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hanged corns

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Back to the garden

About time we caught up on some serious gardening again!

TB harvested great armfulls of thyme and only slightly smaller amounts of tarragon over the weekend. It's a good idea to do this now and let the plants grow back again to enable a second harvest at the end of summer. You don't need any fancy drying equipment to dry herbs. For small amounts you can tie them up and hang them upside down in an airy corner to dry - you might want to loosley enclose them in a paper bag to catch any stray bits. For big amounts you can still air dry but make it easy on yourself by getting one of those old multi-drawer plastic-coated wire storage units - they can be found at Revolve in large numbers, just check for soundness before you buy. If they have the wire drawers with them you have a good find. Either put some fly wire or even some loosely woven fabric in the bottom of the wire drawer. If there isn't a drawer its pretty easy to knock up a frame and staple some fly wire over it and then just lay your herbs out to dry. Again a dry corner where they won't be disturbed is necessary - we use our shed.

You can also use this method for drying fruit later in the year but some sort of covering to keep the flying insects off will be necessary. For fruit drying you will also need to turn the pieces over regularly to assist in even drying and (hopefully) avoid mould growth (sticking the drying rack near your ordinary fan will also help the process). For some reason it's hard to conjure up the prospect of moist air today!

Carrots, what can I say. Our first lot shrivelled up in the early part of this month. It only took one day of hot weather and a failure to water, for the poor little things to dry up and die. Thankfully more dilligent watering, with the watercan on non-watering days, has ensured that our second crop has now reached the stage where they are putting out recognisable carrot leaves. The second lot are also positioned where they get some shade in the late afternoon.

My Coles Proloific Broadbeans are living up to their name and will shortly overtake the Red-flowered broad beans in production (although to be honest this isn't much of a challenge). I think 'll take the advice on using the Red-flowered variety more for a green manure crop in future years. Apparently the best time to dig them in is when they flower. I'll be waiting until a bit later as the braoadbeans are only second to that other wonderful legume the Sweet Pea in terms of having a sweet scent. The other tip is to run over your green manure crop, whatever it may be, with the lawn mower as this is, apparently, the easiest way to chop your crop into small enough pieces to rot down easily. BTW all green manures are best dug in when they are wet to encourage breakdown of plant material. So wait for a rainy day or water well before digging in.

The corn in our front garden is leaping ahead and is now a good half a metre tall. It's just under a month since I planted them (October 24 to be precise). My big dillema since i mounded the soil up around them and gave them some chook pellets to be getting on with is the rapid development of side shoots. Last year we grew corn and left the side shoots but I was thinking that this may not be beneficial to production. I've checked my usual sources but there was nothing forthcoming on this point. I can, however, rely on the good old interweb to provide the answer. Good ole Purdue University has provided the answer http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-98.pdf. It says "Research has shown that removal of corn side shoots (suckers or tillers) not only offers no advantage, it may actually reduce yields." So now I know. We've also planted Blue and Starwberry Corn, a different species Zea mays everta - a popcorn (rather than Sweet Corn Zea mays saccharata). These two types were planted at the same time, side by side. The Blue Corn is nearly twice as tall as the Strawberry Corn. While both are meant to be popping corns I'll be trying to grind the blue corn as there is a Mexicam staple of Blue Corn tortillas. You can check this out on http://veggicurious.com/2009/05/ they really are blue!

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Taste of the Liverpool Plains

To celebrate and exhibit the unique productivity of Australia's premier food bowl, and to support the local farmers in their landmark battle with BHP and other companies interested in subsidence longwall mining in the Liverpool Plains area, locals and supporters held the inaugural Taste of the Liverpool Plains event at Caroona.

Cupcake decorations included a number of items representing the local agriculture: cows, pigs, chickens, cotton, corn, sunflowers, and the ever-present No Mines sign.

                                               

Click here to download:

Taste_of_the_Liverpool_Plains.zip (2120 KB)

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Chinese-style Corn & Crab Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms

A super easy soup that's great for a rainy Seattle day.

           

Ingredients: 4 cups chicken broth • 2 cans cream-style corn • 12-16 oz crab • 12-16 oz shiitake mushrooms • 2 tbsp cornstarch • 2 tbsp cold water • 2 tbsp soy sauce • 3 egg whites lightly beaten • 1 tsp sesame oil • red pepper flakes • 1 tsp Sri Racha • salt and pepper to taste • 2 scallions chopped • baguette

Instructions: Combine broth creamed corn and bring to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water, stir into boiling broth. Add soy sauce and simmer for 3-4 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Add egg whites in a thin steam, stirring gently to break into shreds. Add shiitake mushrooms. Stir in sesame oil and Sri Racha. Season with salt and pepper. Add crab. Garnish with scallions and chili flakes and serve with sliced baguette.

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Made Elote en vaso (corn in a cup) for lunch

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Schoolhouse Corn Ma(i)ze, just outside of Lambertville

One hour and 20 minutes to escape... we got an "A"

           

Click here to download:

Schoolhouse_Corn_Maize_just_ou.zip (7778 KB)

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The ultimate war on humanity

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The perfect Michigan Fall day

Spent the day at Westview Orchards in Romeo before returning home to celebrate Penny's fifth birthday with her requested dinner, as follows: Steak on the grill, asparagus, cauliflower, and a heart-shaped cake that says, "We Love You Penny"

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Sunday Chowder

Corn and potato chowder (starchy carb and veggies), cottage cheese (protein) and pear (carb).

Would pair well with a glass of Viognier (if we had it!)

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Tomato & Carrot Soup With Grilled Corn Recipe

The Basics*
1 Sliced Onion
5 Sliced Carrots
4-5 Quartered Tomatoes
2 Whole Cloves of Garlic
2 Handfuls of Sliced Basil
1 Peeled and Diced Zucchini
2 Cup Water
Milk
4 Ears of  Shucked and Cleaned Corn
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
Some Olive Oil
Little Bit of Butter
Salt & Pepper

* These recipes are not meant to be followed exactly, I'm not a professional chef by any stretch of the imagination. These recipes are all based on what I happened to have in my kitchen.  If you don't have any basil use rosemary, if you don't have any corn serve the soup with a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich.  It doesn't matter, make it your own, share your comments and inspire others.

Optional Topping Ideas
Crumbled Bacon
Chopped Green Chives
Parmesan Crisp
Corn Bread Croutons
Sour Cream
Avocado Cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with the non-stick cooking spray and spread the onion, carrots, tomatoes zucchini and garlic out on the pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper.  Roast for about an hour, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile soak the corn in a bowl of milk and sugar for 30 minutes. If you don't have enough milk just use water.  Grill for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally.  Remove from grill and toss with butter, a handful of the sliced basil, salt and pepper.

Once the vegetables are starting to turn brown take them out and put them in a bowl, keeping the zucchini separate (this will be added later and should not go in the blender). De-glaze the pan with 1 cup water and pour into your blender, add half the vegetables and blend until smooth.  Pour this into a saucepan on medium heat.  Add the remainder of the vegetables to the blender with another cup of water and blend until smooth.  Add this to the saucepan with the remaining handful of basil and the diced zucchini. Add milk to reach desired consistency. Simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste.

Serve.  Enjoy.

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