Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Fresh from the Garden

Our produce is starting to come on strong!!


Well, at least the Radishes and the Strawberries!  Here's a shot of what I picked yesterday:



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And here's the batch of Strawberries from today!!!



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I'm trying to pick the strawberries BEFORE they are fully ready, because I don't want the slugs, ants, bugs, etc, to eat them!  They ripen up nicely just by sitting on the counter for a day.  But, I've also been taking my own advice and spreading my coffee grounds all over by the strawberries and I found so many LESS nibbled ones!!!  I'm so excited that I can reuse the grounds to aid in more fresh strawberries for us!

The radishes are coming on like crazy, and honestly, I don't know what we're going to do with them!!  Radishes, in our opinion, are one of the easiest veggies to grow, which is why we chose them, but we don't know what to do with them all!!  Does anyone have any great recipes that involve radishes?  We, of course, put them in our salads and eat them with dip, but besides that, we don't have many other ideas.

I'm really inspired, though, to start making veggie purees, and freezing them for baby girl, when she's ready to eat solids.  I made homemade baby food for both of my other two and I (and they!) really enjoyed it!  I know I can do that with a lot of our veggies, but radish puree.....hhhmmmm....doesn't sound too appetizing, unless I mix in other veggies.  Any great radish recipes out there???

Another way, though, that I can use my  veggies that I am really interested in, is making homemade purees and adding them to my meals.  IE:  Adding radish puree to homemade chili, soups or meatloafs.......carrot purees to sweet breads, pancakes or stews.......corn purees to soups, casseroles and meats..........and the list goes on and on!   Adding veggies to meats, such as meatloaf, is a great way to stretch your budget, too!  I also add oats to my meatloaf, sometimes.  For instance, my particular meatloaf recipe calls for 2 lbs of ground beef.  If I happen to not have quite 2 pounds, I will add some "bulk" by adding some oats and shredded or chopped veggies.  You always have to be careful of the kind of veggies you're putting into things, though, because you don't want them to overpower your dish!!

I'm going to keep researching ways to use my radishes and all my other veggies and I'll be sure to let you know what comes of it!

5 comments:

  1. Sarah, do you remember me putting shredded carrots in my spaghetti sauce that simmered for several hours? It bulked it up, but you girls didn't like it much!! (I did it anyway!)

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  2. Big fan of radish sandwiches - something I fell in love with during a trip to france. Real butter spread on a fresh baguette with radishes on top. Really simple food, but as many times as I have tried to make it, no one else likes them! I didn't know radishes were so easy to grow. How long is the growing season? Is it too late to start them now?

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  3. Michelle---I'm all for trying out a radish sandwich!! It sounds great!! Thanks for the idea! And, NO, IT'S NOT TOO LATE to grow radishes!! It's easy to grow them anywhere from early Spring into September, and they usually are ready in 3-5 weeks after you plant them!! I'd say go for it! Keep them nice and watered the first 4-10 days for them to germinate. You'll see how easy it is! (Oh, and I'm soooooo jealous you went to France!!) :-)

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  4. Mom, I DO remember you doing that!! I think I honestly thought it was part of the recipe!! :-)

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  5. I've also pureed red, yellow, and orange peppers and added them to spaghetti sauce. You can't even tell they're in it!

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