Last minute thought

Squash casserole made from the summer garden and frozen in blocks is what goes with dinner tonight. Trust me, it tastes a lot better than it looks. Otherwise, we wouldn't spend hours in the summer making what takes minutes to take out freezer to defrost and then heat up in the microwave or the oven when the garden can't produce. It's the best side dish we have all winter long - unfortunately when it is a last minute thought it just doesn't look its best.

As good as I imagined it would be!

Back a few weeks ago, I blogged about a recipe from a new Gordon Ramsey cookbook I was inspired to purchase. The recipe that hooked me was "Macaroni cheese with Blue Cheese and Mushrooms" and that is exactly what I made this evening. The macaroni I chose was a petite penne pasta and I got it boiling while I heated up a cast iron pan with mushrooms to saute.

While the mushrooms cooked down there was a ham steak simmering in a mustard sauce I concocted on my own. It needed to be used and I wanted to keep it as moist as possible. It was a very unappealing brown sauce and hence was not photographed.

Mushrooms cooked down and browning in the butter.
Ground pepper was added to the mushrooms at the end.

Once the pasta was cooked and rinsed 3/4 C of heavy cream and 4 oz of blue cheese were added and warmed till melted and creamy. I had far more pasta than what was called for because it would have left a scant amount in the box if I hadn't cooked it up. I didn't adjust the dairy products and it didn't really seem to matter too much.

More ground pepper was added before the dish was assembled.

The pasta was put in an oven proof container and topped with the mushrooms and blue cheese. It was put under the broiler for a few minutes till bubbly and golden brown. I almost forgot to take a picture of the finished product but managed a quick one before we sat down and said grace. Next time I will prepare more mushrooms - the rustic taste of the mushrooms and the blue cheese blended nicely. It went ok with the ham steak, but mom and I think a pork tenderloin or a pork chop would go nicely with the creamy blue cheese sauce. A small basket of cherry tomatos accompanied the meal and it was delish! I don't regret buying the book, even if I only like the two recipes I've made out of it so far!

Last of the summer garden

Its still warm and the tomato plants are still producing

The basil is top heavy and seriously needs to be harvested and made into pesto

And for all intents and purposes, the long, dry, hot summer has taken its toll on the garden. After five months of production things are coming to their natural, eventual, inevitable end.

Five stars

At the start of the summer, on the overnight to Maine I perused at my Aunt Jan's cookbooks and fell for Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy: 100 Sophisticated but Simple Recipes. Without trying, or because I have been in a doctoral program for several years, my television viewing habits are pretty regimented. But if I realize Gordon Ramsay's The F-Word is on, I'll make accommodations. Yes, I have found a few of his other shows, but The F-Word, the show that features him as a restaurateur of the same named establishment, features Gordon at his finest (as far as I am concerned), interacting with his staff and exploring the nuances of food and how people have fun enjoying their food. Though I ordered and received the cookbook from Amazon sometime mid summer, its been till now (in the cooler weather) that I've been motivated to try something new. That - plus the additional features that #1) lobster was on sale and #2)the last of the cherry tomatoes are around - made it the perfect evening to try his "Spaghetti with Lobster in Creamy Tomato Sauce".
I adulterated it, of course, to accommodate the digestive systems and taste palates of my parents who were feasting with me. I tried my hand at photographing this step by step, because Paula commented on it, but I as you can tell, I am not so great at getting every shot on the night I try out a new recipe - maybe better luck next time - b/c I will be making this again - yummy!

With the lobster meat of one lobster harvested and 1.5 lbs. of ripe cherry tomatoes from the garden cut in half, I prepped the rest of the ingredients; 2-3 scallions, 1/2 chile pepper (Gordon called for a whole one), 2 garlic cloves, 4 T butter (unsalted but I did not obey Gordon), 1 C white wine, salt (I didn't use since butter brought it), pepper and 1/2 C heavy cream (I used more than the 1/3 C he required) along with some broiled scallops (Gordon didn't ask for the scallops, but we decided to go with a few in our sauce).

The butter helps cook down the veggies till tender.
The wine helps cook them a bit further.

Meanwhile, the bright idea to cook up the fresh
lima beans was drawing controversy.

Mainly because this stove has two 'real' burners....

So the lima beans were put off to the grill so the pasta could be cooked.
I used fresh linguine - taking liberties from the spaghetti he used.

Finishing up the sauce with heavy cream and the seafood
and a handful of fresh basil from the kitchen herb garden!

Lima beans (or butter beans as the case may be)
done just the way I like 'em! (and until 6 years ago when
I lived in Greenville, NC I didn't even know I liked butter beans!)

I served it up family style - not the way Gordon suggests (he also suggests fresh Parmesan cheese on top and I didn't do it) - but then I had already taken some liberties.....I can only imagine what he might say......err, maybe not!

Processing time

The tomato harvest is steadily coming in
and so the process of canning begins with earnest.
A table on the porch is the staging area for canning....

While the staging area for use during
the rest of the year is a cabinet in the cellar.

Sweet Valley - sub station

Dad's garden does pretty well, but fresh corn on the cob, peaches, melons and a few other things need to be purchased elsewhere. As trendy as it is right now to buy local, my mother has always been committed to helping out the local farmer. In Hunterdon County, that is pretty easy and does not always involve going to a storefront marquee. Sweet Valley Orchards main location is a grand building in Flemington, but their station 3 miles up the road from the Homestead has everything we usually want - 7 days a week.


It's not fancy, but a real farm truck parked on the backside of some of their fields under a couple of trees. The truck is staffed by a local high school kid who knows how to count change without a calculator. Kids hand down the job to younger brothers, cousins, and friends. Some days can be down right hot and boring sitting there on the side of the road with just a truck load of produce and a walkie talkie to get to the main store when there is a run peaches or tomatoes. It is not surprising to see a grandparent or other family member come down with a snack or cold beverage to help their teenager kill time. A couple of years ago, there was a card table set up with a checker game that was always there to be played between customers who drive up, get out of their car for a quick stop before driving away with a backseat filled with produce.

Making a break for it

Part of the basil plant must have been unhappy with its original placement, because there is one growing next to the parsley pot. That didn't grow so well - err at all this year and the mint is just overhanging its confines. But the mint is root bound and shouldn't be headed anywhere other than tea, deserts, and syrups. I almost feel bad that the basil ended up in the woodchips and not the parsley pot - at least then it would look like it was "home" and not standing sentry over an empty pot.

It's a jungle out there

and evidently you need to be seriously attired to
go pick cherry tomatoes in my nephew's garden plot

I lost count after 50 little red marbles went into the colander....

And when the colander gets pressed into service for what
it was intended, one must still suit up to find the ripe fruit -
and warn away the critters with a handy dandy whistle.

Don't you occasionally miss being four years old when
EVERYTHING about life was an adventure?

Dinner Delimma

I could get all intricate with recipes and whatnot to make a delicious dinner - or I could just cook the ear of corn, slice the tomatoes and cucumbers, have a few green beans on the side with a hunk of cheese. Maybe I'll venture out when the sun goes below the tree line and see if how the last of the blueberries are to have with the peaches and fresh yogurt for desert - yeah, that's the plan. I LOVE summer dinners!

The bee and the butterfly

Dropped by to spy on the garden - or at least get what they could from the sunflower

It's a jungle in the garden these days! Tomato plants with some fruit beginning to turn from green to yellowish orange to the promised red.

Squash plants - zucchini and yellow summer squash are already producing plenty. It's almost a fulltime job to keep them from getting the size of baseball bats! Breads and casseroles are being made by the double batches.

Makes sense

"Keep your face to the sunshine
and you cannot see the shadow.
It's what sunflowers do" - Helen Keller

and then........

It's the 4th of July weekend. Time to pick blueberries, make ice cream, and help pack away hot air balloons! Now we only planned the first two activities, the rest were a bonus for the overnight here at The Homestead!

Sampling the berries is the best way to know if they are ripe or not.

Gotta get the blue ones.

Mixing up the ice cream ingredients with Nana to be churned.

Packing ice into the bucket - thank goodness for electric models.
Daddy and Auntie used to use the hand crank!

The balloon going over the homestead was a nice surprise in the evening. Then Grandpop decided that it was coming down - so after a short ride in the truck Luke and Sarah were there to see it land.

The balloon man was happy to get some extra help in flattening out the balloon to roll it up.

Another family had the same idea and with several kids rolling around it wasn't long before it was packed and back on the truck. How fun is that to kick off the 4th of July weekend?

Watering the crops - the old fashioned way

After a pretty busy and productive morning doing errands and whatnot, Dad and I both crashed this afternoon. He then managed to rouse himself and tend to his plants. I managed to walk out and helpfully take pictures. Compared to the crops and the rain we saw in Maine, the garden is parched with no rain for the last 2-3 weeks. The water collected in buckets near the air conditioning unit supply the irrigation system he prefers, which as you can see, is the watering can.

Beyond the benefit of not wasting water, it targets each plant and gives them the drink they need. Already, a common phrases he mutters include; "We could really use some rain" or "Whew, it is dry". And on afternoons when storms are in the forecast is the oft-used "Those storms are going to come across the river - break up - and then go north and south of us" is regularly heard. Really, though, compared to the lush green everything we saw from the Catskill Mtns. and points north, it does feel a little like a drought here.

The blueberries are coming, the blueberries are coming!

They still aren't quite blue, yet - but the promises of a bumper
crop of blueberries here at The Homesetead are on the horizon.

See? Evidence of things to come. Denim blue and just lovely.

Just a couple of weeks more and
I can already smell the muffins being made.

,

see how the garden grows

Several weeks ago we toured Dad's garden here at the Homestead and before everything is harvested, I thought I might get a few shots recorded now that nearly everything is planted.
Above is the herb garden just out the kitchen for easy cutting during food prep.

I did a major operation on this mint plant at the end
of last year and pleased with its progress.

Lettuce - already making tasty salads

Leeks - a new crop for the garden

Tomatoes with scallions across from them

Squash - with Al foil to keep away the grubs.
There are at least 6 plants all together.

String beans, lima beans and something else.

Zinnias, cosmos, other flowers to bloom later this summer