Snapshots from the Greenhouse

Cucumbers

Kale

Spinach is coming on well. Soon....harvest!

Cucumber Care

Our Mini Seedless Cucumbers are bearing steadily now. They have both a wonderful 'crunch' and taste. However, after a cucumber is picked, it immediately starts to lose its moisture through its thin skin causing it to go "wobbly". We have a found that wrapping the cucumbers tightly in clear plastic wrap prevents this moisture loss, keeping them crisp up to a week.

Herb Education

Photo: http://www.tipsonhomeandstyle.com/food/easy-to-grow-essential-herbs

Unfamiliarity with herbs keeps people from using them. Over the past few years, I have enjoyed taking one herb at a time and experimenting growing, cooking and drying it. Recently, we happened on some interesting information about herbs in a cookbook from my brother-in-law's family. Here's some basic information regarding the herbs we grow.

* Add herbs in small amounts, 1/4 teaspoon for each 4 servings. Taste before adding more.
* Always crush dried herbs or snip fresh herbs before using to release the flavor.
* If substituting fresh herbs for dried, use 3 times more fresh herbs.

Basil- Sweet warm flavor with an aromatic odor, used whole or ground. Good with ground beef, lamb, fish, roast, omelets, pesto, dressings, and spaghetti. The plant does not like cold weather.

Chives- Sweet mild flavor of onion. This herb is excellent in salads, fish, soups and potatoes. Delicious mixed in with sour cream. Easy to grow.

Dill- Both seeds and leaves of dill are flavorful. Leaves may be used to garnish or cook with fish, soup, dressings, potatoes and beans. Leaves or the whole plant may be used to spice dill pickles.

Mint- Leaves are aromatic with a cool flavor. Excellent in beverages, fish, cheese, lamb, soup, peas, carrots, and fruit desserts. Refreshing over mandarin orange slices. Different varieties exist. We grow spearmint. The plant can spread easily so best in potted.

Oregano- Strong aromatic odor, use whole or ground to spice tomato juice, fish, eggs, pizza, omelets, chili, stew, gravy, poultry and vegetables. Smells like pizza!

Parsley- Best when used fresh. Use as garnish or seasoning. Try in fish, omelets, soup, meat, stuffing and mixed greens. Varities include flat-leaf and curly. We grow flat-leaf.

Sage- Use fresh or dried. May be used in tomato juice, fish, fondue, omelets, beef, poultry, stuffing, cheese spreads, cornbread and biscuits.

Sorrel- A citrus flavored herb that resembles spinach and in some cultures is considered a vegetable. The taste becomes stronger as leaves mature. Young leaves can be used in salads or lightly cooked like spinach. Older leaves provide a tangy flavor to soups, stews and sauces. Especially used with fish.

Cucumbers have arrived to Market!

Look for Mini-Cucumbers this Saturday at Market! See you there!

*** Starring: Thyme ***

Thyme is my favorite herb. I love the smell and taste. We stuff our roast chickens with it, along with a bay leaf, flattened garlic cloves, onions, celery and salt. Makes the house smell wonderful. We also found a recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook for potato soup that is delicious and very quick to make. Will share it with you.

Home-Style Potato Soup

3 medium potatoes (about 1 lb)
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
2 green onions with tops, chopped
1-1/2 c milk
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/8 t dried thyme leaves (we use about 1 T of fresh leaves, chopped to release the flavor)

Peel & chunk the potatoes. Heat the broth & potatoes to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat so that the mixture gently boils. Cover & cook about 15 min or until the potatoes are soft. Break the potatoes into pieces. (We use a potato masher to mash a few chunks and give the soup a thicker consistency.) Stir in the milk, salt, pepper, thyme & onions into the mixture. Heat over medium heat, stirring some, until hot & steaming. Do not let the soup boil. May add 1-1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese at the end.

NOTES: We often cook up a link of turkey sausage (or you can substitute vegetarian sausage) and toss it in when the soup is heating up at the end. If we do not have green onions, we use regular onion and cook it with the potatoes. The recipe makes a small batch, 3-4 servings.

Growth Chart

The tomatoes and cucumbers are still growing despite the cooler weather. We are looking forward to bringing them to Market soon!