Grandmother's Summer

"She just don't got the time that she used to." -Justin Townes Earle



A woman I work with told me that in the Ukraine where she is from early fall -about September 20th to mid-November- is called Grandmother's Summer because it is so lovely and warm, the spiders go from place to place (like a grandmother visiting), and the bounty of mushrooms and fall produce is available then (as generous as a grandmother). Yes, I pretty much melted at this poetic description. This Sunday in celebration and anticipation of the Grandmother's Summer weather predicted for this week, I made a pot of Borscht -lamb and beet soup- to have for dinner tomorrow night. Beets from our garden and lamb stew meat reserved from the two lambs I spent the weekend packaging and putting into the freezer. There was an article in the paper today (click here) that reminded me of the long term value of my job -and the peril of programs like the one I work for being closed due to budget shortages. I'll hope for the best and plan for the worst -and make soup.

Russian Borscht
Adapted from Jeff Smith's On Our Immigrant Ancestors
2 T. olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. lamb stew meat
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 c. chopped cabbage
1/2-1 c. mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1/2 c. carrots, diced (optional)
1/2 c. diced canned tomatoes
3 large beets, peeled and diced WITH greens and stems added if possible
2 qts. stock
2-3 T. red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 t. lemon juice
1/2 - 3/4 t. salt
1/4-1/2 t. black pepper
Brown meat in oil. Add garlic and onion and saute until translucent. Add remaining ingredients and cook 2 hours. Can refrigerate and reheat the next day. Serve with sour cream and snipped fresh dill weed (if available).

Chubby Bunny

Becoming

"There is hardly anything in the world more exciting than something which is on the verge of becoming.



When this something is a human being,



a human personality on the verge of declaring itself,



the excitement doubles." -Louise Bates Ames

The Light in September,

...a new batch of Zucchini Relish (click here),



...our lambs in September (I'm thinking about lamb sausage a lot lately),



...individual bread puddings (click here),



...a jar of chili oil my mom gave me yesterday,



...a September lunch salad of garden green beans, freshly dug potatoes, home canned tuna (thanks mom!), and cherry tomatoes,

...and a plate of deviled quail eggs (click here). Except for the barn swallows leaving, I love everything about this time of year. The light has been absolutely magical this week. Even though this has been a rather dismal year for gardening, I love putting together the hodgepodgey (it's my blog and I can make up words if I want to!) sort of meals that are dictated by what's coming from the garden (and the river) right now. Last night was a weird but tasty stir-fry of fried potatoes seasoned with chili oil, broccoli, zucchini, patty pan and yellow summer squash over rice. Tonight, smoked salmon and cream cheese on crackers, and leftover green beans with bacon and garlic (served the night before last with salmon grilled over the fire, bread, pasta and freshly made pesto). And we'll have individual bread puddings for breakfast in the morning. If I were a cat I'd be purring.

Get Behind the Mule

"Pin your ear to the wisdom post
Pin your eye to the line
Never let the weeds get higher
than the garden
Always keep a sapphire in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind

You got to get behind the mule
in the morning and plow" -Tom Waits

And make pickles, dig potatoes, smoke salmon, clean barn, and make pesto....you plow one row at a time.

Pinks and Zucchini Relish

Life is messy, but my hiatus seems to have been a month with more messes than usual: an allergy season that seemed it would never end...weeds on steroids taking over everything...How much physical therapy does one ankle need for crying out loud?...Does this look like a bedbug bite?...Who forgot and left the dog locked in the basement all night?...bad hair day every day...from flock to freezer: The Silence of the Ducks...a mountain of discarded wool from shearing day...a wallet and passport lost the night before a planned flight...and yesterday's 'is that OUR CAR smashed into the mailboxes??' Luckily yesterday's flares and flashing lights mess involved someone else's teens, who missed the telephone pole by a foot, but directly hit (and took out) the rock-solid frame for our mailboxes. My husband and our neighbor put it all back together again last night after dinner. For dinner we had one of these:



The pinks are running in the river and my husband has gone fishing before work the last few morning. I'm excited about the fish, because fresh fish is so wonderful. Last night I wrapped the one we had for dinner in foil before baking it (YUM), and today I'm smoking one. This is the basic recipe I use for smoking smelt and salmon.



Smoked Salmon Brine
3 quarts water
1/2 c. salt
1 c. brown sugar
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. ground black pepper
2-3 bay leaves
Soak salmon chunks in refrigerator 10-12 hours in brine. Place on dry rack and air dry at least one hour. Use four pans of chips and smoke 8-12 hours or until done. To can, pack into half-pint or pint jars without adding liquid. Seal. Process in pressure cooker for 100 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure.



It is the time of year for making Zucchini Relish. Last year I didn't make any and we have only 4 pints left. I ground the zucchini and onions today and put them in a bowl in the fridge to sit overnight. Hopefully, there will not be any major messes to deal with tomorrow and I can cook and can my relish. I can always hope for a mess-free day, even if I'm not counting on one!

Zucchini Relish
Grind and put in Ziploc quart bag in the fridge to add the next day (Saves a second cleaning of the grinder):
1/2 lb. green bell pepper
1 lb. red bell pepper

10 c. coarse ground seeded zucchini
4 c. coarse ground onion
1/3 c. pickling salt
Combine vegetables and sprinkle with salt. Let stand overnight. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Add:

2 1/2 c. vinegar
4 1/2 c. sugar
ground bell peppers in Ziploc bag
1 T. celery salt (or 1 t. celery seed and 2 t. salt)
1 T. nutmeg
1 T. turmeric
1/4 c. cornstarch

Cook slowly for 30 minutes or until clear. Put in pint jars and seal. Water bath for 15 minutes. Serve on hamburgers and other sandwiches and also great added to deviled eggs.

Darling Blackberry Pie

"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else." -Emily Dickinson



But I just have to share this pie recipe! I usually make this pie using raspberries -fresh berries to celebrate the first raspberries of the season, or frozen (2-10 ounce containers defrosted and drained well) for out of season celebrations like Valentine's Day. I acquired the recipe from one of my husband's coworkers years ago. She gave me a xeroxed copy from a cookbook by Renny Darling and that's why I call this Darling Pie rather than Cream Cheese Pie with Raspberries and Chocolate. It was my son's idea to use blackberries here -and what a great idea!

Darling Pie

Adapted from The Joy of Eating French Food by Renny Darling

In Pyrex pie dish in preheating (to 350 degrees) oven, melt 1/3 -1/2 c. butter
In food processor reduce one packet of graham crackers to crumbs
Add 2-3 T. sugar and 1/2 c. pecans and process a bit more then add to melted butter. Mix and press into bottom and sides of pie dish to form a crust. Bake for 9+ minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle on 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Do not be tempted to heap on more chips according to the 'more is always better' rule for chocolate. In this case it will make cutting the pie very difficult -if not down right impossible. Return dish to oven for one minute to melt the chocolate, then remove from oven and spread with the back of a spoon to form a thin layer of chocolate on the baked crust. Chill/Cool completely until chocolate hardens.

Whip 1 c. whipping cream and set aside.

Beat until light and fluffy:
8 oz. package Neufchatel Cheese
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
Beat in whipped cream on lowest setting just until mixed. Pour into chilled crust. I make a bit of a 'pond' shape in the center for the berry layer to fit into.

Fold together:
2-4 c. fresh picked ripe blackberries
1/2 c. melted blackberry jam
Spread over cream cheese mixture and chill for several hours.