It’s undeniable, the cold weather is here and the garden is about finished.
We’ve been cleaning up like mad and preparing most of the garden beds for winter. That involves pulling up the old plants, collecting leaves from the yard and using the lawn mower to chop them up, then spreading the chopped leaves on the garden beds. As the season goes on and the trees provide more falling leaves, those piles of leaves get higher.  Remarkably, they all break down and disappear by planting time in the spring making the soil rich and easy to work.  With a spade Reyn gently turns over the areas as he plants his seedlings.  No rototilling is ever necessary.

 

We’ve been having spectacular fall weather with cool mornings followed by warm sunny afternoons.  The kind of days that are perfect for working outside.  Nothing makes me happier than a day putzing around the yard. I no longer put in long arduous days of physical labor.  I work at a slower pace, taking breaks whenever I choose, and simply enjoying  my ever changing environment. 

After pulling out the annuals, and cutting back the perennials I’m looking ahead to spring. My order of bulbs arrived just in time and I have been busy getting them in the ground - 100 white tulips, along with 25 snow drops and 25 anemones. The planting went easily, but I followed that by covering the planted area with chicken wire in an attempt to keep the resident squirrels from feasting on and moving my bulbs. Cutting and anchoring the wire turned out to be more of a job than I expected.  Now I just wait.

Still there are tomatoes ripening on the counter, zucchini in the fridge, and one lovely cucumber left to be eaten. The weather has changed and it seems like summer is long gone,  but the sunny days - and abundance of tomatoes -  have inspired me to make one of my favorite summer pasta dishes. This is one that I make only when there are plenty of fresh vine ripened tomatoes, best when they are still warm from the garden.  I think you’ll like it too.

Susan’s Fresh Tomato Pasta

Plenty of tomatoes(4-5), vine ripened if possible

2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced

2 TBS capers

¼ cup chopped kalamata olives

½ tsp salt, or to taste - I like Maldon salt for this

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

¼ cup of olive oil

Basil, fresh is best, I used dried this time, ¾ tsp

So simple.  Just core and chop the tomatoes, then stir all ingredients together and let sit at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the meal.  I recommend at least 30 minutes, however, the longer the better. There is no cooking for this sauce.  It has the beautiful rich flavor that can only be achieved with fresh tomatoes.  Toss with cooked pasta - I like casarecce or gemelli which hold the sauce nicely. I sprinkled a bit of goat cheese in top and some pine nuts, but neither is necessary.  I hope you like it.

The way I cook now:  Covid related, just the two of us, plant based, and dairy free (mostly).  When I began this blog, many years ago, I was concerned about things like cholesterol and fat intake.  We were eating then, as now, a mostly plant based diet with fish and occasionally some animal protein. My attitude for decades now has been that I would prefer not to eat animals, out of  personal, health, and global concerns, but I have consciously decided not to be too rigid about it. I think that about 99.8% of our diet is vegetarian, but I will happily eat what is offered to me, and believe that every time I eat only plants I am doing myself and the world a favor.

Inflammation has become our newest concern, due to some serious and potentially debilitating health issues.  I did some research on inflammation and set us on the journey of finding which foods, if any, might be contributing to the constant swelling and pain.  We set off on a three month cleanse following the plan of Kathy Abascal, author of The Abascal Way  Initially the plan drastically limited the foods we could eat, then gradually added things back as tolerated.  It was an amazing and enlightening experience.  The most valuable takeaway for us was that Reyn, who consumed cottage cheese nearly every day of his life, is highly intolerant of dairy, and somewhat sensitive to gluten.  We have adjusted and adapted and changed our way of eating. The swelling is gone, the pain is reduced, and life goes on. We continue to eat delicious food.  I plan to write a bit more about the other food issues mentioned above, but for now we must make use of those last things harvested from the garden.

Zucchini - I have learned to love zucchini in all it's forms.  Our plants this year were stellar.  We had lovely small to medium squash daily until a few days ago and, for a time, we really were eating zucchini every day.  Here is one of my favorite summer squash recipes.

Zucchini Fritters

2 medium zucchinis

1 onion

Maybe some sliced scallions or chopped red pepper

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp roasted coriander pepper

Olive oil for frying

Grate zucchinis and onion together.  Add scallions or red pepper, if desired.  Stir in egg, then add dry ingredients. Consistency should be moist, but not too thin.  Add oil to a skillet heated over medium heat, then add spoonfuls of the batter.   I pat it gently to neaten the edges and shape into patties.  Saute 2 - 3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through.

Roasted Coriander Pepper - This is an incredible seasoning that I found in a very esoteric cookbook by Martin Nordin entitled, Green Burgers.  I highly recommend the seasoning and the book.

Heat a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Toast 2 TBS of coriander seeds

and 2 TBS black peppercorns until they begin to brown and are very fragrant. Use a mortar or spice grinder to make a fine powder.  Store in a jar.  The original recipe also calls for 2 TBS of Sichuan peppers, but I've never had them when making this.  It's fabulous without them.

In the photo above, I served the fritters with a warm salad of lentils, tricolor quinoa, sauteed onions and sweet peppers, tossed with baby arugula and a mild vinaigrette with just a touch of sesame oil.

Looking forward to more zucchini tonight.