End of Summer

It's official. Summer is over. We woke up to a light coating of snow this morning. Yuck, yuck, double-yuck! I'm never ready for the end of summer, but I'd rather ease into winter than get thrown in, kicking and screaming. The past week has been cold and gloomy. I miss the sun.

I forced myself to get outside and work hard on getting my garden space cleared, and I'm glad I obeyed myself. Almost all the dead vegetation has been uprooted and hauled off to my "dead" piles. I left the sunflowers standing. The birds that migrate through as well as those that stay are enjoying pecking the seeds out of the heads. The puny beets are still in the ground, and the deer are pulling them up as they nibble away at the last leaves. The fox pups still make the occasional trip across the front deck at odd times. We enjoy watching the wildlife wander through our yard.

The carrots are still in need of digging. I hope to get to those by the end of the week. The forecast is for continued moisture the next two or three days, so the carrots will wait. I want it dryer when I dig those. I've already rolled up and stored the hoses for the coming winter, so I need to be able to just knock the dirt off the carrots. I'll lay them out on the deck, out of whatever meager sunlight we may get, so they'll dry a bit before I package them up. I put them in old bread wrappers, with a few holes poked in (using a dull pencil thrust in between the bagged carrots) for ventilation. The bags are then stored in the "overflow" refrigerator in mom's basement. They get checked occasionally and "hairy" or weeping carrots are removed. This method lets us enjoy garden carrots all winter.

As usual, I didn't keep up with deadheading the cilantro, dill, or volunteer flowers. Those all produce a gazillion seeds, which are now spread over the entire garden space. I expect to have tons of volunteer plants again next spring. There will also be lots of volunteer sunflowers, moonflowers, marigolds, and husk cherries, also known as ground cherries or even prairie gooseberries. I didn't do much with those this year but just pulled this recipe from a magazine to try next summer:

Spicy Ground Cherry Compote

4 C fresh ground cherries, husked & rinsed

Zest from half a lemon

Juice from one lemon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 C sugar

1 vanilla bean

In a heavy saucepan, combine cherries, zest, juice, nutmeg, and sugar. Split the bean and scrape the seeds into the pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate up to a week. Makes 6 servings.

You can serve this on toast. I'm going to try it on toasted French bread with goat cheese, as was suggested. I think it will freeze well, too.

Every year I vow to keep the number of those volunteer plants to a minimum, and every year I fail miserably. Ah, well, this is "next year" country, and so I will again vow to do better next year. (Old habits are hard to break, aren't they?)

I did manage to plant fewer potatoes this summer, so the number I have to store is much more manageable. We ate more of them during the summer, which also helped. Here are some different ways to enjoy spuds:

Roasted Spuds:

Basic instructions: heat oven to 450°. Toss 2 lbs cut up spuds, 1 Tbl olive oil, and flavorings (listed below) in a 9x13" pan. Roast 35 minutes, stirring once. Stir in garnish (also listed below, with flavorings) right before serving.

Cajun - flavorings: 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 C chopped pepper, 3/4 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 tsp thyme, and 1/4 tsp ground red pepper. Garnish : none

Greek - flavorings: 3/4 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp oregano, 3/4 tsp minced garlic, and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper. Garnish: 1 Tbl fresh mint and 1/4 C feta cheese.

Curried - flavorings: 1 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 C chopped onion, 2 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp sugar. Garnish: 1 Tbl fresh mint, cilantro, OR parsley.

Italian - flavorings: 1 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tsp dried tomato flakes (opt), 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Garnish: 1 Tbl fresh basil and 1 Tbl parmesan.

Mexican - flavorings: 1 1/4 tsp salt, 2 Tbl chopped green onion, 3/4 tsp cumin, 3/4 tsp chile powder, and 1/8 tsp ground red pepper. Garnish: 1 Tbl chopped fresh cilantro. Serve with sour cream.

Often, with boiled potatoes, after draining, I'll just put some butter in the pan with the hot potatoes, and sprinkle on a bunch of Italian seasoning. The amount of butter and seasoning depends on how many potatoes were cooked, and how much butter I want (say lots and you'll be right), and how much seasoning I want. Put the cover back on the pan and let the seasoning steam away for more flavor. If there are any left over, they fry up nicely.