Just Peachy

The peaches have arrived and with them, my favorite time of the year. While I loves me some fresh tomatoes, it's ephemeral peaches, with their slow arrival, short appearance and quick departure, that keep me anticipating, in thrall, and ultimately disappointed when they go.

The problem is waiting: waiting out the squirrels who love to take a bite of one and move on; waiting until the peaches are ripe, or nearly so, when they develop that sweetness that spoils you for imports; and waiting to see if the over-burdoned branches, nearly touching the ground, snap from their load. I need to learn from the Bosnian immigrants in the neighborhood who have elaborate scaffolds propping up their produce.

Putting the Loom in Heirloom

We're back from Maine and the heirlooms are coming fast and furious. Time to plant the winter veggies.

Garden Vacation

This is the last post until we return in a couple weeks from our trip to Maine.

I've been neglecting my side and back yards as I've been working on the front. The side yard has the fruit trees (background) and a marvelous hard maple (foreground, behind the peonies).

This little tree produced the most delicious and abundant peaches last year (might have been our Mediterranean climate of a year ago). If you've ever had a peach ripe from the tree, it will spoil you for anything store-bought. 

Still wondering what edible landscape I can plant back here. Hosta and fern salad anyone, or WWEGE (What would Euell Gibbons eat)? Open to suggestions. 

Pie or Jam, Pie or Jam?

Just plucked these from my Montmorency cherry trees. What to make?

Greens With Envy

Green Mashed Potatoes

This simple recipe is a relatively healthful version of a comfort food usually slathered in butter (not that there's anything wrong with that).

The olive oil and bitter greens make this dish. The potatoes are just a delivery device. Makes a good side dish or even a main entree. Consider it on your next meatless Monday. Or, if you're a vegeterrorist like me, any day of the week. You can also veganize it by leaving out the cheese, of course, and it's still delish.

Fresh from our garden: turnip and dandelion greens. Bread crumbs on the left, and taters on the right. 

Green Mashed Potatoes

Based on a recipe from the NYT by  Mark Bittman (March 6, 2009)

Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds of golden butter potatoes (or any thin-skinned potato) cut into small chunks. No need to peel.

1 pound dandelion or other bitter greens or a mixture (turnip, mustard, etc.), washed and trimmed of thick stems

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

1-1 1/2 cups homemade bread crumbs (four or five slices of crusty bread coarsely chopped in a food processor and mixed with 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan Reggiano and black pepper)

Steps

1. Put potatoes in a large, deep pot and cover them with cold water. Add a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cook until soft but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

2. Add greens to water and cook for about 1 minute. Rinse under cold water. Drain well, then chop.

3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mash potatoes, adding enough olive oil to moisten them well. Mash in the greens, adding more olive oil as needed. Sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper.

4. Put mixture in an ovenproof dish and top with bread crumbs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake until bread crumbs are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Serve hot or warm.

Yield: 4 servings.

Dirt Farmer

I guess this is why real farmers wear overalls and not shorts. At least I was wearing my work boots. Clearly.

One can blithely rip out one's lawn, but then a realization sets in about how to fill up all that space without simply paving over it. Something more sustainable than turf grass, but attractive and even  functional.

In addition to dividing my over-crowded hostas around the back of the house, it was necessary to purchase a few dozen plants. These were mainly of the shade to part sun variety: ferns, more hostas, some black-eyed Susans and cone flowers, and a few other varieties.

First thing was to prep all the boundary areas so the mulch would stay put.

Then I began a marathon planting session that required the use of forty five bags of pine bark mulch.

Before.

After.

Doesn't look like much yet, but in a few years, I hope it will fill out and be half as lush and verdant as my neighbor Nancy's (background).

I dug up an old sidewalk that was previously  overgrown and unusable and much closer to the house, and moved it further out.

The next step is to terrace the remaining and sun-soaked lawn to the street, then build and install raised beds for vegetables. Perhaps a job for the cool autumn.

Garden Update and Recipe

The warm weather has helped the garden tremendously. Now if it would just quit raining so much. Can't eat the salad greens fast enough. All the greens are doing well. Made a delicious (I was told) meal with collards last night. 

Collard Greens With Farro, Mushrooms, & Black Eyed Peas

Vegetarian or vegan.

I modified a boring ol’ NYT recipe by adding mushrooms & black eyed peas, and doubling the garlic. I also changed how they cooked the farro and collards. So I guess this is pretty much my recipe now. One could also turn this into a risotto by adding a little Parmigiano Reggiano when the farro is almost done.

1 large bunch collard greens (about 1 1/2 pounds), stemmed, leaves washed

Salt & black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

5 large garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 cup farro

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 quart veggie stock, vegetable stock or water

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

3/4 cup frozen black eyed peas

5 oz. fresh crimini mushrooms

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add the collard greens. Blanch for four minutes, and transfer to the ice water with a slotted spoon or skimmer. Drain and squeeze out extra water. Chop the greens into 1 inch pieces.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (about five minutes). Add a generous pinch of salt, the garlic and the rosemary, and continue to cook for another minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the farro, and mix for a minute. Add the white wine, and stir until it has been reduced. Add half the stock and/or water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until the farro is tender but chewy, adding broth/water as necessary. 

3. Meanwhile, cook the black eyed peas in water for about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Slice the mushrooms and sauté until they release their juices. Set aside. Chop the parsley. When the farro is done, mix in the collards, black eyed peas, mushrooms, and parsley. Heat through and serve.

Yield: Serves six.

Advance preparation: Will keep for two or three days in the refrigerator and reheats well.