I grew a lot of Japanese indigo this year and am trying different processing methods. Fir small projects this salt method works well.
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So many plums!With all the heat this summer the plums are ripening sooner than usual. Yippee!
I never really understood the term “plum crazy” until this year’s banner harvest; I can’t stop picking when there is ripe, juicy fruit to be had and every possible space is covered with some plum related project.
Have you ever seen the part in Forest Gump where Bubba talks about everything you can do with shrimp? Here’s the plum version: “You can make plum torte, plum jam, plum sauce, frozen plums, dried plums, pickled plums, plums in brandy, plum sauce and this is only the beginning!”
Here is a lovely plum sauce made by putting plums face down on a cookie sheet covered with melted butter and a bit of sugar in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. When the skins easily come off it’s ready to go.
Caramelized plum sauceTo dry plums you can either quarter them or pit them, push them out flat and put them skin side down on a dehydrator tray. It takes about 24 hours for them to try to the point they won’t mold.
Dried plumsEach year I make plum tortes with a recipe from the New York Times. These tortes are super easy to make and freeze beautifully.
Easy and deliciousHere is the recipe for an absolutely wonderful blue plum conserve from my Mother’s 1946 version of the Joy of Cooking. I use the Italian prune plums but Damson plums work equally well. This recipe does have walnut meats and be aware that there is some concern about canning preserves made with nuts. I have never had a problem but do want to let you know about this.
Here is the mixture before cooking.Blue Plum Conserve
Ingredients:
- 2 oranges
- 1 lemon
- 1 and a 1/4 pounds of raisins
- 9 cups sugar
- 5 pounds blue plums
- 1/2 pound broken walnut meats
Directions:
Peel and chop the thin rind from the oranges and lemon and put it in a large bowl. Chop up the pulp from the citrus fruits and add this and any juice to the bowl. Next add in the raisins and the sugar. Pit, slice and add in the plums. Mix well then place in a large pot and cook until thick. Be careful to stir continuously or your mixture will burn. Add in the walnut meats. Cook ten more minutes then put into sterile jars. You can then water bath can your preserve if you so desire.
Here’s the finished product.Year before last when we had an insane amount of fruit I did a plum wine. It actually turned out to be more of a brandy and while quite strong, we liked it.
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We never have enough napkins so I made some new ones!
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Dyeing with fresh indigo is easy!
Another option is massaging the leaves with salt and squeezing out the liquid. The leaf paste can also be spread on fabric for a targeted pattern.
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Flax seeds add a nice nutritious nutty flavor to many dishes and the fibrous stalks can be spun into fiber. Growing this plant in the Northwest is so easy that it’s almost seen as a weed.
First grow the flax:
Picture from: www.flaxandhemp.bangor.ac.uk/
Once it has matured and the seed pods are fully formed, harvest it and let it dry in a dark place. Once the seed heads are dry lay them on a cloth and crush the seed heads to release the small seeds.
Crush the seed heads on a cloth to catch any loose grains.
Next winnow it to separate the grains from the chaff.
Winnowing is fun!
Here is the final product; lovely golden flax seeds.
These can be added to your favorite foods or saved to plant next year.
To learn more about how to process the stalks into fiber visit here.
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Growing up in the desert in Arizona rose hips always sounded so exotic but now that I live in the Pacific Northwest I can find these vitamin C rich tasty fruits everywhere. While all bushes make hips, Rosa rugosa is the variety that has the biggest, sweetest fruits.
You can see why these fruits are also called “rose tomatoes”
They are ripe now and can be easily harvested. Be careful of thorns and make sure that no chemical sprays have been used.
This will be ready to be picked in a few more days. Hips are ripe when soft to the touch.
Rose hips contain 25 percent more iron, 20 to 40 percent more Vitamin C (depending upon variety), and 25 times the Vitamin A, and 28 percent more calcium than oranges!
Freshly picked rose hips
Here are my top three favorite ways to use these tasty and healthy fruits:
- Rose hip tea – you can use fresh or dried hips to make this comforting beverage. Just soak 3 to 4 hips in boiling water for 10 minutes then add honey or agave syrup to taste. This is great on a cold winter night.
- Dried rose hips – split hips, remove seeds and spread in a clean area until dry. Once thoroughly dry put in jars or bags. If not completely dry they will mold. These can be added to recipes or just eaten as is.
- Rose hip jelly
Seeded and ready to dry.
To make the jelly:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups rose hip juice
- 2T lemon juice
- 4 cups sugar
- One package of pectin
Directions:
- Wash the hips
- Remove the seeds
- Put fruit in pot and just cover with water
- Cook until soft then mash with a potato masher
- Put the fruit in a jelly bag or line a colander with a couple of layers of cheese cloth and strain out the liquid. To have clear jelly let the juice run out without putting pressure on the bag. This can take several hours.
- Combine the juice with pectin and lemon juice.
- Bring to a boil. Add sugar, boil hard for 1 minute.
- Pour into sterile jars then water bath can for 5 minutes.
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The goats are long gone but the shed remains. It’s now my “she shed” and this year I added on a greenhouse.
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Many of the flowers that grace our yards are edible. They can be used as accents in a salad or as garnish on a main dish.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Chive
I like to use chive flowers in salads to lend a slightly onion flavor. Here’s a recipe for omelets with chive flowers.
Lavender
Lavender cookies are fragrant and delicious.
Rose
Candied rose petals are a sweet my daughter likes to make.
Calendula
Have you ever made homemade calendula cream? It’s easy to make and fun for kids to create.
Elderberry flowers
These can be dipped in batter and fried to make fritters.
Sage
Sage flowers can be sprinkled over a dish to give a mild sage flavor.
Johnny Jump Ups
I like to put these on cakes to decorate them.
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Oregano bunched and ready to hang to dry.
My family loves Italian style food so we go through a ton of the herb oregano each year. Luckily it’s very easy to grow; you can start it from seed or buy a plant at most local nurseries. It does best in full sun and doesn’t like to be water logged but do be aware that it self seeds quite easily.
Right now is a good time to harvest oregano! This flavorful Mediterranean herb is best harvested on a warm, dry morning right before it blooms. To harvest and dry cut it three inches above the ground then bunch it and hang it in a cool place with good air circulation. Be careful not to make the bunches too big or the stems in the middle might rot. Once dry I store it in the basement in mason jars and bring up just enough to last a week or so as the heat and light in the kitchen can make it lose flavor quickly.
In addition to adding oregano to the usual pizza and spaghetti sauces here are some other interesting ways to use this prolific herb.
Oregano Infused Simple Syrup
Ingredients:
1 C. water
1 C. sugar
2 C. fresh oregano
Directions:
- Bring water to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until sugar has dissolved.
- Add the oregano to the syrup. Boil for 60 seconds and let it steep for 30 mins as the syrup cools.
- Pour the cooled syrup through a strainer into a glass bottle jar.
- Store syrup in the refrigerator. Small amounts can be added to sparkling water or it can be used in cocktails. I think it pairs well with vodka.
The flowers taste good and can be dried for great bouquets.
Oregano Lemon Chicken
Ingredients:
- Four chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup fresh oregano, chopped
- Juice and zest from two lemons
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup green olives with brine
- Three cloves of garlic
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat oil in a frying pan, add chopped garlic and chicken. Cook until the outside of the chicken begins to brown. Add the lemon juice, zest and olives and turn down the heat. Cook slowly until the chicken is almost done. Add the chopped oregano and finish cooking. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with a fresh sprig of oregano.
Oregano Herb Butter
Finely chop 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh oregano mix with one cube softened butter. Roll into a log on wax paper then wrap in the paper, put in a plastic freezer bag and freeze until needed. Can also be immediately but should be refrigerated if you need to store it. This butter can be used to baste meat, season veggies or on bread.
Oregano Olive Oil Cubes
Chop fresh oregano and mix it with olive oil. Pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it. Once frozen put in freezer bags. This can be used in salad dressings, to baste meats or veggies or anytime fresh tasting oregano is needed.
Baked Feta with Oregano
Take a block of feta and cover it with 4 cloves crushed garlic and 4 T fresh oregano leaves. Drizzle with 1/4 c olive oil and top with a large tomato. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until bubbly. Serve with bread or crackers.
Herb Crust for Grilled Meats
Chop fresh oregano and mix it with olive oil and other fresh herbs to taste. Cover meat to be grilled with this mixture then cook over a hot fire. This will both add a nice flavor to the meat and keep it moist.
Do you have other favorite ways to use oregano? I’d love to hear them!
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Lemon Balm tea
Do you have lemon balm, (Melissa officinalis) coming out your ears this time of year? Mine is ready to take over the entire perennial bed. In addition to tasting great it’s also supposed to decrease stress and increase mental function so it’s time to get cooking!
Here are some of my favorite ways to use this abundant herb.
Iced Lemon Balm Tea
Ingredients for one glass:
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup balm (fresh lemon, leaves)
- 1/4 cup sugar or to taste
- 2 cups boiling water
- ice
- 1 lemon balm sprig for decoration
Directions:
Put leaves in boiling water, add sugar and let steep until desired concentration is reached. Squeeze in juice from one lemon, adjust sugar, add ice and sprig – enjoy!
Hot Lemon Balm Tea
Ingredients for one teapot full of tea:
- 1/2 cup lemon balm
- 1 tsp lemon zest (grated)
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 cups boiling water
Directions:
Put leaves and zest in pot, add boiling water. Let steep about 5 minutes, add honey to taste.
German Erdbeer – This is a summer wine often imbibed at picnics
- 1 pounds of fresh strawberries
- 2 cups lemon balm leaves
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 bottle white wine
Directions:
- Halve the berries, then place them in the bottom of large punch bowl or glass pitcher.
-
Sprinkle the powdered sugar over them.
- Add the lemon balm leaves to the berries.
-
Pour wine over the berry mixture, cover, and cool in the fridge.
-
Garnish with a sprig of lemon balm
Lemon Balm happily growing
Lemon Balm Simple Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh lemon balm leaves loosely packed
Directions:
- Stir together all 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes.
- Pour liquid through a wire-mesh strainer into an airtight container, removing lemon balm leaves.
- Cover and chill 4 hours.
Syrup may be stored in refrigerator up to 1 month or kept frozen for up to one year.
Fancy Fruit Cup
This one is so simple I hate to even call it a recipe. Cut up your favorite fruit into equal size pieces. Add chopped lemon balm and drizzle with honey.
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