Harvest Monday – August 29, 2011

August 29, 2011  |  7 Comments  |  by Ben Czajkowski  |  Gardening

I feel blessed that after a hurricane moved through the East Coast, this weekend, that my garden is still in relatively good condition. You can see pictures of the aftermath here.

Monday Harvest August 29, 2011

Monday Harvest August 29, 2011

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

Note: These were a garden first, for the year. This plant has suffered some major annoyances. Among them, blossom end rot and, most likely, squirrels. These two fruits were cracked and scarred from all of the rain that we’ve had here, in Baltimore. I was stubborn and wanted them to ripen on the vine. They were just fine, during consumption and seeding.

Harvest: 2 Cherokee Purple Tomatoes Weight: 6oz.

Sweet Million Cherry Tomatoes

Sweet Million Cherry Tomatoes

Sweet Million Cherry Tomatoes

Note: Only a few fruits left on this one. After that, it’s game over.

Harvest: Cherry Tomatoes Weight: 2 5/8oz.

Cayenne Peppers

Cayenne

Cayenne

Note: These will join the others that are drying, in the basement.

Harvest: Peppers Weight: 1 1/4oz.

Jalapeno Peppers

Jalapenos

Jalapenos

Note: Oh yeah. Time for round two of Jalapeno poppers. This time, taco-style. I reddened two of the peppers so that I could harvest the seeds to start more of them, next year.

Harvest: Peppers Weight: 1 1/4oz.

Red Beauty Pepper

Red Beauty Bell Pepper

Red Beauty Bell Pepper

Note: Are they red, you ask? Yes, yes they are.

Harvest: 1 Pepper Weight: 3 1/8oz.

Bush Green Beans

Bush Beans

Bush Beans

Note: I planted 8 of these suckers, and only two have survived. One was killed by the hurricane. Two more were severed at the soil level. The other 5 died under various causes (loss of leaves, wildlife, didn’t sprout). I didn’t plant a lot, for the fall; I wanted to sample their quality first. So far, they taste green AND beany. Kinda light on the bush, though.

Harvest: Handful of Bush Beans Weight: 4oz.

Ichicban Eggplants

Ichiban Eggplant

Ichiban Eggplant

Note: This plant is still chugging along. Two more fruits are still developing; both survived Irene. When I harvested this one, a fire ant fell off and bit me. A fire ant? Really? I am loathed to admit that I let out a squeak of shock. Yes, it was a squeak, too.

Harvest: 1 Eggplant Weight: 8 3/8oz.

Weekly Total (doesn’t include various herbs): 26 3/4oz.

2011 Year-To-Date Total (doesn’t include various herbs): 25.4765625lbs. (407 5/8oz.)

Daphne is the ringleader of Monday Harvests. You can see her here.

Also, while you’re here, check out the question of the week: How many of your plants, this year, succumbed to death from disease/insects, before their time?

Monday Harvest – August 22, 2011

August 22, 2011  |  14 Comments  |  by Ben Czajkowski  |  Gardening

I wish I could say that I did a ton, out in the garden this week. However, it was busy for me. On top of that, Mother Nature was gracious enough to gift Baltimore with record rain, which saved me from having to water, and again caused me to regret not having rain barrels. Eventually, I’ll get one of those giant 500 gallon jugs, to save rain and snow water.

Monday_Harvest_August_22_2011

I’ve also done a lot of research, these last couple weeks, on hydroponics, aquaponics, and bubbleponics. I definitely think that I’ll be doing some growing, next year, using these methods. In the back of my mind, I hope to one day never need soil and the problems that it can bring…

Bush Early Girl

Bush Early Girl Tomatoes

Bush Early Girl Tomatoes

Note: These instantly became part of salsa, along with many of the pickings from last week. Although the salsa looks delicious, it looks more like pico de gallo. I, again, continue to be pleased with these Bush Early Girl tomatoes.

Harvest: 2 Bush Early Girls Weight: 9 7/8oz.

Sweet Million Cherry Tomatoes

Sweet Million Cherry Tomatoes

Sweet Million Cherry Tomatoes

Note: I think this plant is on its last legs. With all the rain that we’ve received, over the last two weeks, here in Baltimore, its leaves have yellowed and started to shrivel. It’s probably a fungal infection that I don’t feel like dealing with, this late in the season. I’ll probably plant multiple of these, next season. Pleased with the output and taste.

Harvest: 6 Cherry Tomatoes Weight: 1 1/4oz.

Patio Pickler Cucumber

Patio Pickler Cucumber

Patio Pickler Cucumber

Note: This plant only has one fruit left, growing on it. I think that it has slowed down to the point where I’ll probably retire it, soon. However, it still has one more giant yellow flower on it. So, I refuse to give up on it, quite yet.

Harvest: 1 Cucumber Weight: 10 7/8oz.

Cayenne Peppers

Cayenne Peppers

Cayenne Peppers

Note: These will join the others that are drying, in the basement.

Harvest: 3 Peppers Weight: 7/8oz.

Jalapeno Peppers

Jalapeno Peppers

Jalapeno Peppers

Note: Oh yeah. Time for round two of Jalapeno poppers. This time, taco-style. I reddened two of the peppers so that I could harvest the seeds to start more of them, next year.

Harvest: 14 Peppers Weight: 5 1/8oz.

Red Beauty Peppers

Red Beauty Bell Peppers

Red Beauty Bell Peppers

Note: These were quickly gutted after picking, being prepped for stuffed peppers: dinner Monday night. My only regret so far is that I only have one of these, this year. I would have loved to have continuous peppers, over the course of the summer, rather than sporadically.

Harvest: 3 Peppers Weight: oz.

Early Sunsation Sweet Bell Pepper

Early Sunsation Sweet Bell Pepper

Early Sunsation Sweet Bell Pepper

Early Sunsation Sweet Bell Pepper

Early Sunsation Sweet Bell Pepper

Note: Definitely golden. Definitely not early.

Harvest: 2 Peppers Weight: oz.

Bell Pepper Seeds

Bell Pepper Seeds

The bell peppers were used for stuffed peppers, as I mentioned before. Since these bell beauties have matured, I feel comfortable saving the seeds. Previously, I’ve saved seeds from one each, and both of those produced maybe a few dozen seeds, total. The two yellows, from above, were seeded and saved on the right. On the left, the three reds generously shared. I look forwarded to being able to give these out to those that one them, in the coming months.

Weekly Total (doesn’t include various herbs): 47 1/8oz.

2011 Year-To-Date Total (doesn’t include various herbs): 23.8046875lbs. (380 7/8oz.)

Daphne is the ringleader of Monday Harvests. You can see her here.

Also, while you’re here, check out the question of the week: Do you eat insect-damaged vegetables and fruits?

GTTC – Ichiban Eggplant Redux And Jalapeno Poppers

July 20, 2011  |  3 Comments  |  by Ben Czajkowski  |  Cooking, Gardening

Well, since my wife didn’t want her half of the Ichiban Eggplant Curry that I cooked up, last week, I decided to kick it up a notch; she was content eating her creamy quinoa that she cooked up for lunches this week. I couldn’t blame her; it was delicious.

Ichiban Eggplant Curry Redux

Time to whip up a quick batch of “Pad Thai” sauce, because I’m an addict and this simpleness goes well on any noodle dish. In the bottom of a bowl, I squirted a healthy dosage of Sriracha sauce. On top of that, I coated it, liberally, with Teriyaki sauce. I squirted in a packet of take-out-sushi ginger, since I needed to use it up. Powdered ginger works just as well. Fresh is still best. I tossed in a small block of palm sugar (which is effing delicious). Lastly, I tossed in a sizable portion of JIF’s Extra Crunchy peanut butter. The peanuts are a nice addition. Put the bowl in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, just enough to soften the peanut butter. Mix it up; add the curry dish. Heat. Stir. Eat.

Boom.

Ichiban Eggplant Curry Redux

Ichiban Eggplant Curry Redux

Jalapeño Poppers

(Disclaimer: You’re going to want gloves. I cannot be held responsible if you touch sensitive areas and cause yourself to weep, uncontrollably. This recipe does not include tissues.)

Next up, I decided to make Jalapeno poppers with my harvest, from ten days ago, or so. I found a recipe, quickly, that I felt was worth trying. Later, Matt found several more that would have been tastier choices. I noticed some…inconsistencies with the recipe. So, I made my own.

  • 10-12 medium Jalapenos
  • 1 8oz. block of Cream Cheese
  • ½ cup Sharp Cheddar, shredded
  • ½ cup Pepper Jack, shredded
  • Cayenne pepper powder
  • Chili pepper powder
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic – salt, powder, minced.
  • Milk
  • 1 Egg
  • Panko Breadcrumbs (This is a MUST)
  • Flour
  1. Halve and seed the Jalapenos.
  2. Soften the Cream Cheese. 30 seconds in the microwave. You don’t want it runny or hot.
  3. Add the shredded cheese to the Cream Cheese. Add more if you don’t want to poop for a while.
  4. Add as much of the garlic, cayenne, chili, salt, and pepper, as you want.
  5. Mix this well so the spices and cheeses are evenly distributed.
  6. Spoon the mixture into the halves of the Jalapenos.Make sure to do it evenly.
  7. Beat the egg into the milk.
  8. Roll the Jalapenos in the milk-egg mixture. Roll in the flour until covered. You don’t need to worry about the mix falling out of the pepper. I found that it stayed in, even as I rolled the flour bowl around to coat the pepper evenly.
  9. Repeat for all halved Jalapenos. You may want to do this 2-3 times, depending on how much you care about batter.
  10. Re-roll the floured Jalapenos in the milk-egg; make more if you need to. Roll in the Panko breadcrumbs. Apply liberally.
  11. Bake or fry. I baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then I broiled, on low, for 2 minutes. I didn’t need a perfect browned breading. I was happy with what came out of the oven and into my mouth.
Jalapeno Poppers

Jalapeno Poppers

Fire in the hole. Serve with a dipping sauce, or just eat ‘em straight, like a man!

Harvest Monday – July 11, 2011 [Gardening]

July 11, 2011  |  11 Comments  |  by Ben Czajkowski  |  Gardening

I have to say, since I started this blog, my whole goal has been to get to this point:

A harvest Monday post.

Sure, I’ve had harvests since I started gardening in the summer of 2008; I haven’t made much more than a post to Twitter. Now, that I’m reaching out to become a part of the community, I get the honor, the privilege, and the excitement of making one of these (and many more to come*).

*As a disclaimer, I am now afraid a tornado or something is going to decimate my garden

July 10 2011 Harvest

July 10 2011 Harvest

It was a gorgeous week, in the garden. I was glad to go out, on Sunday, before it got hot and muggy, to harvest the fruits of my labor.

First up, the peppers.

Jalapenos

Jalapenos

Harvest: 7 jalapenos. Weight: 2.125oz
Note: I think I cut a couple of these earlier than they should have been. I wanted to make poppers with them, this week, as a treat to myself. Need to use up some cream cheese.

Pepperoncini

Pepperoncini

Harvest: 4 pepperoncinis. Weight: .75oz
Note: No idea if these were ready to come off yet. However, the pepperoncini plant had blossoms out the wazoo and, at least, another dozen baby peppers on it. So, I did not shed a tear (of sorrow, not from heat…yet) when I clipped these bad boys. Looking forward to munching them down with a lunch this week.

Now, the heavy hitters:

Patio Pickler Cucumber

Patio Pickler Cucumber

Patio Pickler Baby

Patio Pickler Baby

Harvest: 4 Patio Pickler Cucumbers. Weight: 11 5/8oz, 13 7/8oz, 14 1/4oz, and 2 3/4oz.
Note: When I cut the first two huge ones, I was shocked to find a third highly mature one. I also cut a baby once since there were 2-4 more already in the works. I wanted to compare tastes. The large one that I sampled was sweet, with a hint of bitterness.

The small one wasn’t ready to come off yet, by any means, as it had virtually no flavor. The one that I did cut into was cut up with some onion and vinegar to become summer pickles.

The other two might become pickles, this week. I’ve always wanted to make homemade dill pickle spears.

The main attraction:

Ichiban Eggplant Leadin

Ichiban Eggplant Leadin

Ichiban Eggplant

Ichiban Eggplant

Harvest: 1 Ichiban Egglant. Weight: 8 3/4oz.

Update: I forgot to total all of the weights. D’oh!

Weekly Total (doesn’t include various herbs): 57.125oz or 3.57lbs

2011 Year-To-Date Total (doesn’t include various herbs): 3.57lbs

What’s in the wings:

Fairy Tale eggplants. And lots of them. And they apparently have thorns!

Fairy Tale Eggplants Quickly Taking Off

Fairy Tale Eggplants Quickly Taking Off

More on that in the whole-garden update later this week.

Check out everyone’s harvest via links over at Daphne’s Dandelions!

Monday Garden Update – Two Weeks Edition [Gardening]

July 5, 2011  |  1 Comments  |  by Ben Czajkowski  |  Gardening

It has been a busy two weeks, not only in real life, but in the garden, as well. In between drinking and almost dying, I forgot to update last week. It’s been mostly hot here, in northern Baltimore city. There’s a real shocker, right? Luckily, it hasn’t crept back into the 100s. For early July, I couldn’t ask for better weather: it’s been mostly sunny with the occasional shower; the tomatoes and peppers are absolutely loving it.

Bell Pepper Fruit

Bell Pepper Fruit

To date, I still only have one bell pepper. The two plants are so lush with green leaves, and there are budding nodes on them. It’s only a matter of time until I have plenty of bell-pepper fruits. I’m already thinking ahead to the fall and winter, and I’m wonder if it will be possible to over-winter them…

Tomato Blossoms

Tomato Blossoms

Sweet Million Tomato Fruits

Sweet Million Tomato Fruits

Bush Early Girl Tomato

Bush Early Girl Tomato

The tomatoes are doing absolutely fantastic. All of the plants have tons of flowers, and a couple of them have fruit already growing on them. Which means I need to pay close attention to their water levels, every day, at this point.

Ichiban Eggplant Quickly Growing

Ichiban Eggplant Quickly Growing

Last week, I was so excited about my Ichiban eggplant that I gave it its own post. Well, the fruit is now well over six inches long. It looks healthy and purple. And the best part is that the earwigs appear to be leaving the plant alone.

Fairy Tail Eggplant Fruits

Fairy Tail Eggplant Fruits

The Fairy Tale eggplant is happily producing fruits, as well. At last count, it had four budding babies on it. The Fairy Tale is half the height of the Ichiban, but it is putting out more fruits at this point.

Chili Pepper Flowers

Chili Pepper Flowers

Jalapenos

Jalapenos

The jalapenos, pepperoncinis, and chili peppers are doing remarkably well, as well. I’m honestly surprised at how healthy they have been, thus far. I expected some kind of pepper bacterium to swoop in and destroy them (no idea if something like this exists). Keeping my fingers crossed!

Patio Picker Cucumber Taking Over

Patio Picker Cucumber Taking Over

Patio Picker Cucumber Fruits

Patio Picker Cucumber Fruits

The “patio picker” cucumber plant has at least two fruits on them, as well. I will probably pick both this week. I need to research at what point that I should pick them. Or maybe read the info stick that came with the plant.

Planted Moonstruck Marigolds

Planted Moonstruck Marigolds

One of the things that I did of which I am proud is that I picked up five HUGE moonstruck marigold plants to companion-plant with my peppers and tomatoes. So far, they have taken root fairly well. The ones left, at Lowe’s, were less than stellar. With at least four and a half months of a growing season left, I picked up two packs of marigolds as well, and I’ve started them from seed. More on that later this week.

Rosemary

Rosemary

The herbs are happier than could be. We used some of the rosemary sprigs on potatoes, this weekend, and it made them taste fabulous. I am strongly considering trying a sprig or two in a bottle of beer to see if it would be worth using it to “dry hop” with.

The Cascade Hops are happily threading their ways up the jute twine that I have strung for them.

Cascade Hops Sending Up New Bines

Cascade Hops Sending Up New Bines

Cascade Hops Quickly Growing

Cascade Hops Quickly Growing

Currently, each of the two Cascade Hops rhizomes have three flourishing bines that are heading for the tops of their respective ropes. I am so anxious for them to begin producing cones. I’ve been reading on how to brew with them, and that has me excited to try it.

Dying Zucchini And Squash

Dying Zucchini And Squash

Unfortunately, I have lost both my zucchini and squash plants to the forces of nature. More on this later in the week, as well.

How are your plants doing, so far? Let me know in the comments!