Weekly Garden Thread - September 26-October 2, 2020

September 26, 2020 | Diana in Wisconsin/Greeneyes

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yep. It's just feed corn for animals. It's generally not legal to 'bait' deer, but some people do it, anyway. Cheaters! It usually brings in wild turkey as well.

At the garden center we sold 'Deer Apples' which were basically trees that had lost their tags, so you didn't know what you were getting. People planted those as bait for deer, as well. Really no way to prove anything, and people (us included) do plant 'food plots' for wildlife on their property. Soybeans, sugar beets, clover, millet and sunflowers for birds - there's always plenty of corn around as it is.

[deport]

I love that sign. LOL........

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[cherry]

notice you used the word "supper"....supper is a word I rarely hear anymore...so I make it a point to say it when I can....

here in eastern Washington we're near frost at night...still have green tomatoes...but I have started to pull things up...if I can get to it, I'm going to try to over winter at least one pepper plant...

need to get the garlic in soon...

ordered a couple of seed catalogues...

and today I spotted a pileated woodpecker after my dtr's been saying she saw it a week ago....wonderful looking bird...

my other dtr is moving from Portland Oregone..way gone...to about 60 miles north of us, about 40 miles from the Canadian border....they bought an 100 yro farmhouse and a little land....they are estatic...so are we...

[cherry]

been there.....

[Liz]

A perfect holiday pasta course. You could use pumpkin, as well.
Chilled Sauvignon Blanc to wash down all the deliciousness is a must.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi / Mascarpone Cheese Sauce

GNOCCHI Rice 4 warm baked sweet potatoes, one boiled russet potato.
Stir in 2 c flour, beaten egg, pinch cinnamon/nutmeg, s/p; mix well. Pipe
batches w/ ½" tip into boiling water, snip w/ kitchen shears at ½" intervals.
Cook til dough floats to surface. Drain; keep warm. Repeat w/ rest.

SAUCE Caramelize a bit 4 shallots, gar/cl both fine-chp, tb sugar.
Add cup h/cream, 1/2 cup veg or chix stock; add 4 oz mascarpone,
bunch fine-chp fresh sage. S/P to taste.

ASSEMBLY Combine Gnocchi with Sauce.
Stays nice and warm in oven if done ahead.

SERVE w/ sage leaves garnish.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So exciting to have your daughter near to you - and LAND! Love it. :)

Yes, in Wisconsin, it’s ‘Breakfast, Lunch and Supper.’ Those new to the area mistakenly call ‘Lunch,’ ‘Dinner’ which is very confusing, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I love watching Lidia Bastianic make Gnocchi. Wish I could get to the point of making pasta without having to really THINK about it!

https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes-categories/pastas-polenta-risottos/

I make a terrific Pumpkin Sauce to go over Ravioli. I would snag a Pie Pumpkin from work, make the sauce, then bring it and Ravioli in the crock pot for my crew at work during the Fall. Rave revues!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/245025/creamy-pumpkin-sauce/

Sincerely missing the days when I had a lot of people to cook for. I need to go cook at a prison, LOL!

[Liz]

Sounds good... they might hire you at FR......

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” ~ G.K. Chesterton

[Liz]

A treasured pumpkin recipe comes together so quickly. Melts in your mouth; caramel-pumpkin combo is holiday perfection.

Caramel Pumpkin Puff Pastry / Serves 9

Ing • box thawed puff pastry • 15 oz can solid pumpkin •8 oz cr/cheese, •½ cup br/sugar • tsp vanilla •½ tsp cinnamon •½ cup sugar coated nuts

Frosting •3 Tb butter •¼ cup h/cream •½ cup br/sugar • cup conf sugar • tsp vanilla

FILLING beat smooth pumpkin, cr/cheese, br/sugar.

ASSEMBLY carefully open pastry sheets. Place one down on sprayed sheetpan; rolling pin gently to smooth creases. Spread with pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle with sugared nuts. Place opened 2nd pastry on floured worksurface. Gently roll smooth.

Pizza cutter pastry into 10 equal strips. Place five strips evenly spaced over filling. Then place 5 strips on top going the other direction. Bake golden 400 deg 20-25 min. Drizzle with Caramel Frosting.

FROSTING Stir to boil on med butter, cream, and brown sugar. Cool offheat 5 min. Add conf, vanilla; stir smooth.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So glad the temperature went down today because I have been Jonesin' for SOUP! Today I am making, 'Diana's Lentil Soup.'

1 pound dried, split lentils - rinsed and picked over for stones, 6 cups chicken broth (home made) or vegetable broth, 2 cups water (or 8 cups water and two or 3 cubes), 1 tsp. salt, 1 medium onion, chopped, 1 celery rib with leaves, chopped, Chopped garlic, to taste (I used a big clove), 1 carrot, scrubbed and diced, 1 potato, scrubbed and diced, 1 red pepper, chopped (green, yellow or orange is fine, too), 2 cups chopped ham - second cousin to Bacon! (Or use up leftover chicken or turkey, sausage, etc. - or go meatless; the soup don't care!)

Put all ingredients in your heavy-bottomed soup pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes until everything is tender. It's rather thick, so you can add more broth or water at the end if you'd like. It is SO yummy! Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top if you have it. Or shredded cheese. You can also serve it over rice to feed a crowd...or teenage boys.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Liz]

So healthy.......great recipe.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Uses up random garden produce, too! :)

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I made a version of this today. I pit a tiny slice of pan browned beef keilbasa on each on as well....

Delicious!

My eggplants in my garden are smallish so I had to cook the eggs over hard because the egplant aloces were the same size as the yolks.

I did them two ways...one batch eggplants cooked thru but not crispy...with eggplant and no egg and one batch cooked crispy with kielbasa and egg.

I actually prefer the non crispy with but they were. It delicious with my diced spicy peppers, hard fried egg.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I have a mating pair of Pileated Woodpeckers living in a rotten tree in my back yard......hate to do it but I have tk have it taken down.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

editing my tag line to reflect how poorly this Samsung cell phone keyboard is laid out for my thumbs...aka horrible mispellings.

[Liz]

Mmmmmm.....a must try......you must be a great cook.