A very wet weekend, cold is back for now

After a week of such fine weather, we were hit with precipitation most of the weekend.  Lots of precipitation in the form of rain.  The temperatures stayed mild which made being in the yard a pleasure when it was dry.
I have a few wooden garden items needing staining, so those I pulled into the garage to keep them dry.  If I can't work in the yard on my vacation, I will get something done.  The pots and flats that were stacked on my mobile plant rack had to find a place on the garage shelves instead.  Spring will come, and I am going to be ready for it!
I wandered down into the vegetable garden and decided to pull out the strawberry boxes and pots of perennial daisies that were heeled in.  I let them sit out and collect rain for the weekend.  The strawberries needed some cleaning out of dead foliage also.  The forecast for the week is cold, sometimes below freezing, so I provided some cover between the raised beds to hold them for a little while longer.  The planter box that I keep them in is one of my staining projects, so a home in the vegetable garden is suitable for now.  Taking the boxes out of their winter bed allowed me to prep one raised bed for spring planting.  I had just put down and secured the edges of the plastic cover when the first rain drops started falling.  There is one 4 x 8 foot spot in my yard that didn't get a total wash out this weekend.
I located my parsnips that I overwintered in the ground by the tiny green shoots poking up through the dirt.  I dug those out and cleaned them up, so this would make them (technically) my first harvest of 2014!  I also put some frost cover over the few plants that made it through the winter.  I was very disappointed to find that the two baby cabbage that made it through the winter were dug out by squirrels rooting around for hidden nuts.  My yard has divots in every garden bed from their spring time digging.  I have new seedlings in the basement for red cabbage and baby pak choi.  The Brisk Green pak choi and spring seeded baby cabbage is well on its way to being ready for spring planting along with my Alisa Craig onions as soon as the weather allows.  I seeded all my peppers on Sunday and the tomatillos as well.  I am going to give them a little more time than the tomatoes this year, hopefully give them just a little more growth before June planting.

Alisa Craig onions, Baby cabbage, Brisk Green pak choi

The weather men have cold and snow in the forecast for today.  They have promised that it will not stick.  Several of the local rivers, including parts of the Milwaukee River, are at flood stage.  I consider myself lucky to still have hope for getting in the garden soon.

Salsa Verde, 2013

I made my salsa verde without a tomatillo crop.  Last year they were abundant, but this year I got three marble sized fruits.  I did some research and found that my suspicion was right.  You do need more than one plant to have a crop.  Check out the link which answers most questions you may have about growing them yourself.

I did have a good amount of green tomatoes on hand.  My 4th of July variety is even the same size as most tomatillos, so it worked out well.  I did every thing the same as last year's salsa verde.  I doubled the recipe for 7 half pints and 4 full pints.  I enjoy the roasted, smoky flavors of grilling the ingredients before processing.  Next year, I will put in more than one plant!

Canning Season

green beans, corn, dilly beans

French beans

salsa

salsa verde

I have been putting up more of my garden in jars this year as we are getting beef from a local farmer this fall.  I need the freezer space for the meat, but I also like the convenience of grabbing a jar of veggies and heating them on the stove. 

This year I am trying some new things.  I have never made dilly beans.  I shared the recipe on a earlier piece.  I am also making salsa verde this year as I planted four tomatillo plants.  Husk tomatoes make a great sauce for a different twist.  Here is the recipe I meshed together to make a salsa verde which I was able to can.

Roasted Salsa Verde

2 quarts of tomatillos husked, washed, and cut in half

4 cloves of garlic

3 medium to large onions peeled and quartered

4 jalapeno peppers split and seeded

olive oil to coat vegetables lightly

Using a grilling basket or foil over grill rack, roast the prepared vegetables that have been tossed with olive oil until softened (about 10 minutes on a hot grill).

1 cup chopped cilantro

4 lemons, juiced 

4 limes, juiced 

1 t cumin

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Add the above ingredients to the roasted vegetables in a food processor to puree or put all directly into a large kettle and blend until smooth with an immersion blender.  Cook the salsa verde until hot and slightly thickened (I let it simmer about 20 minutes or so).

Follow canning directions for hot water bath or pressure cooker.  There is more to read than I feel like typing for safe canning methods. Have jars sterile and hot and lids sterile and hot.  Fill jars with 1/2" of head space.  Hot water bath pints and half pints for 20 minutes.  If you prefer to pressure can them use 5 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes.

This made 7 half pint (jelly size) jars in my first round.  Also tastes pretty good straight from the kettle.

I use my pressure canner a little more lately as it takes the uncertainty out of the acidity equation for water bath canning.  It also takes less water.  Allowing the canner to cool naturally before opening does take more time.  If you move it to a cooling rack on the counter from the stove, it does shorten that time a bit.

tomatillo plant