First sprouts of Siberian Purple garlic emerging this spring from the few spots in the garden where snow has melted this season. Much of the garden remains covered in snow, though, and the ground temp is still less than 40F. Planting cover crops will have to wait a while longer. Crimson Clover going in once the ground warms up a bit more.
first sign of green
Winter 2016-17 has been a snowfest. It’s mid-March and the forecast is for another foot of snow this week to add to the 4-6’+ of snow already on the ground, depending where you look. Last year this time spring garden prep was already underway. The indoor potted chives on the window sill are a good early indicator spring is around the corner, though. The first couple of flower buds popped up this week!
plant burger review
Is this burger made from plants as good as a beef burger? Actually, no. I like it better. I was in Seattle recently, which is one of the test markets for The Beyond Burger. Grill a few minutes on each side, and quicker than a beef burger, I’ve got a medium-rare looking, thick patty to put on my bun. It has a nice char flavor, along with the hint of umami and meaty chew I expect from a beef burger. It’s not quite as dense in texture as beef, which I prefer. It doesn’t have that slightly metallic muscle juice flavor of medium-rare beef either, which I do miss a little
February 28, 2017
montana chick pea stew
Last garden tomatoes of the year are going into my Montana Chick Pea Stew, inspired by the Indian classic, Chana Masala. Most of the ingredients either came from my garden or the farm of someone I know. First I sliced 10 cloves of the fermented garlic I started this summer. I warmed the fermented garlic in olive oil along with a chopped onion over low heat. To the fermented garlic/onion mix I added a tablespoon each of whole cumin seeds, crushed black pepper, sea salt, and ground cumin. Then I stirred in a minced tablespoon or so of fresh ginger and a half dozen dried cayenne chilies from last year’s garden. As those were sweating covered
October 17, 2016
early october snow
Glad I got all my spring garlic planted and mulched in for the winter yesterday…
good salsa from so-so tomatoes
With the early frost a couple weeks ago, I had to pick all my remaining tomatoes while they were still very green. The best way to ripen green tomatoes is keep them in a cardboard box in a cool area — basement, garage, or shop — that stays between 55F-60F degrees. Once the tomatoes just begin to turn color, bring them inside to ripen the rest of the way at room temperature — 70F-75F or so. While this will get you ripened tomatoes, they are nowhere near as good to eat sliced as those sun-ripened on the vine. They do, however, make good salsa. For this batch I peeled the ripe tomatoes and
September 29, 2016
ripening green tomatoes
Summer was short in Montana this year. We had a bit of early summer in April, then it got colder again. I still ended up with lots of tomatoes — Cherokee Purple, Black Cherry, Purple Bumble Bee, Solar Flair, and Black Beauty. Few made it beyond green stage, though, before the first frost hit. I made the mistake of trying to ripen the first green few on a sunny windowsill. They did turn color. The ripe flesh was grainy and mushy, though, and not good to eat. For the rest I tried putting them in a cardboard box in the (relatively) chilly shop. The shop stays between 55F and 60F this
September 22, 2016
stringing chili ristras
Seems my chili peppers are ripening late this year. Last year the chilies started turning red in late July/early August. Good news is chilies will ripen off the vine. A great way to save space while they’re ripening is to create a chili ristra. Creating a ristra is easy. Get a sewing needle and sturdy thread (some material other than cotton since cotton may weaken and break over time). You can also use a thin fishing line. Sort your chilies into small, medium, and large sizes. Thread the needle with a string of thread double the estimated length of the ristra you’d like to create, plus 6″ or so. Match the ends
August 27, 2016
male squash blossoms
Two weeks in a row one of my regular farmers’ market customers has been asking me if he could get some squash blossoms. Personally, I’d rather have the whole vegetable and assumed if I harvested the blossoms, I’d have no squash. Not so. I learned squash plants grow male and female blossoms. Totally makes sense, of course — I just never thought about it much. The female blossoms produce the squash vegetable. The male blossoms are important for fertilizing the females. Once the females are producing squash, though, the male’s job is done. Since I have all the squash I can possibly use for the rest of this season already
August 26, 2016