Cinderella's Curried Butter Balls

Now that I am a fancy breeder, I understand why the cat lovers call their kitties these long names with detailed clues to their parentage.
This year's pumpkin harvest was amazing, and it is still continuing. This year I tried another experiment. Last year, I planted Rouge Vif d'Etampes pumpkin (my favorite for how cool it looks), and also the standard Butternut squash varieties (my favorite for eating). Both varieties are in the group cucurbita maxima, so I had kind of an idea (and a hope) that they would cross.
I was interested in a smaller pumpkin than the fancy French kind that I now usually just call "Cinderella". Every time I wanted to boot one up, I had to find even more room in the fridge or find 20 friends to share it with. This year I even resorted to removing the produce bins to get some of a leftover pumpkin into cold storage. So, to this aim, I planted the saved seeds, and put the plants very close together, and hoped that the larger Cinderella had crossed with the smaller Buttercup and I'd end up with a smaller really cool red pumpkin that is still super tasty.
Well, so far, I am declaring success, even though I haven't actually tasted all of the varieties I came up with. Both potential parents are legends in the taste department, so I had no worries there. I probably ended up with about 10 plants and around 16 giant pumpkins. I got several shapes: the traditional Cinderella squat shape, a higher and boxier shape more like the butternut, and a round kind. All are the same bright orange-red color as Cinderella. Now the round ones are interesting. They have more of a green tinge at the bottom, and being almost perfectly round, have to rest on their sides. Though they were some of the first to fruit, they took more than a month longer to ripen than the others. And though the largest round specimen is only 8 inches wide, it weighs in at a hefty 12 pounds.
I am notoriously bad at keeping track of my seeds. Now to keep track of the 3 new varieties? This year I also planted some buttercup, but it didn't do too well, so I don't expect much additional crossing. In 2012, I'll probably plant last year's seed again, so I can get some additional selections.
Oh, and the curried? It's not about the color. I almost forgot. I also planted one Red Kuri pumpkin last year. It's also a maxima. Come to think of it, my round pumpkins look pretty close to them, only without the neck and all the fussiness.
Note: I got the above photo from Seeds of Change, where I also got the original seeds.

End of this year's Locavore Challenge

Today is the last day of the 2010 Locavore challenge, and we have already eaten the last meal. I feel it is going out with a whimper. I wasn't able to convince all that many of my friends to join me in the locavore way. Sure, there are plenty of gardeners at the community garden who are local-friendly, but not as much as the folks closer to Ojai. This has been a tough year for many of my friends and others in my community, and I think that has alot to do with why more people didn't sign up.
I'll continue to be a locavore, at least where fruits and veggies are concerned. Every season, my own fruit crops and trading network grow. I am still having trouble getting local meat.
Tonight's plans were cancelled last-minute, and I didn't have much else besides the wonderful veggies from the garden. I stopped in at the garden earlier in the day and enjoyed the sunny weather and the company of other hardy friends, and harvested a huge basket of greens and sunchokes. We decided to stop by Fresh and Easy for some fish. There, we ran into the evening sale, and picked up some non-local salmon. I baked the salmon and served it topped with sauteed leeks, celery, fennel and serrano peppers I had harvested earlier. I served it with Osaka purple mustard cooked in kumquat marmalade with mandarin oranges. We enjoyed a huge sweet potato from the garden, and chunks of Belgian dark chocolate for dessert.
So it was mostly local.
What's for next year? I'll continue with my veggie gardening and increase the variety of fruits. Our two Manzanita olive trees are growing well and the Mission olive tree is producing nicely. This may be the year I figure out how to cure the olives, or at least press them. This year, I have nurtured two grape vines, a Eureka lemon tree, a blackberry vine and two blueberry bushes. I would like to propagate more this year. I would also like to acquire a banana tree and transplant the fig tree into a more desirable location.
It will be a good year I am sure.

Winter Veggies and More

I have been eating more meat and less carb this fall and winter, and doing well with it. Well, this former vegan is a little bit surprised, with all that steak and eggs for breakfast. It's in small quantities, and I still enjoy my greens for winter breakfast, just not over a potato.
The greens are especially nice this season, and I have many colors of chard popping up everywhere in the garden.
We had at least 3 good rains on the community garden so far, and each episode sends out more volunteer favorites. I have a carpet of fennel, wide swaths of baby celery, several types of parsley popping out from underneath the flowers (they seem to enjoy the initial protection), and a nice variety of chards and kales ranging in color from magenta to red to orange to pale lemon yellow to white to green.

The Big Haul

Cherry tomatoes have been taking over my patio. Things were getting out of hand. I was harvesting one to two cups a day, turning them into sauce and juice, or just eating them on the run.
I went away for a couple of days and when I returned, I thought there would be too many for me to handle, but when I went to take a look, I found all the plants were stripped. Now I am getting two or three a day. I am not sure what took them all. Squirrels? Crows? People?

Secret Plots

I have a nice tatume summer squash plant, but it has really slowed down production. I know that this is not really true, that there are, in fact, some super secret squashes growing way in the background that I cannot find.
I need to hack back my cocozelle and yellow crookneck plants. The cocozelle is known for traveling quite far, and right now the two branches going in opposite directions take up a total of about 32 square feet. The yellow crookneck (which should be called breakneck, for the speed in which it sends out new branches) has overtaken the butternut squash patch, and I am sure there are more super secret squashes back there, plotting their maturity.

New Potatoes

This year, more and more community gardens are trying potatoes, and all of us are getting better at growing them. This year's cool spring has helped.
I haven't been paying all that much attention to my potatoes. They had been looking a bit sad, so I quit hilling them up after a couple of times. Yesterday I decided to take a look in one raised bin. I realized that I still had two plants out of the four small plants I started with. I dug around the largest one and was amazed to find about 6 pounds of the most perfect red potatoes. They were packed so closely together that they all have a nice compact shape and really easy to dig out. The insides are so creamy and white, and they have such a fresh, earthy flavor.
I took two smaller potatoes and buried them in another bin I rarely water. I need to figure out how to keep these small potatoes healthy until next winter, when I can plant them again.
Over the weekend, I planted 4 sweet potato and yam plants, so hopefully they will do as well as the white potatoes.

The Summer Squashes are Back

This week was another first first for the year. I harvested my first summer squash, and the much-loved cocozelle is the early winner. I really wanted this variety last year, but it didn't work out, so I am quite pleased to have some this year. Here is how the curcurbit garden population is shaping up in 2010.
Pumpkin: 3 Cinderella, 3 Baby Pam
Winter Squash: 3 butternut, 3 buttercup
Summer Squash: 7 total. At least 1 yellow crookneck, 1 cocozelle, 1 round, probably another yellow crookneck, 1 tatume and the others it's too early to tell.
Oh, did I almost forget to mention all the plants in the backyard! I have 8 bush acorn plants that will be thinned down to 3 or 4 plants, and two chayote plants.
Obviously, I have learned nothing from last year.

Let the Games Begin

I gave a trading partner a couple of malabar spinach seedlings and I got a gift in return. Seems he had ordered some pepper plants and had too many, and was looking for good homes for the rest.
What is a "good home" for a pepper plant? There are a few hot pepper fanatics at the community garden, and I am considered to be one of them. A couple of years ago, I got a few dozen hot pepper plants and distributed them to many other "good homes". Since then, my reputation has followed, and the very hottest peppers have come to me. I can grow them so hot on my baking patio that I have trouble eating them. I think its a really good home.
As a pepper-mom, I have promised to take care of my baby plant, to keep it sequestered, and to save the seeds.
I might be in trouble later today when I try to wash the sunblock out of my eyes, because I planted my new baby plant without wearing gloves. Not recommended. It's a Bhut Jolokia!

Malabar Spinach

Today I took a bit of time for the backyard garden, before the rain starts. I have plenty of smaller cat litter buckets that I use for hauling soils and compost, and they are neatly lined up underneath the roof drip-line to catch any new rain.
And I have another reason not to believe much gardening advice I read on the internet. A couple of years ago, I brought home a cutting of red malabar spinach. I planted it in a tub and left it for a couple of years, with hardly any care. I was afraid I had lost everything during last year's hard frost and the flooding of my basket of saved seeds during a storm.
The barrel is now mostly filled with errant Detroggia beet seedlings, but I started pulling out those that didn't look like beets. Now I realize that most were all malabar spinach seedlings. As I started to transplant them, I noticed tons more seedlings. I can probably get 50 or more seedlings if I want to take the time to transplant them. I read that the seeds don't germinate well, and I sure don't believe that anymore.

The Tea Gardens

During the past few days, the temperatures have risen, the sun has brightened, and I find that if I don't put a thick layer of sunblock on, I'll get a sunburn. Of course, it is my usual intent to go outside "just for a minute" to see if everything is OK. Recently, these dashes into the garden have resulted in more and more time spent in the sun. There is always "just one little thing" that can be done before I dash inside for sunglasses and a hat.
This weekend I have spent quite a bit of time in the backyard, transplanting seedlings, getting new containers filled with new soils, trimming dead winter leaves and dividing the mint plants and dealing with compost. I started a dozen varieties of basil, plus summer savory and hyssop. Almost every planting pot I emptied contained a sprouting coast live oak acorn. The squirrels sure have been busy.
I have started a "tea garden" in an old recycled plastic tote. Since the container is fairly shallow, it will only work for plants that don't need to grow too deeply, like all the mints. When the new plants are established, I will drag the container to a shady spot for the summer. My vision is to have a few of these containers perched along some old steps in a remote and shady part of the garden. I have four kinds of mint and some lemon balm.
I have another "tea garden" tucked under an old olive tree. I just added a new layer into a new worm bin, and harvested the "tea" underneath. I just hope I didn't kill my worms. The bin was full of water after last week's rain, and I didn't see much evidence of worms. I added several new worms just in case.

Day 25 - Getting ready for More Rain

Today I spent much time at the community garden, and I was able to completely surround one garden with hardware cloth.
I spent the morning coiffuring the fiber animals and washed a couple of hanks of yarn.
For breakfast I had the usual potato, greens cooked in butter, egg, cheese but NO toast, tea from partner Otto. The bread is mostly gone now, though there is a little bit in the freezer.
I snacked on peas in the garden.
For lunch, I had a green drink made with a limequat from partner Colin, celery and kale. I also had a tangerine from partner Earl, half a banana, some fresh peas, granola, dehydrated apple slices, raisins and cake from partner Arlene.
For dinner, I had a large bowl of soup made with turkey from partner Cindy, rice from partner Matthew, carrots from partners Earl and Gaston, a turnip from partner Colin, fresh winter squash, leeks, celery, fennel, kale, beet greens, parsley from the garden, dried garden zucchini, dried garden peas, Jack in the Beanstalk beans, dehydrated vegetables from partner Harvey, pepper from partner Ophelia and salt.
Like day 24, I spent no money on food. I have $5.09 left in the food bank.

Day 24 - More Rain

I waited for the rain, but it never really came down all that hard, and then I decided that it was enough so that I didn't have to travel to the community garden. I fiddled around in the backyard instead. I monitored the cats while they loaded up on local grasses so they could have even better barf once they came inside.
For breakfast, I ate the usual potato, egg, cheese, greens (cooked in butter), toast and tea from partner Sean. I think I also set a record for the number of cups of tea made out of the same teabag.
For a morning snack, I enjoyed a taste of sauerkraut, some roasted squash seeds and a cup of the pea soup.
For lunch, I ate the rest of the vegetable soup with turkey, some newly-made granola (with cardamom from partner Matthew) and a grilled cheese sandwich.
For an afternoon snack I stopped by Trader Joe's and had a bit of salad, some tomato-ey pasta and a small cup of coffee.
For dinner, partner Tammy fed me. Lots of shrimp, raw carrots, cold-cut sandwiches with herbed mayo and some wonderfully warm decaf coffee with hazelnut creamer.
In the evening, I snacked on dehydrated apple slices, raisins and the last of the squash seeds, at least until I boot up another squash.

Day 17 - Another Road Trip

I started off very early on the road again, so I didn't eat too much for breakfast, just a bit of toast from partner Arlene, butter, greens and a protein shake from partner Igor.
I stopped by partner Arlene's, and was served a nice morning snack of coffee with cream and sugar with a large bran muffin. Pumped up with all that sugar and caffeine, I headed down the road again.
For lunch, I was served a plate of fresh vegetables, falafel, coffee and Diet coke, all from partner Jose.
For dinner, partner Jose served fish, game hen, salad (with a heaping serving of carrot/raisin salad!), sunflower seeds, cooked carrots, coffee and a taste of warm apple cobbler topped with whipped cream.
Once I got out of the car, I worked hard, especially walking, so it was nice to have these meals.
I spent no money on food today, so there is $7.55 in the food bank.

Day 16 - No Carrots

I went looking for my container of carrots from trader Gaston and found that someone else had eaten all of them. Dang! I really wanted something different today.
I was too busy to shop today. I spent over three hours in the garden, tearing down some old fencing and putting up new metal mesh fencing. I worked until the staples ran out in the staple gun, about a third of the way through the project.
I picked a ton of greens to take with me on a trip, and spent much time washing, trimming and pulling off slugs. The fridge is bursting with vegetables.
For breakfast I had the last of the coffee from partner Irene, and a protein shake from partner Igor.
For lunch, I ate MORE french toast with honey, lettuce and potato salad.
For an afternoon snack I ate a tangerine from partner Earl. After working in the garden, I sat down with a large container of tea from partner Otto and lime from partner Colin.
For dinner I made stuffing with bread from partner Arlene, turkey from partner Cindy, leeks, celery, sage, salt, thyme from partner Philippe, and black pepper from partner Ophelia.
For an evening snack I had a cup of the squash soup, garden pumpkin seeds, lettuce, corn salad, and a taste of sauerkraut. I decided to put some dried shiso leaves into the crock, to see if they would lend more color to the batch. By the end of the day, much color had been added, and I fished the shiso leaves out and ate them. They tasted wonderful, but they could have been left in longer. (They were a bit too chewy.) I lined the crock with a new layer of shiso leaves and put the kraut to sleep for the evening. Shiso leaves have a cinnamon-like taste, and the only cinnamon flavor I have enjoyed since the start of this February challenge

Day 14 - Halfway point

After today, I am halfway finished with this food challenge. After a sort of boring couple of days, I was able to round out my scrounged menu with some of the luxury foods, like butter. Eventually, the crazy abundance of my community kicked in and I don't think I will have to buy anything for the next week, unless I get bored with what I already have. I have been churning through the butter faster than I had planned. Perhaps I will go a bit more lightly when the bread runs out.
For breakfast I had the usual eggs and greens cooked in butter, with some toast from partner Arlene and coffee from partner Irene.
For lunch, I finished up the bean soup, ate a large plate of steamed broccoli and peas (some of the peas were from partner Colin), mini bagels with butter, lime (also from partner Colin) and grape juice.
For a snack I had more french toast and honey. I am not really all that into french toast as it seems, but I do have an abundance of eggs and bread and it is really easy to make. I spent several hours today working in all my gardens, getting ready for spring and don't have much time, or the inclination to spend it, in the kitchen.
For dinner, I ate a bowl of vegetable soup with turkey from partner Cindy, and the final bit of rice from partner Matthew. I also ate more apple slices from Colin, an almond cookie from partner Lisa, garden lettuce and another mug of coffee from partner Irene. The coffee is starting to taste a bit old, but as long as the caffeine still is there, I'll keep drinking it. I would put some into the freezer if it wasn't full of squash.
Over the weekend I harvested many leeks and now have two trays of them in the dehydrator, along with another batch of parsley. So far I have "made" about an ounce of chopped and dried parsley flakes, and of course, the head of cabbage slowly being turned into sauerkraut.
I did not buy any food today, and so have $5.06 left over.
In the first two weeks, I spent a total of $6.56 for food. Combined with the cost of the garden, it works out to an average of 63 cents a day.

Day 13 - Spring is Here!

I ate a substantial breakfast before a date with another trading partner involving lots of walking. I had eggs, greens, toast from partner Arlene, butter, and coffee from partner Irene.
I had a late-morning snack of french toast with honey from partner Alex and a tangerine from partner Earl.
For lunch I finished up the chayote squash dish, and had some mini bagels and apple slices.
For an afternoon snack I had 1/2 banana, and another cup of coffee from partner Irene, with a dab of honey and some Detroggia beets.
I have to take back all the bad things I said about the Detroggia beets! Despite their shape and lack of a white ring, when I cooked them in the pressure cooker, all the water was yellow. When I sliced the beets, I discovered that the insides were strawberry red and gold striped, with all the wonderful flavor of a chioggia. I can't wait to show these off at the next locavore potluck, I'll be the best little food snob.
We went out to eat with friends for dinner. I also had a calcium pill from partner Igor.
I did not spend any money for food today, and so have $4.23 left over. This is almost enough to buy a package of raisins at Whole Foods.

Day 11

I was busy today with many projects, and I was able to grab food here and there along the way. Really good food.
For breakfast, I enjoyed the last of the sandwiches from partner Lee. I had a mid-morning snack of apple pie, cheese and coffee from partner Irene.
During lunch, I ate ground turkey, chicken, mixed salad, cheese, corn chips, guacamole, salsa, sour cream and a diet Coke from partner Jose.
In the afternoon, I had a taste of coffee from partner Maria.
For dinner I had lasagna, summer squash and a diet Coke from partner Jose. Partner Irene gave me a huge pot of coffee for my trip home and beyond.
It would have been pointless to purchase any more food today. I have $2.57 left.

Day 10 - Still on the Road

I am still getting caught up in all areas of my life after returning from the road trip.
In the early part of Day 10, I was busy with everything else, and mostly ate leftovers from my cooler.
For breakfast, I ate the rest of the wheat berry salad with my lettuce. I had some coffee and red berries from partner Irene, and a piece of salmon from partner Jose.
For lunch, I had small cup of bean soup made with with ham from Shary, carrot from partner Colin, and dry beans, celery, leek, garlic, habanero pepper and parsley from my own gardens, and some salt. I also had fresh lettuce, parsley and snow peas, and some hummus from partner Katia.
I had an afternoon snack with partner Katia, who gave me a wonderful navel orange. I also munched on a few crackers from partner Irene and a handful of my home-made granola.
At dinner, I enjoyed some wonderfully crunchy carrot raisin salad and sandwiches from partner Lee. The sandwiches were made with roast beef, turkey, bacon and tomatoes. I also enjoyed lasagna, steamed broccoli, herbed cheese rolls and ice cream with caramel sauce, all from partner Maria. Maria also sent me off with a large mug of decaf coffee.
I didn't buy any food, so I have $1.74 left after day 10.

Day 9 - Road Trip

I started out with a big breakfast: the second half of the banana, lemon balm tea, eggs fried in a little butter, beet greens, and pepper from partner Matthew.
Today was the start of a road trip, with much trading going on the whole way. I needed to take some food, and selections that travel well in the cooler.
My first big stop was the Ventura government center. All the participants in the Eat Local for One Year project got a certificate. Before the meeting, I stopped by the snack room. Scattered about the colored drinks and chips, they did have some healthy fare, like fresh fruit, and fresh vegetable salads. I didn't see anything that looked like it was grown locally. Sure would have been nice to see some farm-fresh strawberries along with the waxed and shellac-ed apples and oranges.
For lunch, I had some leftover veggie soup with turkey from partner Cindy, garden lettuce and beets, berries and coffee from partner Irene.
For an afternoon snack I had coffee, crackers and berries from partner Irene.
For dinner I had wheat berry salad with all the other leftovers: veggie soup with turkey, crackers, and more berries. And more coffee, but the last mug was decaf.

Day 4 - BLT

During the lunch hour, I ran a few errands and then planned to stop by the farmer's market, but it was so cold and dreary I decided to stop by Trader Joe's instead. I headed straight for the free food kiosk, where they were handing out this really decadent bacon dip on melba toast. I also had a small cup of coffee, but only because I tilted the coffee urn for myself and about 10 others so we could all enjoy the last drop.
I did my shopping and came back around, and a new store clerk was handing the bacon and toast snacks, so I had another one. Then she called out,
"Anyone want some bacon?"
As I was going to mention that the bacon was really good, I then realized that she was done with this dish. She actually wanted to hand out the leftover bacon, huge salty strips of BACON! Way too much salt, but really good.
I bought a banana for 19 cents and raced home so I could have the lettuce part of the BLT (that's bacon, lettuce and toast). I made a large salad with garden greens, a small beet, the rest of the wheat berry salad, sprinkled with a handful of pomegranate seeds. It looked like something that would be on the cover of Martha Stewart magazine only she would have put some pancetta on top, but that would have been a bit over the top, eating that with all the extra bacon already in my stomach.
I sat down next to my cats, who left me alone with my salad since it wasn't covered with pancetta, and thought that it sure is a nice time of the year when I can enjoy such high quality lettuce.
The bad news about the banana is that it is very green and I won't be able to enjoy it for a couple of days. I had a tangerine from partner Earl instead.
Tomorrow I will have a balance of $1.97