children were particularly horrified, as they had been dreaming of homemade pizza or a 25# lasagna, and even with the added request of dill and thyme on the green beans, nothing could ease their pain.

I admit I was confused by her request, as well.  She had lived a comfortable life that some might consider ‘privileged’, and I had known her to dine most often on an expensive steak or a luxurious crab salad or even pheasant.  Green beans?

Many years have passed and, while I am still far away from her 90 years of age, I am starting to see the world a little through her eyes. Sometimes it really IS the simpler things that pack the biggest punch, especially when it is freshly picked green beans from your own garden.

I have doctored up her very simple recipe, just a bit, but have kept the dill and thyme that she loved so much.

Continue reading “Simply Elegant Green Beans”

I love surprises!

I have come across some of my favorite surprises right here, in my garden.  It is normal for me to discover a litter of feral kittens living under my deck or a long-abandoned (by some uncaring neighbor) pet bunny which has taken up residence behind a woodpile.  I’m ashamed to admit how many stray cats have made their way through my garden gate and into my heart.  I have found duck eggs left behind by mallards who stopped at our backyard pool every year for a short vacation and it is normal for a neighborhood chicken or two to call at my front door.

I sometimes think that people who don’t have a garden to visit must have horribly dull lives.

“However many years she lived, Mary always felt that ‘she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow’.” 


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One evening last week, we were hanging out with some friends in our outdoor kitchen, when I happened to notice this bloom on the vine behind my friend’s head.  Was I seeing things?  It had not been there earlier in the day, when I was preparing the grill area for that night’s dinner.  Then I realized it is a Moonflower, a nocturnal bloomer that opens after sunset and glows all night in the moonlight. As the sun rises, the fragrant blooms close.

The surprise?  I planted the seeds three years ago.

Yes, I knew there was a vine of some kind on the trellis, but we have so many vines in that area and around the nearby pergola that I hadn’t given this particular vine much notice.  And any thought of the lovely Moonflower had long before escaped me, when the seeds I had planted failed to germinate — or so I had thought.

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While clearing the cucumber vine from the garden, I spotted this little lizard friend at my feet.  Yes, we do have many, many lizards in our yard and garden, just like most homes in southern California.  
What was so surprising, then?  This lizard had a tail.  A long, glorious tail.
I think all the lizards in my neighborhood are Truth or Dare lizards, because none of them have tails.  They did at one time, certainly, but most have been lost due to their poor choice of recreation — “Run in that house full of cats and then try to run back out before you are caught!” —  Tell the truth, lizards, don’t risk taking the dare.  Hold on to your tails.
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All gardeners experience the joy of volunteer plants at one time or another.  I’ve had volunteer tomatoes show up in quite a few odd places; this year we had a nice, healthy one coming up between two bricks at the edge of an old garden bed.  One year, we had beets popping up all over the side yard, a month or so after the seeds we had planted were washed out of their bed during a late season rainstorm.

This year, I have volunteer cantaloupes.

The surprise?  I have never planted cantaloupes.
We first discovered the vine, growing out of the end of the middle of our three new raised beds.  We assumed it was a cucumber, as the cucumber vine had rapidly taken over the first bed, where we had trained it up a trellis.  What a lovely surprise to find two perfect cantaloupes, hidden under the leaves!  Today, I discovered a second cantaloupe vine, in the third raised bed, growing in the space still occupied by a struggling Roma tomato!
My guess is that the cantaloupes are growing from seeds that were in our compost pile, as we do eat a lot of melon from the local Farmers Market. I cannot wait to taste them!
When my garden is free to roam, so is my spirit.
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I dig a hole and plant a seed,
Cover it with dirt, and pull a weed.

Down comes the rain, and out comes the sun,

Up grows my plant,

Oh! What fun!


— Author unknown.  (I once taught preschool.)

Two Sweet Zucchini Pickles

This is, by far, my favorite pickle recipe!  I have actually combined several recipes to get the right balance of flavors for my family’s tastes.  Don’t be afraid to experiment!  Do not, however, skimp on the vinegar or the salt, as both are important ingredients for safe canning. This relish can be safely stored in the refrigerator, if you do not wish to use a canner. Continue reading “Two Sweet Zucchini Pickles”

Dill Pickle Relish

 

I recently read a blog in which the author described the cucumbers of her youth, “as thick as baseball bats, their tough skins dappled with small, prickly spikes. Running my fingers along their peel was as pleasurable as stroking barbed wire.”

She, of course was singing the praises of today’s so-called seedless varieties, particularly the popular plastic-wrapped English cucumbers, so packaged to add an additional layer of protection to the thin, delicate skins.  They are delicious!  But, why do we need to replace a natural layer of protection with an unnatural one, once again?

The cukes in my garden are a “burpless” variety, a long-fruited oriental cucumber that produces impressive yields.  The prickly spikes are easily scrubbed off, and the skin is not so tough as to make it hard to digest.  Depending on my recipe, though, I may partially peel them (I like the striped effect, which always looks pretty), or peel them completely — which is often much easier to do than removing shrink-wrapped plastic!  If I am watchful, and the cucumbers are picked when young, they are delicious in salads.  If they grow a little bigger, I can make pickles.  And if I blink one too many times, I harvest the “bats” and make pickle relish! Continue reading “Dill Pickle Relish”

Zucchini Bread

I feel a little foolish blogging about zucchini bread.  Everyone has a recipe for zucchini bread, even people who don’t grow zucchini, even people that don’t usually bake at all.  I think you could possibly Google “zucchini bread” and any of the recipes you find on the internet would be delicious.  Zucchini bread is one of those magical foods that is a loving combination of satisfies-the-sweet-tooth, is a good-for-you-vegetable, grandmothers-make-this-because-they-love-you and you-can-keep-it-in-the-freezer-for-months, that everyone — who does not already have it in their repertoire — should have in their recipe box. Continue reading “Zucchini Bread”

Grilled Zucchini Pizza

We grill pizza quite often in the summer.  If you’ve ever grilled pizza, you will agree that just about anything makes a delicious topping on the smoky, crisp crust. It is a very quick supper, as well, if you keep pizza dough on hand.  Most stores carry the refrigerated dough.  But, it is so easy to make, and homemade is much cheaper, too, so why not make your own? Continue reading “Grilled Zucchini Pizza”