Growing, Blooming, Picking, Baking



It's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  Lots going on here in zone 6A this time of year -- so much that it's hard to give anything the attention it deserves.  There are still vegetables to be harvested, and flowers to scope out, apples to pick and ... we're finally in the mood to bake!  Forgive me, but I'm combining 4 posts in one today.

First the Growing:

Peas - "Sugar Ann" is a variety of snap pea that has a very short time to harvest - only 50 days.  These were planted around mid-August.  Although they're not supposed to need trellising, I think it could have helped.  It was nice to have some fall peas, since I neglected to plant them in the spring.

It took a while to get going, but the radicchio was finally harvested. I cut it in half, brushed it with bacon grease, grilled it and topped it with balsamic vinegar.  So good!

The Butternut Squash that grew in the backyard didn't grow to a very impressive size, but it was delicious,

filled with beets and topped with brown sugar and butter, then roasted.

Most of the lettuce seeds I sowed in August were washed away by hurricane Irene- I got one nice harvest though.


Blooming
Front door - I've got Autumn Joy and red geraniums in pots,  some volunteer nasturtium growing between the steps.  The container has Cuban oregano, creeping thyme, oxalis, lavendar, and I've forgotten the name of the plant with the purple veined leaves (please remind me if you know!)

Pentas and petunias still going strong in an old BBQ grill that I converted to a planter.  Zinnas still standing strong.

Here are the 3rd generation French Marigolds -- I'll be collecting these seeds again for sure.  Nothing looks better this time of year.

Apple Picking
We've had lots of stunningly gorgeous sunny fall days, aso we took advantage of it and made two apple picking trips this year, to our local spots,  Dr. Davies Farm with our friends Kelly, Aiden and Robby, and to Orchards of Concklin with our cousins. 

Baking

The kids peeled the apples, and my sister-in-law Janine put together an awesome apple crisp.  Thanks to Cindy F. from our Working Moms group for the recipe.

Apple Crisp

6 cups peeled sliced cooking apples
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter

Put apples in square baking dish. Combine the next 5 ingredients in a bowl.
Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over
the apples. Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes or until apples are your favorite
consistency. Serve warm with caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream.

 

Hey, I saved a whole bunch of "Minnesota Midget" heirloom cantaloupe seeds - they were lots of fun to grow.  If you'd like some, just send your address to me at nyackbackyard@gmail.com.  While supplies last, of course.