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garden 2014 // week 6

I mis-labeled last week’s garden update, which should have been weeks 4 & 5, so now we’re on the sixth week! The garden is still blooming at full capacity, but there have also been a few setbacks. I will chalk this up to my being a total newbie at gardening. The first problem I’m having is something called blossom end rot , and it is just a horrid as it sounds. Zane first noticed it when he picked one of our butternut squashes prematurely. It looked really shriveled and gross, and the end was all rotten. I thought, oh, well, it was dead anyway. But, after a closer inspection of the other baby squashes, I noticed that several of them had the same problem! I Googled “end of butternut squash rotten” and found out that this is actually a common problem, and is caused by a lack of calcium. The roots could have trouble uptaking the calcium in the soil if there is a dramatic change in watering patterns (which could definitely have happened while we were on vacation and it was SO hot here in New Hampshire), or if the soil was not enriched enough to begin with (which could definitely have happened when I had to move my garden beds, thus disturbing my soil layers). Regardless of the cause of the problem, the solution seems to be a foliar spray, which I purchased from Amazon and had overnighted. I removed all the rotten fruits and bathed the heck out of the roots in a foul-smelling mixture of liquid seaweed and water. The good news is that the rest of the new fruits actually look fine. In fact, we have a fully ripe zucchini that we are going to eat tonight in one of my favorite dishes (see recipe at the end of the post). The second problem I’m having is also quite common, and that is sunburned leaves. I think I did a little too much watering of the leaves during the middle of the day (should have just concentrated on the soil) and now some of my leaves have little burn marks. Well, live and learn! The third problem is that two of my pepper plants are not doing well at all (read: practically dead). I think my aggressive removal of the blossoms, in the hopes that I could get the plants to grow larger, was a big mistake. I gave the peppers the seaweed treatment, too, in the hopes it might bring them back to life.

garden 2014 // week six 1
garden 2014 // week six 2
garden 2014 // week six 3
garden 2014 // week six 4
garden 2014 // week six 6
bean collage
garden 2014 // week six 7
garden 2014 // week six 8

Our dinner tonight, based on the recipe
“Tuscan Style Pasta with Chickpeas, Zucchini and Rosemary”
from Vegan Planet , by Robin Robertson

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small or 1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch thick half-moons
2 garlic cloves, minced, or about a tablespoon of jarred, minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
One 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
One 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste
1 pound of rotini, or similar

Directions:
Cook the pasta, drain, and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, sauté the zucchini in the olive oil until slightly softened. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, then stir in the rosemary, tomatoes, chickpeas, and seasoning and cook for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors . Combine with pasta, and enjoy!

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in the kitchen // carrot bisque

This recipe is one of my favorites and it is a soul-warming treat during the cold winter months. The truth is that you really can’t go wrong with anything from the Post-Punk Kitchen. Isa Chandra Moskowitz has a charming personality (even in her writing) and I’m a huge fan of her cookbooks. This recipe comes from Vegan With A Vengeance. Most of the time and effort involved in this recipe happens during the prep stage. Lots of carrot-peeling and chopping! But, sometimes it’s nice to have a mindless, repetitive task to do. Another favorite cookbook author of mine, Edward Espe Brown (of The Tassajara Cookbook) relates some sage advice he once heard from Zen master Suzuki Roshi regarding carrots. He writes,

[Suzuki Roshi said,] ‘When you wash the rice, wash the rice; when you cut the carrots, cut the carrots; and when you stir the soup, stir the soup.’…I tried in a simple, direct, awkward way to be present, to see the rice with my eyes, to feel the rice with my hands, to have awareness in the movement of my arms…Anyone can do this kind of work. Whole worlds come alive.

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3 lbs. carrots, peeled and diced into small pieces (1/2″ or less)
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil of some sort
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
3 cups vegetable broth, of vegetable bouillon cube in 3 cups water
1 can coconut milk (13 oz)
1 tbsp maple syrup

Cook carrots and onions in the oil, covered, until mostly softened. Add the spices and garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add coconut milk and bring to a low boil (last time I made this soup I forgot about this stage and it fully boiled for a minute or two and turned out ok). Next, you will puree the soup. She says do 1/2, I do the whole thing and I do it with an immersion blender. You can do whatever you like. Add the maple syrup (I also forgot this and, again, it was fine).

Enjoy! And, check out the rest of Isa’s books and recipes if you get a chance.

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