Tonight we will have our first hard freeze of the season and snow, or so the weather people predict. First I brought in all my plants. Then I picked oodles of veggies from my garden and must deal with them all. quite a large job. One thing I am doing is freezing beet greens, something that I haven’t done before.

1. Wash beet greens and remove stems.
2. Put in at least 2 gallon pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes, depending on how large the leaves are.
3. Immediately drain in a stainless steel collander(thanks Rose).
4. Put in sink of ice water for one minute while stirring.
5. Put back in collander. Drain
6. Put in quart freezer bag and label, with date.
7. Put on open shelf in freezer so it will freeze quickly.
8. After it is frozen you can stack it up with other items.

This has become our favorite dressings. The secret is raw, organic tahini which can be difficult to get. I prepare it using a stick blender , but I am sure you can also make it in a regular blender. We use it not only on salads, but also on rice dishes, pasta dishes, etc.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice with pulp
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 1 TBSP maple syrup
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 TBSP of diced onion
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup water

1. Blend the first 7 ingredients together.
2. Add the water and blend again.

I never liked the broccoli that I bought frozen in the grocery, but last year I froze 1 quart and was surprised by how tasty it was. So this year I grew 15 broccoli plants so I could freeze alot.

Freezing is so easy compared to canning. I washed the broccoli. Cut it up as if I was going to cook it. I put a 2 gallon pot on to boil and filled a clean sink with ice water.

I put the broccoli in the boiling water, stirred and timed it for 3 minutes.  I got it out quickly with tongs and a slotted spoon. Then I dumped it in the sink to cool for 3 minutes.

I took it out, let it drain in the collander and then measured it. A quart went into each ziplock freezer back.  I labeld each bag with the vegetable name and date. I sucked out the air, zipped the bag and put the bag on an open shelf in the freezer to freeze quickly. The next day I put the frozen broccoli bags in a pile in the freezer with other stuff.

So easy.

I just read in Rasmussen’s cookbook( Mark Rasmussen, author of the Veggie Works Vegan Cookbook) that it is best NOT to put vegetable skins in when you make broth. He says that it will give it an off taste. He peels his potatoes before he adds them to his broth pot.

I usually save my peelings for my broth but will try it without and see what I think.

Any opinions out there?

The tv says we got 3 inches of rain this week, but I thnk more like 6 at my house and 4.5 at the rain gage at Sunshine.

My kale, collard, mustard, beet, turnip and rutabaga seeds are coming up and I planted some broccoli transplants too.

I also planted cilantro, dill, parsley and celeriac but the seeds haven’t come up yet.

We are stll eating 4 kinds of summer squashes. I say we but John is squashed out so I mean me.

Sprouts opened in Austin and Central Market has lowered prices to complete. I got big red peppers for 50 cents each as well as avocadoes at 3 for a dollar and 50 cent cantaloupes. I feel like I am back in 1967.

My leek bed is starting to fill up with leeks and I am thinking it is time to take down the okra. I dug up one of my 2 sweet potato beds last week and am curing the sweet potatoes. My lima beans should be ready to harvest soon. Should I or shouldn’t I dig up all that zucchini and squash???

This August every day is over 100 degrees. But my garden is still green thanks to my lima beans, sweet potatoes, Early Bulam squash, Italian zuchinni and peppers.

I am starting to think about cool weather crops like cauliflower and brussels sprouts. We are planting seeds in the air-conditioned trailor because the germination rate for cool weather crops is zero over 95 degrees.

The tomatoes are dying. You can hardly garden in Austin in July or August. Today it is 105 degrees. So hot so early in the season. The pool is 96 degrees, barely cooling at all. Some plants are doing well in the garden , the okra, the sweet potatoes and  the Italian pole zucchini, Trombocino Squash (Zucchetta Rampicante).

 So hot, so early.

My gardening friend Jerry says he has the time but not the know how to can so I am posting this for him. I also told him to get a ball canning book and just follow their directions. Anyway this is how I do it. Funky but oh so delicious. I mix orange, yellow , green and red tomatoes in my sauce.  I use whatever is ripe from the garden.

First I get out everything I need.

• canner
• 7 pints or 7 quarts
• slotted spoon
• canning funnel
• lids and bands
• wooden spoon
• ladle
• canning tongs
• one 4 quart pot
• one heavy duty 6 quart pot
• one stainless frying pan 9 inches
• one stainless frying pan 6 inches
• 4 trays of ice
• 14-21 ponds of ripe tomatoes
• a bunch of basil
• a head of garlic

Then I begin.

1. I weigh out my tomatoes.  Three pounds make one quart or 2 pints.
2. I put water to boil in the 4 quart pot
3. Fill the sink with water and add ice.
4. When water comes to a boil put in tomatoes and let them boil for 2 minutes to loosen skins.
5. Take out with slotted sppon into large frying pan and dump in ice water to cool.
6. Put 6 qt pot nearby.
7. Decore tomatoes and take off skins.
8. Cut nude tomatoes into chunks and put in 6 qt pot.
9. Repeat steps 4-8 until all the tomatoes are in the pot.
10. Fill canner with water and turn on high.
11. Put tomatoes on the stove and turn to high
12. Add 8 or so cloves garlic, 2 handfuls of garlic and  1 TBSP of salt to the tomatoes. Taste.
13. Bring to a boil, turn down and let simmer for 15 minutes or so
14. Put lids in hot water in small frying pan to soften.
15. Dip clean jars in hot canner water to semisterilize.
16. fFll jars leaving 1 inch air space on top.
17. Wipe tops with wet towel, put on lids and screw on bands.
18. Set jars  on canner rack and immerse in the water.
19. Bring to a boil and  leave at a rolling boil for 35 minutes for pints and 45 minutes for quarts.
20. Lift cans with rack. Let sit for a minute and then remove to counter with canning tongs.
21. Let sit for 24 hours.
22. Unscrew bands, label and date with permanent marker, wash off if necessary and put away for the winter.

My rhubarb is gone! In Texas it is an anuual and the heat has taken it out.

but lucky for me I froze some before it wilted and disappeared

Some I froze by just cutting in one inch chunks and putting in quart freezer bags. This works according to the books. I guess there are no enzymes to destroy>

Here is how I froze the rest.

1. Wash rhubarb after removing poisonous leaves.
2. Cut in 1 inch chunks.
3. Put 4 cups of rhubarb, 1/8 cup water and 2 TBSP of sugar in a small saucepan.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Lower heatand simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Put in 1 qt freezer container without lid and cool in freezer
7. Put on lid when cooled down a bit and freeze.

My gardening friend Jerry gave me a Early Bulam squash plant. It is a summer squash and is quite prolific. I think it is Korean.

Nicknamed avocado squash because of its appearance, this squash hybrid produces oval fruit with thin, light green skin and white flesh that is similar to that of zucchini.

Ripe fruits measure about 4” in diameter and 5” or 6” in length. Fruits weigh approximately 400 grams. The Cucurbita moschata vine-type plant is a vigorous grower.

I got most of  this information form the Kitazawa seed catalogue