Storing Onions and Garlic

Now that we're almost in September, it's time to store away the onions and garlic which have been drying.  The garlic was hung in the shade at the end of the woodshed, and the onions were in trays in the potting shed.  Before they can be stored, they need cleaning and trimming.

Onions ready to trim

After rubbing away any dirt (never wash them!) I use an old pair of scissors to trim the roots and clip off the dried tops.

Cut off the roots with a pair of old scissors

Trim the stem about an inch away from the bulb

This year's onions are stupendous!  One basket full of prepared onions filled the 2 drawers I set aside for them in the vegetable bin.  The rest of the onions went into a shallow wooden crate which will be stored in a room set aside for wine storage in our big crawlspace.

Onions ready to be stored in the crawlspace

The garlic is treated similarly.

Garlic waiting for processing

Since I grow rocambole-type garlic - or hard neck garlic - I use clippers to cut the stalks and trim the roots after rubbing away the old dirty skin.

Use clippers to trim the garlic bulbs

The garlic is stored in an open paper bag in a closet which is on an outside wall of the house.

Store in a paper bag

I can see now that I haven't grown nearly enough garlic.  I've saved the largest bulbs for planting in September and I'll also be trying 3 new varieties from Salt Spring Seeds so hopefully I won't have to skimp on garlic next year!

The Dog Days of Summer

Our weather pattern in the Pacific Northwest seems to bring us hot dry summers and this has been definitely one of them.  The water level in the irrigation pond has dropped alarmingly, but there still seems to be enough water for the garden.  Nothing is particularly pretty right now.  Plants are getting tired and many are reaching their maturity.  The tomatoes have stopped flowering in the heat and are concentrating their resources for the fruit that is already there.  Onions and garlic are finished - plants pulled up and the bulbs are drying for winter storage.

The one plant family that is thriving in the heat right now is squash.  The leaves do wilt in the heat of the day, but I can't believe how many butternut squash are hiding under the leaves.  It looks like a bumper crop!

Two butternut squashes hiding in the cotoneaster

The vines have snaked their way all over the garden - even down the hillside to the pond where I located at least 3 nice-sized fruits trying to hide in the cotoneaster that cloaks the bank!

Waltham Butternut Squash

All are a good size and I can see that we won't be able to cope with them all - the family will have to help out!

Cantaloupe

Even the cantaloupe in the compost bin is doing well.  I'd given up on it as I hadn't seen any fruit forming, but a careful check today amongst the leaves has disclosed at least 5.  This year I plan to keep a watchful eye on the cantaloupe as last year, afraid to pick too soon, they were almost overripe when I finally summoned the courage to pull the fruit.

Every year when the end of August rolls around, I find myself longing for the cooler days of fall.  By then the need for watering will have eased and it will almost be time to start again - planting the garlic!

Spaghettini with Fresh Herby Tomato Sauce and with Chicken

I wouldn't say I'm drowning in tomatoes because I'm using them up as fast as they come ripe.  I've dehydrated masses of Principe Borghese tomatoes, mostly giving them away, but now I'm drying them for our use.  And there are still lots to be had!  Ditto with the Health Kick and Classica tomatoes.  I have frozen packages of roasted tomato sauce waiting in the freezer for winter meals.  Two batches of salsa sit on the shelves to be added to my husband's signature Mexican Chicken dish, not to mention Nachos!

Today I decided to try some of the Principe Borghese tomatoes in a fresh tomato sauce with chicken and served with spaghettini.  And it was delicious!  A suitable recipe was found on the Internet and, of course, I adapted it for our needs.  Any cherry tomatoes will do, but the Principe Borghese were particularly good in the recipe.  I used herbes de Provence as it was handy in the spice rack, but you could make up your own mixture - just use lots!  The recipe I found also called for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but we generally use thighs.  We prefer the flavour and they cook so much faster.  I've given a recipe for four people, but I actually made it about 2/3 for two of us.

1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes
Oil for sautéing - about 6 Tbsp
2 Tbsp herbes de Provence
1 tsp salt - plus a bit more
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken
1 small shallot, minced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400F.  Combine tomatoes, 2 Tbsp oil and herbes de Provence in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, toss to coat.

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a large, heavy ovenproof skillet (I used my Le Creuset casserole, but a cast iron frying pan would work just as well).  Tip in the tomatoes carefully - watch out for splatters!  Sauté until the tomatoes burst - about 5 minutes or so.  Transfer to a bowl.

Season the chicken all over with 1 tsp of salt and the pepper.  Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in the skillet over medium high heat.  Sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown.  Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until cooked through.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil to the skillet.  Heat over medium heat.  Add the minced shallot and cook, stirring until fragrant - about a minute.  Deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar, scraping up the browned bits.  Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer.  Then cut up the chicken and add that just until well heated.  Serve over cooked spaghettini with warmed, crisp bread and a fresh salad.  Ambrosia!

Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce

We're starting to be overrun with tomatoes!  The Health Kick and Classica tomatoes are heavy with fruit and they're ripening faster than I can deal with them.  Fortunately, they seem to not mind waiting!  I have a big basket of ripe plum tomatoes sitting on the counter and all are still in excellent condition in spite of the fact they've been there for several days now.

I decided to try making a roasted tomato pasta sauce and had all the ingredients for my first trial ready in the garden.  Roasting brings out sweetness and richness in the vegetables and roasting over time helps reduce the moisture content, resulting in a thick sauce.

I used about a dozen or so tomatoes in this first batch, 4 cloves of garlic, one onion and a few small carrots for sweetness to balance out the acid in the tomatoes.  A couple of sprigs of basil were added for the herb.

The tomatoes were quartered, onion peeled and quartered and the carrots added whole.  I smashed the garlic cloves with the flat of a knife to easily remove the dry skin, then roughly chopped them along with the basil.  The veggies and herbs were placed in a large ceramic lasagna pan - but any non-metal pan would do.  Finally I drizzled about 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil over them and tossed to combine.  Oven heated to 350F, the pan was popped in.

I stirred the veggies at 30 minute intervals and at 1 1/2 hours, judged that they were ready to process. At this point, I could have processed the sauce with my food mill, but decided to put the whole shebang in the food processor instead.  I hate to waste anything!

After a minute or so in the food processor, I added salt and pepper.  The resulting sauce is thick and delicious!  I can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze it in meal-sized batches.

This is a very versatile sauce and is limited only by your imagination.  For the sweetness, you can add the traditional carrot, or instead try a plum or pear.  I didn't have any ripe peppers for this batch, but that would be an excellent addition for another time.  And herbs can be changed up - try thyme or oregano.  Plum tomatoes aren't vital, and if all you have are lots of beefsteak or cherry tomatoes, by all means use them.  If the sauce is a bit thin, just cook it down a bit after blending.  The end result is the same; a delicious homemade sauce with no preservatives or ingredients you can't pronounce!  And you did it yourself!

Tomatoes! Time for the Dehydrator.

Many years ago I exchanged plants with a friend.  She gave me two tomato plants, one of which was Principe Borghese, a cherry tomato.  I was unfamiliar with it, but having lots of cherry tomatoes that year, I decided to dehydrate them.  I quickly noticed that the Principe Borghese were very productive,  superior quality when dehydrated but were pretty bland fresh.  Reading up on them, I discovered that they were specifically designed for sun dried tomatoes - dehydrating.  My friend was hugely disappointed with them as she wanted a tomato that would dry, freeze and be delicious fresh and Principe Borghese just didn't fill the bill for her.  She never grew them again, but I've been growing them ever since.

Today I picked all the tomatoes that were becoming ripe.  I gathered about a dozen of the Health Kick that were almost ripe and a basketful of Principe Borghese - just from four plants each.  The Health Kick will continue to ripen in the house but there were plenty of cherry tomatoes for dehydrating.

I cut the tomatoes into quarters.  I believe they'll dehydrate fine in half, but in quarters, they dry just that much faster.  I don't bother removing the skins beforehand.  On a cherry tomato that would be just too fiddly and the skins in stews and soups just don't bother us.

Then the cut tomatoes are arranged on a dehydrator tray with lots of space between for air movement.  I got 4 trays from today's harvest and set the dehydrator for 135 degrees F.  They'll take at least a day to dry properly.  You want them good and dry so they don't go mouldy on you.  The finished product gets tucked away in canning jars with the lids screwed down tight.  I've experimented in the past with ziplock bags and vacuum sealed bags but they were never totally satisfactory.  And with glass jars, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you aren't creating more waste with empty plastic bags.  The whole procedure only took an hour, but the satisfaction of knowing that I grew the plants from seed, watched them grow, and then was able to pick and process the fruit to brighten up a winter meal was worth triple the time.  This is why I garden.