catspaw | I can haz break naow?

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I can haz break naow?

Dear Mother Nature/Higher Power/Whom It May Concern,

It's NOT that I don't appreciate your Bounty. I seriously do. I love having a ready supply of fresh, organic veg. But...

do they really all have to come at once regardless of sowing times? I'm drowning under a mountain of ~~mixed metaphors~~ produce here...

I love cauliflower, I really do. Here's a cauliflower:

It's the size of a soccer ball.

I have six of them sitting in my kitchen, waiting to get bagged up and frozen.

I'm also dealing with the Euro mountain of peas, broad beans, carrots, lettuce (what the hell is here to do with lettuce?), strawberries and courgettes (zucchini).

And I'm balefully eying up the raspberries, broccoli, syboes (spring onions, scallions), early onions (red and white) that won't keep that well, cabbage and salad potatoes.

And please don't get me started on the plums...

::sigh:: Summer has its drawbacks.

And the weather's shite too :-(

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*waves hands in air*

I will take a few of yer hands tomorrow if you like. We loves all that stuffs.

See ya around 9ish

9-ish, check :-)

~~prepares to leave at around 11 :-P~~

Portable veg check check :-)

Courgettes, lettuce and strawberries immediately up for grabs. And I'll deploy The Man down to the allotment while we're away for other stuff for you to take away :-)

I didn't know you had a green thumb, too!

Wish I could help you out; you're making me hungry. Hmm. I suppose if there was a way to make moonshine out of all that you'd already know about it.

Um. Because of your research skills I mean. Really.

Plum wine, anyone? :p

Nah, it's The Man that has the green thumb - at least where veg are concerned. Flowers are more my thing. And I wish you could help me out too!

Moonshine? Waaaaiiiit a doggone minute...

::narrows eyes::

::recovers swiftly::

::looks saintly::

Moonshine is, of course, illegal...

Plus, plum wine. Been there, done that, turned out vile. Truly paint stipper. Wouldn't wish it on a dog :-(

Ahhh yes, the green thumb strikes again!

Did you ever get the spaghetti squash to grow?

::hugs you tight::

The spaghetti squash is growing a storm! 'Course, whether or not it actually produces a squash is kind of in the lap of the gods, given our climate :-(

I actually managed to buy one in the supermarket yesterday! ::licks lips:: Like we <>need another vegetable to chomp through... Still, a little bit variety and all that *g*

What a beautiful cauliflower! That pic is food porn; it's got me panting! I'm jealous; in my neck of the woods we don't see cauliflower that good-looking even at the farmers' market. (And the cost, oh, the cost. I tried shopping the farmers' market last year, because I believe in buying local produce when possible. I expected to pay a little more than at the supermarket. In reality, the prices were a LOT higher. Obviously, the best way is to grow it oneself, like you've done--however, I live in a rental space and have no garden. But I digress.)

And I'm giggling about the zucchini. They're just too darned prolific, and they grow too darned fast. Today, the size of cucumbers (I was actually going to write something much cruder *g*); tomorrow, baseball bats. You probably know the trick of coarse grating and freezing in zucchini-bread-recipe sized portions. Yummy quick breads all winter long!

Oh yeah, The Man gives good cauliflower ::grin:: But farmers' markets? Obviously there as here - overpriced really, trading on your willingness to buy local :-( They'll eventually do themselves out of any business at all, I think. But there's me digressing too... ;-)

Crudity (or crudite? *g*) is good for vegetables! It's what they were made for *g*

Yes, I've done the grated zucchini thing: and also lived to pull a bag (or several bags) of mush out of the back of the freezer and think to myself 'TF?? I know I kept this for something - but what, exactly?' LOL

But growing your own is good, if you can manage it, and can cope with the gluts that always happen. Every year at this time I moan about the gluts, I'm a creature of habit!

I have a very good recipe for pickles using zucchini. They are kept in the fridge and keep for up to 3 months in the fridge. So far we've never had any last that long! I also have a recipe for freezer pickles. Let me know if you're interested. Both recipes are very easy to make.

Oh yes please! To both! Anything at all that uses up the zucchini is a Good Thing :-)

Summer Squash Ice Box Pickles:

7 cups thinly sliced zucchini, summer squash or combo
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup grated carrot
1 green pepper finely chopped
1 cup cider vinegar (apple cider vinegar)
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon pickling salt
1 Tablespoon dill seed

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate overnight.

Pack the vegetables tightly into quart jars (or whatever size you have). Cover with the brine. Refrigerate. They will keep up to 3 months.

Freezer Pickles

8 cups sliced cucumbers or combo with zucchini
2 medium onions sliced thinly
2 Tablespoons pickling salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seeds

Put cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Allow to stand at least 3 hours. Rinse the vegetables thoroughly with cold tap water, and drain. Meanwhile mix the other ingredients.

Pour brine over vegetables. Mix and cover. Refrigerate overnight.

Pack the pickles in straight-sided containers. Cover with brine. Seal and freeze. Defrost in the refrigerate for 8 hours before serving.

Brilliant, thank you :-))) :scuttles off to 'save'::

I'll definitely try these tomorrow ::eyes the three zucchini sitting in the kitchen right now:: - I'll let you know how I get on!

One thing though - I'm not used to working in cups. Do the cups have to be packed tightly, or just roughly as the bits of whatever get scooped up into them?

I don't actually measure the cups out myself. I just fill the large bowl with them. If you do measure, I'd just scoop it up.

Scoop up, check. I can do that. :-)

I think this is going to be tomorrow's project.

O.M.G.

*drools*

I'm making my soup stock tonight and definitely in the mood (holy crap I typed "food" first) for veggie pr0n pics.

;-)

Now enlighten me dear--what's courgettes?

Sorry, I do keep forgetting to translate :-( Zucchini.

Well really, you shouldn't have to! I have a recipe for pickled red onion rings if you want. They last for weeks in the refrigerator.

Oh, and let's see...I'll take one of the cauliflowers and a head of lettuce.

Pickled red onion rings sound good - bring it on, please :-)

Here ya go:

From The Savory Way, by Deborah Madison:

Pickled Red Onion Rings

The onions lose their harshness and bite and are infused with pink within 15 minutes or so. They’ll keep for weeks, refrigerated.

Pouring the boiling water over the onions softens them and hastens the curing process. You can omit this step if you prefer a crisper onion, but it will take several hours for the color to infuse. (My note: I skip this step because I’m lazy.)

Makes 2 cups

1 pound firm red onions
1 quart boiling water, approximately
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon sugar
several pinches of salt
2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns, lightly crushed
marjoram or thyme branches or a few pinches of dried (I use thyme)

Thinly slice the onions into rounds. Separate the rounds and put them in a colander. Pour the boiling water over them, then put the onions in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Cover and keep refrigerated.

(I love to put them in tuna sandwiches, they give a nice tang to them.)

Mmm-mmm, sounds pretty good! Nicely sweet/sour. Thanks!

Oooooo mmmmmmm num. God that all sound awesome. Mmmm. Can you make an onion spread of some sort? Can you make jam-like things with onions?

Now that's a thought! I know there's such a thing as onion marmalade, but whether or not that keeps or it's just a dollopy thing to eat fresh, I have no idea. I'll have to look into that!

Chutney :oD

That all sounds fab, although I sympathise at the glut, and yes you do complain every year *g* Wish I was nearer to take some off your hands.

*g* Of course I complain every year! It's not really a serious, complainy-type complaint though, or at least not yet, until I climb on the jam/chutney treadmill.

How about bagging nice assortments of the fruits and veggies and leaving them anonymously on the neighbours' doorsteps in the dead of night?

Actually, I could have taken a sackful of anything not needing to be cooked off your hands today and been a big hit on the train as we sat and sat and sat and then sat some more at the Waverley Station. My 16:43 train finally left at 21:20, and by then it was three trains' worth of people, because we had the 17:09 people on there as well as the 21:00 folks. Something about a "massive signals failure affecting the entire Fife region". I finally walked in the door here in Stonehaven a little past midnight. And as it's 02:46 now, I think I should call it a day and go to bed! Btw, do you mind if I friend you?

Oh no! What an utter pain in the neck :-((( You must have been totally shattered when you finally got back, there's almost nothing more exhausting and frustrating than endlessly waiting, and on top of all that walking too. And from what you say, I gather the buffet service wasn't up to much either, for three trainloads of people :-( I hope it didn't completely knock the gloss off the day.

It was fun meeting you yesterday - and I've friended you back already :-)

After we'd been sitting on the train for about an hour, they announced that there was complimentary tea, coffee, biscuits, and mini pretzels available in the buffet car. So that rounded off the dinner of carrot sticks with hummus, salt and vinegar crisps, and chocolate-covered peanuts I'd purchased at the Marks & Spencer shop, partly in an effort to get a 10p piece for the pay toilets in the station, lol! All in all, quite a day, but I wouldn't have missed it.

Oh, and if you'd like to know what kept Tavi from joining us, here's what she was doing while we were climbing hills at the zoo. http://kleio-caissa.livejournal.com/25732.html

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I can haz break naow?

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