by Judy | Nov 16, 2010 | CobraHead, Recipes
After almost 25 years of living on our 4 acres of partially wooded property Noel ‘discovered’ a crabapple tree. Apparently we were never in that scruffy corner of the woods at the right time or maybe the seed just blew in one year when we weren’t looking and grew fast! Anyway, I was directed to the tree and asked to make crabapple jelly. I picked about 4 quarts of crabapples that ranged in size from a quarter to a golf ball. I washed them and Noel helped me...
by Judy | Oct 18, 2010 | CobraHead, Gardening, Recipes
Our eggplant harvest was prolific this year. The extremely hot summer we had in Wisconsin probably had something to do with that! Eggplant is a great addition to pasta sauces and veggie sautés’ but our all-time favorite is eggplant parmesan. The original recipe came from the The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas. Over the course of many years our recipe has changed a little but the basic concept is the same. Sauté breaded eggplant slices and place in a baking...
by Judy | Sep 16, 2010 | Recipes
Here’s another fast food lunch from the Valdes kitchen. Did you ever get the feeling that most recipes are just recycled over and over again in various forms? I’m an avid recipe reader and sometimes they all start to look alike. Maybe one or two ingredients are changed but the basic dish is the same. This salad is no exception, it’s just tailored to things we have on hand and what’s in the garden at present. Give it a try. With different veggies,...
by Judy | Sep 1, 2010 | Gardening, Recipes
Four plus pounds of various beans are pictured. I was nearly bowled over at the amount of beans I picked. If you had asked me a couple months ago I would have said we’d be lucky to get a handful. Since Noel didn’t get around to fencing the garden this year, creatures of all sorts have been nibbling everywhere. At least half of the bean plants were chomped off to within 4 inches of the ground. This mixed batch of beans was blanched for the freezer and our...
by Geoff | Aug 29, 2010 | Recipes
My cucumber plants have finished producing for the season, but I have no complaints. I had a bonanza this year. The Japanese Climbing Cucumbers not only grew up the trellis where I planted them, but also vined around the amaranth plants next to them and spread out of the garden over the border fence and onto the grass. The New Zealand Spinach got smothered out in the process, but frankly I enjoyed the cukes more. Despite giving away the cucumbers to friends and...
by Judy | Aug 22, 2010 | CobraHead, Recipes
This recipe was a collaborative effort between Geoff and me. Quinoa potato soup was a staple in Ecuador where Geoff spent a year studying in college. We made up a recipe based upon his memory of an Ecuadorean soup. Due to an abundance of summer squash in the garden we added that in, and I thought a bit of fresh cilantro wouldn’t hurt. It still seemed to need a little more spark so Geoff added some chipotle peppers that we had left over from another dish. ...
