Kelli's 2014 Garden Journal - Page 6

efisakov · August 12, 2014

Kelli, what kind of peppers do you grow? My are still green.

BucksCountyGirl · August 12, 2014

Hey Ella!

The bells I am growing are Zolotistyi (a Belarusian gold/yellow). I bought the seeds from Tania's site where she stated they were early for bells in her garden. I have found the same to be true here in my garden.

The other sweet I am growing this year is Jimmy Nardello (an Italian heirloom red frying pepper). They were quite early (beginning of June) and are sweet and delicious although a bit of a pain to seed since they are long and narrow.

efisakov · August 12, 2014

Thanks, Kelli. Keep us updated on production and decease resistance.

BucksCountyGirl · August 14, 2014

I've been trying to do some preserving every day this week.

On Tuesday I made some homemade sofrito. I took a mix of tomatoes, some cilantro, and garlic and whizzed them up in my Omega blender. I started to cook that off in a bit of veg oil while I blistered some Zolotistyi, Jimmy Nardello and Jalapeno peppers along with some sweet onions on my grill. Once they were nicely charred, they too got the blender treatment and were added to the pot (apologies for no "before" pics!). The finished sofrito measured about 6 pints (pic below). It had a nice sweet and smoky edge and I look forward to using it out of the freezer long after the growing season is over

When I was picking up the onions for the sofrito I found ( or rather my nose did) some amazing local nectarines that I could not pass up. So, on Tuesday I chopped them up and mixed them with some sugar to macerate in the fridge overnight. Yesterday I added lemon juice and a bunch of minced Aji Omnicolors. The resulting jam was sweet, tart and a little spicy. Its going to be so delicious as a chicken glaze or on a cheese plate with some nice sharp cheddar. Cheers!

BucksCountyGirl · August 18, 2014

Finally got around to starting our first aged cheese yesterday. It is a raw milk pepper cheddar with Aji Omnicolor and Hot Lemon Peppers. It will age in my wine fridge once it dries out a bit and can be waxed. We certainly are looking forward to seeing how it turns out (in November)

salix · August 18, 2014

Kelli - a beautiful result, I hope the tasting results exceed your expectations. Thank you for sharing your pictures.

BucksCountyGirl · August 19, 2014

Thanks, Ella! So far my peppers are looking really good disease wise and the Zolotistyi (3 plants) and Jimmy Nardello (2 plants) are pumping them out almost as fast as I can use them.

Thank you, Salix! I will certainly post the cheesy results in a few months!

I have been growing about 4 plants of perpetual spinach (a type of Swiss chard) all summer. It had been giving me enough for a small green salad for my husband and I about weekly, but since the cooler weather rolled in a few weeks ago, it has been going nuts!

For dinner last night, I braised the swiss chard with some shallot and cherry tomatoes and served it along with herb crusted tilapia. Cheers!

BucksCountyGirl · August 21, 2014

The cheddar finally dried out enough to wax, so now comes the hardest part of all...waiting 3 months! I hope it's worth it

I am still getting tons of production from my tomatoes and peppers. Since I am going away this weekend, I mustered up enough energy to can 12 half pints of salsa so they wouldn't go to waste. Here's hoping some of the salsa lasts until tomato season is over...I guess I will have to hide them from my hubs

pinklady5 · August 21, 2014

After looking at these photos, I need to take some cooking classes!

BucksCountyGirl · August 22, 2014

Finally got around to planting out some of my fall seeds last night, albeit MUCH later than I had wanted. I usually get things started around the middle of July, but the walking pneumonia really set me back as far as garden work...sigh. But it's worth the cost of seeds to see if I get anything before frost, and with how crazy the weather has been in recent years, who knows when that will be?

I seeded:
Red Russian Kale
Osaka Purple Mustard Greens (thanks for the free sample, Remy!)
Red Cored Chantenay Carrots
3 Root Grex Beets
Oregon Giant Snow Peas

Still waiting in the wings (for a spot to open up):
Misato Red Meat (Watermelon) Radish
Sun King Broccoli Seedlings
Winter Density Lettuce
Blushed Butterhead Lettuce
Big Seeded Mache
Arugula Sylvetta
Killarney Red Garlic (not until October)

Also, in other exciting news, we got to try our first two Negronne figs from our tree last night! They were sweet and jammy with a touch of berry flavor, and very unlike any fig I've ever had before. I'm really looking forward to the other dozen or so that are going to ripen in the coming weeks...fig preserves anyone? Cheers!

Tania · August 22, 2014

Kelli, the cheese looks so awesome - you are a great inspiration!

efisakov · August 23, 2014

Great job, Kelli. I seeded my lettuce in a container about a month ago. I am picking it now. See if you have an available container. If the weather changes to worst you can always bring it indoor.

luigiwu · August 23, 2014

I'm so impressed - a lot of hardwork in this thread!
Where do you get the seeds for the perpetual spinach from - and does it taste... spinachy?

BucksCountyGirl · August 25, 2014

Thanks, Tania!

Ella, I am pulling some of my more diseased container plants this week and planting some lettuce. Nothing like greens fresh from the garden!

Luigi, I bought my seed from Baker's Creek. To me the leafy part has a more spinach-y flavor and the ribs taste more like classic chard. So if you don't include the ribs I believe it is a suitable summer replacement for spinach that won't bolt

We went to the Jersey shore for the weekend and stopped at a great farmer's market on the way home. I bought some gorgeous peaches and raspberries that I am macerating to make a melba jam tonight (pics tomorrow). I also picked up a beautiful head of organic cabbage to make some kraut. I added a bit of the juice from my fermenting peppers, bay leaf, peppercorn and dill. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

Speaking of fermenting peppers, when we returned home last night there were a ton of ripe ones waiting to get added to the hot sauce. I think we might end up with over a gallon of pepper mash this year!

efisakov · August 25, 2014

Nice, Kelli. BTW how is production and taste of Zolotistyi?

August 12, 2014	#76
efisakov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NJ, zone 7 Posts: 3,162	Kelli, what kind of peppers do you grow? My are still green. __________________ Ella God comes along and says, "I think I'm going to create THE tomato!”

August 12, 2014	#77
BucksCountyGirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Holland, PA/Zone 7A Posts: 692	Hey Ella! The bells I am growing are Zolotistyi (a Belarusian gold/yellow). I bought the seeds from Tania's site where she stated they were early for bells in her garden. I have found the same to be true here in my garden. The other sweet I am growing this year is Jimmy Nardello (an Italian heirloom red frying pepper). They were quite early (beginning of June) and are sweet and delicious although a bit of a pain to seed since they are long and narrow. __________________ - Kelli Life's a climb...but the view is fantastic

August 12, 2014	#78
efisakov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NJ, zone 7 Posts: 3,162	Thanks, Kelli. Keep us updated on production and decease resistance. __________________ Ella God comes along and says, "I think I'm going to create THE tomato!”

August 18, 2014	#81
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	Kelli - a beautiful result, I hope the tasting results exceed your expectations. Thank you for sharing your pictures. __________________ "He who has a library and a garden wants for nothing." -Cicero

August 22, 2014	#86
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	Kelli, the cheese looks so awesome - you are a great inspiration! __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase

August 21, 2014	#84
pinklady5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Central NJ Posts: 234	After looking at these photos, I need to take some cooking classes!

August 23, 2014	#87
efisakov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NJ, zone 7 Posts: 3,162	Great job, Kelli. I seeded my lettuce in a container about a month ago. I am picking it now. See if you have an available container. If the weather changes to worst you can always bring it indoor. __________________ Ella God comes along and says, "I think I'm going to create THE tomato!”

August 23, 2014	#88
luigiwu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: ny Posts: 1,219	I'm so impressed - a lot of hardwork in this thread! Where do you get the seeds for the perpetual spinach from - and does it taste... spinachy?

August 25, 2014	#90
efisakov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NJ, zone 7 Posts: 3,162	Nice, Kelli. BTW how is production and taste of Zolotistyi? __________________ Ella God comes along and says, "I think I'm going to create THE tomato!”