A taste of summer

I love to snuggle in on a cold, snowy night in front of a fire and dream of spring. Usually a few gardening catalogs help me get into the spirit. However, this taste of summer helps too. Pictured are corn, hot peppers and potatoes from last summers garden. The corn and peppers (as you can tell) have been hanging out in the freezer. The potatoes are from the root cellar (also known as our barely heated basement). They will make a tasty warm treat. I boil the seeded peppers with chicken stock (enough to cover) until the peppers are soft. Blend and add corn (off the cob) and diced cooked potatoes. I add a bit of cream, sour cream or yogurt. It is fun to have a "garden fresh" soup in February. I love it "as is" but add a little potato starch to thicken it for my husband.

Now turning to dreams of spring planting. I want at least two pepper varieties this year. It's a tough decision and Pepper Joe's catalog is not helping. I want them all!

I know I will grow a "black" tomato variety. I love their rich, tangy flavor. I have my eyes on black krim (from Penny's Tomatoes) but there are so many I would love to try.
Any pepper, tomato or potato variety suggestions appreciated. What are your favorites?

Back to the garden

We enjoyed a trip out to Montana for dear hubbies family reunion. However, it also felt good to be back home. We were away for 8 days and the garden did a wonderful thing in our absence....it grew....a lot! The corn, cucumbers and peppers did especially well. Peppers have been in every meal since we returned and I really love the two varieties we selected this year.

The Hungarian hot wax pepper is pale green and packs a bit of heat. The early ones were mild but they are getting hotter as the summer goes on. I love hot peppers so they have been delicious to eat stuffed and grilled. For other family members (with their milder tastes) they work well chopped in with other things. The plants are PROLIFIC. I have picked quite a few every day and more await.

The Jimmy Nardello Sweet Italian Frying Pepper is a real treat. If I could stop munching them raw, then we could enjoy a few more grilled. They are tasty either green or red. The plants produce well which is a good thing because the sweet delicate flavor of these peppers makes them one of my favorites.

I wanted a light meal using the peppers and cucumbers. I didn't measure amounts much but I made a soup I really enjoyed. I heated a little milk with a teaspoon of potato starch and added roasted seeded peppers (3 mild, 1 hot), pickled garlic and creame fraiche and pureed with a stick blender. Chill. Just before serving, I added 2 diced cucumbers (more on those later but I have a variety of cucumber this year that I really like too). Strain (if you like) and garnish it with some chocolate cherry tomato wedges. I will make more for my lunch tomorrow. The season is so short but the garden will produce most of our food for the next 2 months or so. Hopefully the peppers will freeze well also....there really are a lot of them!

Garden Happenings

This photo is of a plant I'm hoping that the hummingbirds will discover soon. This is a honeysuckle I planted last year. It is doing a nice job of adding color to what was a drab corner of the garden.

It has been a busy spring but we have had fun harvesting strawberries, peas, herbs, rhubarb, radishes, lettuce, spinach and asparagus. Even though I'm sad that some of those crops are almost done for the year, it's great to look forward to the tomatoes, grapes, potatoes, raspberries and other garden gems.

I picked the first pepper of the season today. It is a Hungarian Hot Wax and will be delicious mixed in with rice & beans. It adds just a nice hint of heat. I have two varities this year. The other is Jimmy Nardello. I like to try a different pepper or two- usually one that has some heat and another that is more mild. Any suggestions for next year?