Sunday, August 17, 2008

I Need Parmesan Like the Sun

Things are happening in my garden. I put some more raised beds in my backyard this summer, looking to benefit from the extended sunlight that happens towards the back of my yard. It's already been shady, but it's been worse thanks to my next door neighbor who is letting an oak tree grow snug right up to the fence. It's doing the limbo under his other trees to get the sun from my yard. I am possessive of the sunlight, I need it.
View from the deck

Peppers behind the fence
Eggplant fetus, second trimester
I planted pole beans, radicchio, red cabbage, basil, eggplant, four kinds of tomatoes, three kinds of peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, butternut squash, turnips, scallions, broccoli, onions, dinosaur kale, two kinds of chard, sugar baby watermelon, red beets, and I just sowed some chiogga beet seeds. I am determined to keep up with it! I've been using cucumber in tzatziki made with Greek yogurt. I'm going to grate and freeze zucchini in one-cup increments for baking. Greens, tomatoes and green beans will be frozen. Whatever we can't keep up with will get frozen. Which will happen because I insist on growing this stuff and then I make what I think what is a fabulous meal out of it, but macaroni and cheese always goes over better. Although I did make these zucchini chips that the kids ate. I sliced them, dipped them in buttermilk (recipe said skim but I didn't have it) then dredged them in bread crumbs and parmesan and baked them crisp. What would I do without parmesan? I need parmesan like the sun.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your backyard!! Super jealous!

I gardened the same way this year...convinced that I would cook up some cool meals. Alas, I have a very picky eater in my household (read: husband, the only other eater in my household besides the dog :)) and trying to get him to try new things is like pulling teeth. He tried some of my kale chips and made a face. Grrrr....

I should live in a commune, where my cooking would be appreciated by someone, dammit!!!! :)

Ypsipearl said...

Kale chips? I'm going to make kale chips by dehydrating fresh kale... is that what you did? I've made them before and crunched them up over popcorn.

Zoe the Wonder Dog wants to start a commune.

Anonymous said...

No way! I am totally joining the commune! I can be the beer and cooking chick. :)

Zoe also features prominently in my make-believe NeoCon War and Resistance (A2 Resistance, Ypsilanti Rebels). Go with it...I am kinda ADD and need to constantly amuse myself, so I made up a Neocon War :) We are the Resistance.

For my kale, I gently laid the kale chips on a baking sheet. I sprinkled some olive oil, salt&peppa and baked at 350 for about 15 minutes. It ended up being like chips that anyone except my husband would have liked :)

Zoe the Wonder Dog said...

I think you need a little guerrilla pruning... I have a tree saw and a ladder.