Mid-July Garden Update

The garden tour starts with showing you all the cranberry beans. I don't know what it is, but peas and beans grow really well for me. I don't really do anything special, I just have a knack for them.

Here's another view of the cranberry beans. These are a bush variety and I'm going them out for seed for next year so that I might actually get a crop. If there's enough, I'll let them dry.

These are that rare Arapaho Fish Hill variety. They have climbed the fence and are starting to bloom. I have no idea of how long of a season they need.

Blooming Prairie bush beans. I grew these out last year and these are from the seed that I saved. These will be a beautiful purple color.

Purple Podded Pole beans.

Flood Pole beans on top, Borlotto di Vigevano beans in the middle and I have a sole Contender variety on the very bottom with a nasturtium to keep it company.

Nasturtiums and some heat zapped hanging baskets.

Nasturtium

Jerusalem artichokes

Ladybird Purple Spot nasturtium

My lavender bloomed and it smells wonderful!

My tomato jungle! I have 6 varieties here.

Some odds and ends. There's some Bronze Beauty calendula, ramps, garlic and some iris bulbs in a pot back there.

My peppers were heat zapped.

Black Beauty eggplant bloom

Black Beauty eggplant

My little corn patch is adorable! Yes, it's going to produce, too!

It's getting silks and starting to form little ears of corn. I may double my corn growing next year if it does ok this year.

I planted Pink Surprise calendula around both apple trees. They needed to be friends.

I'm curious as to what these flowers are going to look like. There's some Snow Princess calendula on the top tier, Bright Lights cosmos in the middle and Love in a Mist on the bottom.

My Concord grape vines are rebounding from their severe pruning that we gave them before they were moved over here.

My pot of Purple Empress nasturtiums that aren't all purple and they look horrible...but they are producing seeds and that's what I want them to do.

Oregon Spring heirloom tomato

Lots of Oregon Spring. I'm actually impressed with little determinate variety's production.

Blue Beauty heirloom tomato. The production is nowhere near that of the Oregon Spring or that of the Marglobe or Gold Nugget varieties that I have in another area.

Paul Robeson. This hasn't throw out a fruit yet.

We're just harvesting everything and stretching it out for about 4 more weeks. That's when I'll plant my fall garden. Right now, it's time for those abundant spring crops to slide over and make way for the beans, tomatoes and squash.

We'll be harvesting the rest of the potatoes within 2 weeks.

Spaghetti squash

Oh, yes, I'm going to have spaghetti squash!

Maxibel beans. These are a French variety and a staple in my summer garden.

The collards are starting to fall victim to the heat. I'm leaving them for the bugs to eat.

I can still harvest off of them, too.

Tanya's Pink Pod beans. I need to save seeds for these this year as I planted all I had.

I love growing Bachelor Buttons in my garden. I put them in there for the pollinators.

The cuke is starting to flower out. I haven't had it set fruit yet.

Cucamelon plant. There are some tiny blooms and fruit on there. I'll have to see what all the to-do is about with these.

A garden friend. I have plants placed around my little area that encourage these guys to come and hang out.

Here is is, mid-July. These Spring Blush pea vines are still blooming!! I'm saving these all for seed for next year as the seed is nowhere to be found because all the good seed sites are sold out.

Spring Blush Pea

Oregon Sugar Pod bloom

Oregon Sugar Pod. I'm not saving seed for these as this variety is very common in the stores around here. 

 

Tex Mex Chicken & Rice

 There is just something about the flavors of Mexico. I don't think I can recall one single person that I've ever met, over the course of my lifetime (suffice it to say that is over half a decade), who didn't/doesn't like Mexican food.
Tonight, I had leftover rotisserie chicken to use up. We buy whole chickens when they are cheap and stick them in the freezer and, when the urge strikes, we stick one on our rotisserie on our BBQ grill. We rotisserie'd one up for dinner last night. So this recipe utilizes leftovers and on-hand pantry stock items for me. I love it when I can do this!

I used a Walla Walla sweet onion in this dish. You, of course, don't have to use this type. You can use whatever you have on hand. I live in Washington state, I have Walla Walla sweets.
As with any delicious recipe, it starts out with onion and garlic. 

The onion gets sauteed in olive oil. The great thing is that this is a one-pot dish!

I removed the skin, chucked the bones (no room in the fridge today to be able to make broth) and cubed up the meat. 

You'll also need rice. I used what I have on hand and that's basmati. Plain ol' white rice would work perfectly. I wouldn't use Minute Rice. I don't think you'll be impressed with the results. The seasonings are simple: ground cumin, salt and pepper. This recipe also uses canned diced tomatoes, canned diced green chiles and a can of red enchilada sauce. 

After you've sauteed the onion for a few minutes, add in the rice and garlic and cook for a couple more minutes. 

Add in the canned ingredients and the water, bring to a boil, pop a lid on the pan, turn heat to as low as your stove will go and set a timer for 20 minutes. 

I topped with some chopped heirloom tomato and...

chopped avocado. This is a perfect pantry 30-minute meal!

Enjoy!

 

Tex Mex Chicken & Rice

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 of medium Walla Walla sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon French grey salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup basmati rice

1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt added diced tomatoes

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles

1 cup water

1-1/2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

Garnishes (optional): diced avocado, chopped tomato, sour cream, cilantro

In a large pot, with a lid, saute onion in olive oil, over medium heat,  until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add rice and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add spices, cook 30 seconds.
Add all the canned ingredients, along with the water. Then add chicken. Stir to combine. Bring up to a boil, turn heat on stove to as low as it can go. Cover. Cook for exactly 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Let set for 10 minutes. Top with garnishes.

Harvest Refrigerator Pickles

Yesterday, I decided to do a bit of harvesting out of the garden. I wanted to make some room to grow some more beets for a fall crop. Now, I grow beets exclusively in a black tote. It's 2x4 feet, but it's deep. I do not put any sort of filler in the bottom. I use it for root vegetables. Upon looking at my beets, I saw that I had taken them about as far as I could and it was time to pull most of them. I grew three different types this year: Golden and Chioggia, both of which, I bought the seeds from Baker Creek. I also grew a new variety, which I obtained in a seed trade called Yellow Mangel. They are the longer yellow ones. I also thinned out some of the Longue Rouge Sang carrots (Baker Creek) and some of the bigger onions.

Golden beets from Baker Creek. These are always a favorite and a huge hit with us.

 

Chioggia beets from Baker Creek. This was a new variety for me this year as I tend to stick with the Golden variety exclusively. I am sure glad that I branched out! These have a really cool white bullseye pattern inside. They are pretty stunning to look at.

I opted to boil the beets to loosen the skins. The thing when cooking beets is that, yes, you want to rinse the majority of the dirt off of them, but you want to leave an inch or two of the greens and the long roots on them, otherwise they will bleed the color onto everything.

I managed to fit them all into one pot, thankfully!

I knew I wasn't going to have quite enough veggies to fill my half-gallon Mason pickle jar, so I peeled up 3 carrots that I had in the fridge.

The carrots and onions are packed raw into the jar. I do not cook them first. If I did that, the texture would be gross. I did not peel the Longue Rouge Sang carrots, either. I just scrubbed them well.

When the beets were fork tender, I drained them and then let them soak in cold water in the sink to cool enough to be able to comfortably handle them.

Then I started slicing the beets up and layering everything into the jar.

It's quite pretty to look at. Behind the jar are 2 dozen farm eggs that were a bonus for Bob helping out one of the old volunteers from Fences For Fido. That is a great organization that puts up fences for dogs for people who qualify.

You bring the brine up to a boil.

Those are pink peppercorns. Pink peppercorns are interesting. They are not a member of the pepper family. They are actually a member of the cashew family. They impart a delicate taste and it's hard to describe it. You'll have to try them...try them on a bit of vanilla ice cream. I'm not even kidding!

All set! I use a wooden chopstick and poke it down in several spots to make sure there are no air bubbles and to work the peppercorns and mustard seed down to the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Harvest Refrigerator Pickles

Enough veggies to fill a half-gallon container (I used beets, carrots and onions. If you use beets, make sure to peel them first before slicing)
1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
4-5 whole cloves
1-1/2 teaspoons pink peppercorns

Pack veggies into the jar.
Meanwhile, bring all the ingredients, except for the pink peppercorns, to a boil and stir until sugar and salt have dissolved.
Add pink peppercorns to the top of the jar on the veggies.
Pour hot brine over the veggies and use a wooden chopstick to make sure there are there are no air bubbles and to disperse the peppercorns and mustard seeds to the bottom of the jar.
Let cool.
Seal and refrigerate.
This will last up to 4 weeks in the fridge.

Enjoy!