No frosts yet, but the garden is pretty bare. Here you see Daisy-Cat enjoying some sunshine. She is an indoor kitty, but we do take her out with us to the fenced garden sometimes. Thus I call it The Prison Yard.
Harvests were sparse this week. Here are some raspberries and a serving or two of broccoli shoots.
More tomato drops too.
The Brussels Sprouts are still growing. I planted two varieties. Long Island, on the left, grew tall but its sprouts are still small. Franklin, on the right, is a hybrid that has already given us a picking, and its sprouts are much larger.
Re-showing the picture from 2 weeks ago to describe the amount of processed squash we got from it. This week the Kitchen Goddess got 12 cups (2.84 l.) from the Butternut, and the same amount from the Tatume. Also 4 cups from the smaller pumpkin. The bigger one is left for a Jack O' Lantern, for our non-existent Trick Or Treaters.
The
verdict on Tatume: not as sweet as Butternut, and much harder to extract from
the rind. So I would call it second-rate at best; not the “survival” crop it
was talked up to be, and not particularly tasty. No room for it next year.
Well, maybe I’ll plant the remaining seeds at the edge of the far compost pile
and see how it fares as a neglected crop.
Well, I'm being unfair. The Tatume does produce a large number of seeds. Which is good, since my favorite football snack is roasted pumpkin/squash seeds. Here's my recipe for this delicious treat. Scoop out the guts, and separate the seeds. Run the seeds under hot water to get off as much of the gook as you can.
Put the seeds in a bowl, fill with warm water, and add salt. I like 'em really salty; you may choose to use less or even omit it (weird), in which case soaking is unnecessary. Let it sit overnight. Just before game-time, drain the seeds and place in a single layer on cookie sheets. I like to spray the sheets with butter-flavor cooking spray. Bake at 400 F. (200 C.) until they start browning and popping. They will need to be stirred with a spatula several times. Once a good number are really brown the lot is done and ready to enjoy, preferably with a glass of home-brewed ale. I'm too lazy to extract the kernals so I eat 'em whole. This has the benefit of providing valuable roughage.
The mild fall weather may be coming to an end this week. A frost is finally predicted for Thursday night. If the forecast holds, I will pick all the remaining tomatoes and peppers, and "summer" will be over.
The mild fall weather may be coming to an end this week. A frost is finally predicted for Thursday night. If the forecast holds, I will pick all the remaining tomatoes and peppers, and "summer" will be over.
LOVE the cat in the sunspot :-) Also, your winter squash set up is so fun and will be absolutely delicious when you're ready for it :-) I've never grown brussels sprouts before, but it is on my list for 2014! Happy harvesting!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love cats! They always crack me up with their ways. Nice harvest, despite the slow-down and a great idea about the squash seeds. I never think of toasting them for snacks.
ReplyDeleteKitty is no fool. She's found the warmest spot in the (prison) yard.
ReplyDeleteYour pumpkin seeds look very tasty.
Great way to prepare the pumpkin seeds, I'll have to remember that when I harvest my squash.
ReplyDeleteNothing like a guard cat on watch in the vegetable beds. Hope she doesn't sleep on the job. It's hard to improve on the Butternut as a reliable producer and good keeper.
ReplyDeleteHmm I've never eaten my squash seeds. Well I did eat my pumpkin seeds once, but I didn't like the hulls and it was way too much work to get the little insides out. It would make a good TV snack though as it would give you something to do with your hands.
ReplyDelete