Blueberry: Pie of the Month

June's Pie of the Month

Starting this month, I will be trying something new: featuring a pie of the month (What are the criteria for determining the pie of the month? Whatever sounds good at the time, although I do try to keep in mind what is in season). This time around, the pie of the month is blueberry pie.

Blueberries are a super food, full of antioxidants, fiber, and other healthy benefits: good for the heart and the brain (if someone looks at you quizzically while you are enjoying the blueberry pie, you can always say, "Don't worry: I'm getting my antioxidants") . Plus, they are delicious.

Recipe for Blueberry Pie

Pie Dough

You can either make your own or buy the commercially-made crust that rolls out

Pie Filling

4 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh
3/4 to 1 cup sugar, to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer the mixture until thickened. Let cool and then scrape the mixture into a bottom crust that has been perforated with a fork. Roll out the top crust and place it on top of the pie; flute the edges to seal. Slash the top crust at several points so that pressure does not build up in the pie while baking. Brush the top crust with an egg wash (1 egg, thinned with a splash or so of water and then beaten) to encourage a shiny crust; sprinkle the top with sugar if desired.

Bake in a 400 degree oven (Fahrenheit) for 35-45 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown. Let cool for awhile (anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours: in my household, there is no way that pie is cooling for a full two hours, uncut). Enjoy with a dollop or so of vanilla ice cream. Bon appetit!

Homemade Blueberry Pie

Top Twenty List of Plant Ideas for the Small Garden

Limited Vegetable Garden Space? Try These Top Twenty Plant Picks

As gardeners, we often have grandiose dreams about creating the perfect garden that expands as far as the eye can imagine, let alone see. However, we may be limited by time, space, or both. Yet, we long for truly fresh vegetables as well as the unique kind of therapy that only a garden offers. Some plants, such as corn and full-size watermelons, will gobble up valuable garden space, so we need plants that are space-wise and productive: hence, my top twenty list of recommendations of vegetables and the occasional herb, in no particular order.

1. Beefsteak tomatoes
2. Roma tomatoes
3. Zucchini, bush variety: one or two plants will be plenty
4. Yellow crook neck variety: again, one or two plants will suffice
5. Green beans, bush variety or pole variety: the latter will make excellent use of vertical space
6. Wax beans, bush variety or, better yet, pole variety, for the reason mentioned above
7. Yard-long beans: these are a pole variety that produce well and look impressive
8. Swiss chard: once established, it is hard to kill and can withstand warmer temperatures
9. Jalapeno peppers
10. Sweet banana peppers
11. Baby watermelons, grown vertically
12. Japanese eggplant
13. pickling cucumbers, grown vertically
14. slicing cucumbers, grown vertically
15. dill, to go with all of those cucumbers
16. asparagus: these perennials, once established, will produced for up to thirty years
17. basil: this herb enhances nearby growing tomatoes, and it is a must for fresh pesto lovers
18. spearmint: grow this in a pot; otherwise, it will invade the rest of the garden
19. rosemary
20. Greek oregano

Feel free to mix and match from these ideas for a successful summer garden, small yet productive.

Are there any other space-saving plants I did not include here that I should have? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potager_en_plate-bande.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Potager_en_plate-bande.jpg 

Friday the 13th Fears? Create Your Own Lucky Garden

Bring Luck to Your Garden with Lucky Plants

There's nothing like the appearance of Friday the 13th to jangle the superstitious nerves of folks and to cause a fear known as Triskaidekaphobia. Of course, luck--good or bad--tends to be what we make of it, and we can create our own luck, rather than be doomed to a self-fulfilling prophecy of ill fortune.

As gardeners, we can invite good luck into the sacred space of our gardens. Here are but a few ideas to help facilitate good luck and prosperity in the garden.

Edible Vegetables Associated with Luck and Prosperity

Beans
Cabbage
Eggplant
Lettuce
Peas
Pumpkin
Spinach and other greens
Sunflower (seeds)
Tomatoes (yes, I know that botanically, tomatoes are fruits: let's run with this)

By Sengai Podhuvan (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Edible Fruits and Nuts Associated with Luck and Prosperity

Almond
Bananas
Blackberries
Figs
Grapes
Hazelnuts
Kumquats
Lemons
Orange
Pears
Pineapple
Pomegranate

By Rosendahl [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Edible Herbs Associated with Luck and Prosperity

Basil
Chamomile
Dill
Garlic (more to ward off bad luck so that good luck can arrive)
Ginger
Oregano
Parsley

By H. Zell (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Non-Edible Plants Associated with Luck and Prosperity

Aloe vera
Bells of Ireland
Bluebell (not the ice cream, although eating some Blue Bell ice cream while hanging out in the garden couldn't hurt)
Clover, especially the four-leaf variety
Daffodil
Honeysuckle
Money plant (also can be and is often grown indoors)
Periwinkle
White heather

By Phyzome under the GFDL. (Phyzome) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Do you have any other plants in your garden that you would consider lucky? Please feel free to share in the comments section.

Mango-Pineapple Salsa

Mango-Pineapple Salsa: A Recipe of Opportunity

We had some mangoes and pineapple that were dead-ripe and needed to be used. With that in mind, I came up with this salsa on the spur of the moment; every single household member, even our resident curmudgeon--loves this salsa. In this spirit, I give this recipe to you, for your enjoyment.

The Recipe

6 large,very ripe mangoes, cubed
2 medium ripe pineapple, cubed
3 orange sweet bell peppers, chopped
1 to 4 chopped jalapenos, to taste
2 small white onions, diced
1 handful or so of cilantro, chopped
2 cups vinegar
the juice of 3 to 4 limes

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes,until the vegetables are tender. Let cool for about 10 minutes and then blend part of the batch, enough to make a chunky salsa, or to taste. 

Take a cue from Blue Bell Ice Cream: eat all you can, fresh,  and then can the rest. 

With this batch, I was able to can 1 quart and 2 pints of salsa. For pints, process in a hot-water bath for 10 minutes; for quarts, process for 25 minutes. 

This salsa is fabulous teamed with chicken, turkey, or fish. Bon appetit! 

Homemade Mango-Pineapple Salsa

Garden of My Dreams?

Ultimate Garden? Dream On! 

Each year, at the end of the academic year in late spring, I, like many gardeners, go through the same mental process. We think that this year is going to be different, that our garden will be bigger and better, with more space devoted to what we euphemistically call a hobby. Our garden dreams may very well end up looking like this:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieskowa_Ska%C5%82a_ogr%C3%B3d_zamkowy.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Pieskowa_Ska%C5%82a_ogr%C3%B3d_zamkowy.jpg 

Or this:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hever_Castle_rose_garden_with_fountain.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Hever_Castle_rose_garden_with_fountain.JPG

Or even this:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buenos_Aires_Entrada_al_Jardin_Botanico_Carlos_Thays.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Buenos_Aires_Entrada_al_Jardin_Botanico_Carlos_Thays.jpg

However, a common mistake is to overestimate the time and energy involved in creating and maintaining a garden. Are watering needs being met? Is enough time being devoted each week to everyone's least favorite task, weeding (yes, according to Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "A weed is but an unloved flower," but most gardeners choose to shower love elsewhere)? Is enough energy being spent in dissuading pests from your precious plants? Are compost and/or fertilizer needs being met? If plants need to be pruned or staked, is enough time and energy being devoted to these tasks? Finally, will your schedule allow time to simply be in the garden, to sit, relax, and/or meditate in the positive space you have created?

 If the answer to any of these questions is no, then it is time to scale back that dream a bit. This is not settling for "second best": it is being realistic. It is far more gratifying to start small and expand that garden as time and energy permit, throughout the growing season, than to try to keep up with a grandiose gardening plan that will leave you burned out and feeling frustrated. Trust me on this one.

Gardening is supposed to be a fun, emotionally-rewarding pastime, not a drudge or a chore; that said, anyone who wishes to garden needs to expect to put time and sweat into any gardening aspirations. According to Liberty Hyde Bailey, co-founder of the American Society for Horticultural Science, "A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them."

. And starting small and then building up the garden gradually allows the gardener's imagination to flow more freely, according to Mrs. C. W. Earle, in Pot-Pourri from an Surrey Garden, 1897: "Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination."

To-Do List to Prepare the Garden for Spring

Preparing the Garden for Spring--in Winter

Even though we are in the throes of winter, a gardener's fancy turns to the possibilities that the warmer months offer. The ground may be covered in ice and snow (or, in my area, cold soggy mud), but we as gardeners can set the stage for a welcome splash of color come springtime. Hence, here is my top ten list for preparing the spring garden during these colder months:

1. Clean up the asparagus bed. Weed, mulch, and fertilize asparagus plants.

2. Perform a soil test.

3. Add organic amendments to the soil and allow them to break down during the next six to eight weeks or so. I will be working in blood meal, bone meal, wood ashes, and rabbit pellets made of alfalfa (the pellets will be moistened so that they break down without attracting rabbits) into the soil.

4. Peruse the gardening catalogs with delight.

5. Create a new garden plan for the existing main garden.

6. Create new garden space and start building up the fertility.

7. Have a new planter box created; this one will be for strawberries. Planter boxes have become a welcome birthday tradition during the past several years.

8. Weed, feed, prune, and mulch the blueberry plants; they inhabit one of the planter boxes mentioned above.

9. Look over the existing herbs and decide which new herbs to buy. Mint and bay are but two herbs on my list.

10. Plant daylilies around the bases of several trees in the yard.

11. Okay, I could not resist one more item: dream fondly about this year's upcoming garden and its bounty.

By Patrick CharpiatPatrick.charpiat at fr.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-2.0-fr (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/fr/deed.en) or CC-BY-SA-2.0-fr (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/fr/deed.en)], from Wikimedia Commons

Strawberry Sauce: A Happy Accident

Strawberry Sauce and Unexpected Surprises in the Kitchen

A while back, I was in the process of turning fresh strawberries into strawberry jam. At the time, I was cooking while distracted by other matters--usually something to be avoided, as kitchen accidents can occur. While distracted, I had added the pectin out of order,  contrary to the jam recipe's instructions. As a jam, the concoction was ruined; however, the mixture turned out to be an excellent strawberry sauce that can top pancakes, waffles, cheesecake, fresh peaches, and-my favorite--vanilla ice cream, preferably Blue Bell.

Here's the recipe to this "happy accident", minus the pectin:

1 quart crushed strawberries
7 cups sugar
a few splashes of lemon juice

Cook the crushed strawberries over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the sugar and lemon juice; cook for another 10 minutes until thickened and bubbly.

Serve immediately or can the mixture: for the latter, process in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes (pint jars).

Bon appetit!

Sourdough Starter: Fun Chemistry in the Kitchen

Why Make Sourdough Starter? 

If you enjoy baking on a regular basis and enjoy the tangy lift that sourdough brings to various breads and pancakes, then you will want to keep sourdough starter on hand. Making and using sourdough starter is easy and fun; besides, it's not with many other concoctions that the following exchange is possible:

You: You've gotta get a whiff of this.
Other person: What is it?
You: Just smell it.
Other person: Whoa! That's sour!

Making Sourdough Starter

You need a few basic ingredients, plus a little time, in order to make sourdough starter. Here's the recipe:

2 cups milk
1 2-oz package active dry yeast
2 TBSP plain yogurt
2 cups flour

Blend the milk and yeast; heat this mixture until the milk reaches about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Let cool a few minutes and then stir in the yogurt. Transfer this mixture to a glass container (I prefer using a large canning jar). Gradually beat in the flour. Cover the glass container with a dish cloth and then let sit in a warm place for the next 2 to 5 days; I like to place the container on a warm heating pad to ensure even temperature.

Check the mixture every day. If it bubbles and has a sour smell, that's great: the starter is fermenting beautifully. If the mixture turns pink, the fermentation process has broken down. You'll need to compost the mixture and start over.

After the mixture has fermented and is nice and bubbly, store the starter in the refrigerator. You'll probably want to use the starter at least once a week in order to keep it active.

Before using the starter, let it come to room temperature. Also, after using the starter, replace with equal amounts of warm milk and flour. So, if you use 1/2 cup of starter, you'll need to blend in 1/2 cup of warm milk and 1/2 cup of flour.

Masa_madre.jpg ‎(777 × 477 pixels, file size: 73 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Sourdough Starter                  This work is in the public domain

Holidays and Events for the Month of August

August Holidays--Some Tongue in Cheek

Who says that August is too hot to do anything? This month is filled with all sorts of notable days and occurrences. Take a look, and fill your calendar.

Events for the month of August

American Indian Heritage Month

Admit You're Happy Month

Happiness Happens Month

Family Fun Month

National Catfish Month

National Peach Month

Water Quality Month

National Picnic Month

National Sandwich Month

Celery, Fennel and Cactus Month

National Goat Cheese Month

National Panini Month 

Weekly Events for the Month of August

Simplify Your Life Week: August 1-7

World Breastfeeding Week: August 1-7

National Farmers' Market Week: August 4-10

National Resurrect Romance Week: August 4-10

National Bargain Hunting Week: August 5-11 

Elvis Week: August 10-16

Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week: August 11-17

Little League Baseball World Series: August 18-24

Be Kind To Humankind Week: August 25-31

National Safe at Home Week: August 26-30

August Holidays, some more official than others:

1 National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

1 Lughnasadh, or Lammas (literally “loaf mass”)

1 Spiderman Day

2 National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

2 International Beer Day

2 India Pale Ale Beer Day

3 National Mustard Day 

3 National Watermelon Day

4 Friendship Day 

4 International Forgiveness Day (notice how this holiday coincides with Friendship Day; it’s said that the best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him or her your friend)

4 National Chocolate Chip Day (a pattern is definitely emerging for August 4)

4 Sisters Day

5 National Oyster Day

6 National Root Beer Float Day

6 National Night Out

8 Eid-Al Fitr

8 Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day

8 Happiness Happens Day (with or without the zucchini)

9 Book Lover's Day

9 International Day of the World’s Indigenous People

9 Worldwide Art Day

10 Lazy Day

10 National S'mores Day

9-11 Kool-Aid Day

13 International Left Hander's Day

14 V-J Day

14 National Creamsicle Day

15 Relaxation Day

16 National Tell a Joke Day

17 National Thriftshop Day

17 International Geocaching Day

17 International Homeless Animals Day

18 Bad Poetry Day (here’s a link to the Vogon Poem Generator to kick off this holiday in style)

19 World Humanitarian Day (a day after Bad Poetry Day)

19 Cupcake Day

21 Senior Citizen's Day

22 Be an Angel Day

23 Ride the Wind Day

24 Pluto Demoted Day (a somber observance)

24 National Waffle Day (eat waffles and commiserate about Pluto’s demotion)

24-25 International Bat Night

25 Founder’s Day, National Park Service

25 Go Topless Day (not in a national park though: you might be arrested)

25 National Whisky Sour Day

26 Women's Equality Day

29 More Herbs, Less Salt Day

29 National Whisky Sour Day (you’re not seeing double: this holiday is observed twice this month)

30 Frankenstein Day

30 Toasted Marshmallow Day (because Frankenstein and marshmellows go together)

31 National Trail Mix Day

Celebrating National Picnic Month
This work is in the public domain. 

Natural Pest Control for the Garden

Natural Alternatives to Pesticide in the Garden

Where there is gardening, pests are not far behind, waiting in the wings to decimate your crops. Yet, you may not wish to apply a chemical to rid your garden of the pests: you may be worried about ties to cancer as well as to the diminishing honeybee population due to colony collapse disorder. If so, give these alternatives a try.

1. Companion planting, to discourage pests directly or to act as "trap crops." 

2. Picking off the insects by hand or spraying them with a strong burst from the water hose. 

3. Bringing in or attracting natural predators, such as ladybugs, lace wings, praying mantises, hover flies, nematodes, and birds. 

4. Making your own plant-based deterrent, such as a spray made of onion, garlic, and hot peppers blended together.

5. Culling weak or diseased plants that may harbor pests. 

6. Rotating crops each gardening season. 

7. Watering the garden early in the morning so that leaves are dry most of the day. Wet leaves encourages pests. 

8. Sprinkling diatomaceous earth, egg shells, or coffee grounds to get rid of slugs: the rough texture of these remedies cut the underbellies of the pests. For imported cabbageworms, sprinkle Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) around members of the cabbage family; Bt also works for tomato hornworms. 

Do you have any natural pest deterrents that work for you? Please feel free to share your insights in the comments section.

By User:MatthiasKabel (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons, Ladybug: example of natural pest control