Square Foot Garden Update August 31, 2010

Just a short update from the garden to show how much the Brussels Sprouts have grown in the week since I stopped their vertical growth, a look at some hot peppers and time to harvest those French Beans.

Making Lactic Acid Fermented Pickles in the Picklemeister

A short video of the nine day process in the making of Lactic Acid Fermented Pickles in the Picklemeister. A very simple and easy process resulting in the best pickles I've ever tasted.

The latest from the garden, free seed and preparing fall crops.

I've pruned the Brussels Sprouts fingers crossed that I will see sprouts developing soon. Removing dead pea vines and some advice on saving the free nitrogen in the soil. A look at the compost building up. At last vine ripened tomatoes in the greenhouse. Free seed Ground Cherry and Buckbee's New Heirloom Tomato, for anyone who would like to have some.

The weekly Square Foot Update and some of the early bounty of the harvest

The garden is at it's peak for this year many things I've been very pleased with and a few that I won't plant again at least not the varieties that I grew this year. All in all it has been a great summer for the vegetable garden and the harvest is increasing everyday.

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

From the Joy of Baking website - Very Good

Buttermilk Berry Muffins: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter or spray with a non stick cooking spray 12 - 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract.

In another large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking
powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Gently fold in the berries. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Fill each muffin cup almost full of batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins or 6 jumbo muffins.

Note: If using frozen berries you may have to bake the muffins a little longer than the stated time. Also, if making jumbo sized muffins, again, you may have to bake the muffins a little longer.

Adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Best Food Cookbook

Buttermilk Berry Muffins:

2 1/2 cups (325 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest of one orange or lemon

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup (180 ml) buttermilk

2/3 cup (160 ml) safflower or canola oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries)

Read more: www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/ButtermilkBerryMuffins.html#i...



www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/ButtermilkBerryMuffins.html

The Harvest continues

It's a wonderful time of year in the garden, getting more food out of it everyday. Just in the past week I had enough cucumbers to make pickles, I've harvested the Garlic,discovered that I have lovely large straight carrots, dried the blue podded peas for winter use and had my first fresh fennel.

Lacto Fermented Dill Pickles

I decided to try my luck at making traditional Lacto Fermented Dill Pickles in my new pickle crock. I got the method from the Wild Fermentation website.

Timeframe: 1-4 weeks

Special Equipment:

* Ceramic crock or food-grade plastic bucket
* Plate that fits inside crock or bucket
* 1-gallon/4-liter jug filled with water, or other weight
* Cloth cover

Ingredients (for 1 gallon/4 liters):

* 3 to 4 pounds/1.5 to 2 kilograms unwaxed
* cucumbers (small to medium size)
* 3⁄8 cup (6 tablespoons)/90 milliliters sea salt
* 3 to 4 heads fresh flowering dill, or 3 to 4
* tablespoons/45 to 60 milliliters of any form of
* dill (fresh or dried leaf or seeds)
* 2 to 3 heads garlic, peeled
* 1 handful fresh grape, cherry, oak, and/or
* horseradish leaves (if available)
* 1 pinch black peppercorns

Process:

1. Rinse cucumbers, taking care to not bruise them, and making sure their blossoms are removed. Scrape off any remains at the blossom end. If you’re using cucumbers that aren’t fresh off the vine that day, soak them for a couple of hours in very cold water to freshen them.
2. Dissolve sea salt in ½gallon (2 liters) of water to create brine solution. Stir until salt is thoroughly dissolved.
3. 3. Clean the crock, then place at the bottom of it dill, garlic, fresh grape leaves, and a pinch of black peppercorns.
4. Place cucumbers in the crock.
5. Pour brine over the cucumbers,place the (clean) plate over them, then weigh it down with a jug filled with water or a boiled rock. If the brine doesn’t cover the weighed-down plate, add more brine mixed at the same ratio of just under 1 tablespoon of salt to each cup of water.
6. Cover the crock with a cloth to keep out dust and flies and store it in a cool place.
7. Check the crock every day. Skim any mold from the surface, but don’t worry if you can’t get it all. If there’s mold, be sure to rinse the plate and weight. Taste the pickles after a few days.
8. Enjoy the pickles as they continue to ferment. Continue to check the crock every day.
9. Eventually, after one to four weeks (depending on the temperature), the pickles will be fully sour. Continue to enjoy them, moving them to the fridge to slow down fermentation.

After only 24 hours the salt has removed enough water from the cucumbers that my boiled rock has sunk below the brine.



August 10, 2010: Today is day number 3 and there is something happening there is foam from fermentation bubbles on the surface and the brine has darkened so I can no longer see the pickles or the plate. I tasted the brine and there is a nice dill flavor.

Weekly Garden Update

I'm starting to get enough produce from the garden that I can freeze some. So far zucchini, peas and beans. The blue podded peas are all filled out and I hope to pick them soon and dry them for winter soups. I was surprised to read in my copy of, Preserving the Harvest, that they should be blanched for three minutes in steam before drying them just the same as you would do if you were freezing them. Lots of mystery squash on the vine from the seed packet labeled, Fun with Winter Squash, the latest one that I discovered yesterday looks like Acorn squash, maybe a yellow variety. (Not shown in the video.)