[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO GO BACK TO THE OCTOBER 16-22 WEEKLY GARDEN THEAD!

CLICK ON PICTURE BELOW TO LINK TO RESOURCE AREA. BOOKS, MAGAZINES, GARDENING SEEDS, SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT, AND INTERESTING GARDENING LINKS HARVESTED FROM PREVIOUS GARDENING THREADS!"

(The resource area is posted at the end of the the July 3-6 Gardening Thread beginning after post 112!)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks, Pete! A Cider Bar? How smart is that? :)

[MomwithHope]

Hello all, the best time of the year. The canning is done and just some odds and ends to go. The weather has been gorgeous here in west Michigan. Picked what I think is the last of the parsley and basil. I am rooting the basil for the winter and I made parsley oil. So easy, blanche for 10 seconds in boiling water and plunge into ice water, drain. Pat dry with paper towels. I used a cuisinart and olive oil and ran it a LONG time. Some recipes say strain it but I did not, it liquified great. I had dried parsley still from last year so I did this instead. Great on anything you would use parsley on, had some on a baked potato, yummy.

sawmill grill castle hayne

My rooted celery is doing well inside southern exposure.

When I harvest my garlic this year I missed one, it was near the surface and started shooting up greens again. Since it was so close to the surface I pulled it up and ate it, Loved the long white roots so I just had to take a picture.

And for those more north keep an eye out for those giant white puffballs. You will see them in the fall often in lawns. Peel and slice thick, saute in a lot of butter and some olive oil plus salt and pepper. After cooking slices can be frozen too. Yummy on top of a cheeseburger.


Still waiting on being able to prune our pawpaw trees, the leaves turn late. Also finally yanked the chinese long beans. I still picked a handful 2 days ago and new flower buds were out, but now that it is cooler nothing will mature. Still have some onions to dig, asparagus is cut back, we are in good shape. Best wishes to all.

[Liz]

Laurie Colwin’s Gingerbread

Beloved cook love gingerbread, publishing different recipes exploring its charms. She writes that this moist, cakelike rendition, from “Home Cooking..... is “home food” — not fancy restaurant food, soothing cold-weather food, for an afternoon spent indoors. Uses Steen’s cane syrup, from Louisiana, easy to find online, or your local supermarket......and lemon brandy.

INGREDIENTS stick unsalted butter, ½ cup light or dark brown sugar ½ cup light molasses or use blackstrap for dark cake 2 large eggs 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 ½ tablespoons ground ginger, or to taste 1 teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground cloves ¼ teaspoon ground allspice 2 teaspoons lemon brandy or vanilla extract (see note) ½ cup buttermilk (or milk with a little plain yogurt beaten into it)

PREPARATION Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and set aside. Cream remaining 4 ounces butter with the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy, add molasses, then beat in eggs. Add flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Add lemon brandy or vanilla extract and buttermilk and turn batter into pan. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes (check after 20 minutes). Cool on a rack.

Serve. the cake plain with whipped cream, or with fruit and a dollop of crème fraîche, or glazed with lemon icing, as Ms. Colwin often did. And a glass of apple cider.

Lemon brandy is hard to find.... homemade lemon brandy can be made by steeping lemon peel shards in Brandy. Do not use lemon extract.