Hubby and I have been jobbing today besides mowing, errands and other chores. He brought me 4 new squash just as I had shredded 20 cups for squash bread to lay in the freezer for winter. I don't know about ya'll but, our old farm house just makes summer baking marathon sessions darn near impossible. Aren't these beauties?
I have been saving some seeds from these lovelies for next year and am thinking maybe I should run another giveaway for my followers. The squash are heirloom and will grow next summer quite nicely. This week; I am going to try sauteeing a few squash stalks and simmering some leaves; yes these can be eaten if cleaned properly.
You can also eat the leaves of your broccoli plants as well. Quite tasty and much milder than the actual heads of broccoli.
And don't forget to roast extra seeds for snacks. Get this; I love the taste of fresh shredded squash for a lite salad just add your favorite dressing or in my case; extra virgin olive oil and roasted seeds. YUM YUM
Here is our first batch of okra these will be dried for seed; the larger pods. The smallish pods, I will be slicing this up for some gumbo and other cajun dishes this fall. Did you know okra leaves can also be consumed as greens? Also the seeds can be roasted, ground and used as a coffee substitute which, after seeing the cost of a 36 ounce can of regular roast of Folgers is running near $11. This will be the next thing I will be trying plus growing chicory.
Cubby Bear just wanted to show off a little; I thought ya'll wouldn't mind. My next experiment will be shredding some green tomatoes for breads and of course Fried Green Tomatoes.
Oh yeah on another note; we will be harvesting some mesquite bean pods for flour; I still owe Mrs. Barbara over at
3 Acreshomestead a lb from my 500th blog post giveaway last year. Seems our trees took a year off from fruiting; I was quite surprised to see them loaded with pods due to our extreme drought.
So what have ya'll been doing in your gardens?
6 comments:
HOLY zucchini girlfriend! What on earth are you feeding them....small children? I absolutely love love love zucchini. Super versatile. I love to slice and dehydrate it. Than we can use it for anything later. Pizza topping to bread.
Thanks for the awesome view of them
Melissa
Beautiful zukes! We were very late getting our garden out because of the massive rains and flooding. I have 22 'mater plants, cukes, watermelon, yellow squash, purple hull peas and cantaloupe. I'm crossing my fingers I get a bountiful harvest because I need to can (freeze/dehydrate) as much as possible.
I love that stuff, sliced then brushed with olive oil and cooked on the grill!
My peppers are getting sun scald :( Tomatoes are doing quite well, have another ripe one.
Those are Texas sized Zucchini if I ever saw any!! Mercy those are big.
Mine are doing ok, but my yellows squash now they are making like ninety. Tomatoes have done well this year :O). Green Bells doing very well. I have a ton of Eggplant this year.
Cucumbers didn't do squat, my Jalapeno are making but not as heavy as I hoped for.
I too love raw yellow squash or zucchini in salads or as a raw salad as well :O). We grilled some of both and eggplant for dinner.
I think the next batch will be dehydrated in my oven. We no longer have a food dehyrdrator; so I am guessing that will be our next expense for our kitchen. The letter is in the mail for DD13. I hope she has a wonderful experience at camp.
Take care,
Mal
Flowering,
We just have the complete opposite issue here. No rain, we are in need of over a foot of rain to be at average for our area. I would love to see a great thunderstorm.
Take care,
Mal
Sharon, I just love zukes in any method of cooking. My fav is how the Cretins used to slice theirs paper thin and quick deep fry the planks in a batter. OMG Had me hooked for life. I am wondering if you can shade your peppers, with an umbrella for 1/2 the day? Hummmms must make note of this.
Take care,
Mal
Lin, Thanks for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from peeps. This is how I learn; I will be stopping by your place today to check out your offerings.
Enjoy your week,
Mal
Texan,
Just as I get finished with one batch of squash; I find more. We are just getting tomatoes; hubby over watered behind my watering and thus we had to cut them back. You know just how picky tomatoes are. And we have not had a single cucumber plant survive this year. Must be something in the air; or lack of it. I am still reading all your updates. This weather is a killer of gardens to be sure. I am praying daily for rain now.
Take care,
Mal
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