Reaping What We've Sown

On many a hot day working in the garden, my thoughts turned to just what our labor would yield. Now, December and 30 degrees, a couple of my smaller butternut squashes will be roasted and cooked into a spicy soup. Here's the recipe:


Spicy Butternut Squash Soup
2-1/2 - 3 cups pureed butternut squash*
2 TBSP oil
2 tsp Cajun spice (or 1 tsp cayenne pepper)
1 cup diced raw parsnip (or potato)
1/3 cup minced scallions
3 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and quartered
Salt and pepper to taste


Prepare the squash: slice 1 medium butternut lengthwise and seed. Bake for 30 min at 325 degrees OR microwave until tender. Scoop out pulp and freeze any extra.
While the squash is being cooked, sautee the scallion in oil. Add broth, parsnip, and squash; simmer until tender, about 50 minutes. Remove pepper strips and puree the soup.


This soup is great when topped with a scoop of steamed brown rice. Substituting vegetable broth easily makes this a hearty vegan meal.

Photo of simmer stage.

I use a hand mixer to puree the soup. Don't forget to top with a half cup of steamed brown rice. It's quite hearty.

Blessed to Be Here

This is my world: nearly one acre of suburban ground with a 1938 brick colonial in the center. We began restoring this home in June of 2008, amid a shaky economy. The decision was quickly made to work week by week, avoid taking on debt, and salvage whatever was able to be re-used tastefully. The entire design for the kitchen was thrown out (it had been based on our previous tract home). This house will be returned to its former glory, minus some wallpaper and plus some 21st century conveniences.

Between evicting squirrels from the attic, repairing the roof, gutters, plumbing, furnace--oh, just name anything--the kitchen is nearly complete. The spacious yard and its fertile loam have distracted us many days from the inside projects. A significant portion of the yard has been transformed into a garden space which requires a great deal of attention. But the rewards of raspberries, strawberries, lettuces, peppers and just sitting around the firepit planning our next move are part of the journey.

Stay tuned for before and after photos of the house and garden.

Serranos

Planting Serrano chili peppers yielded a bumper crop for me; nine plants were about six too many...

Bugs don't bother them, nor do rabbits or possums.

I've strung them up to dry and wonder if our local Mexican eatery, the Hacienda, will trade chili pepper strands for a Margarita or two.

By the way, if you're crushing your own chili powder, start by removing the seeds and conduct a taste test. The seeds are the hottest part and you may want to go easy on them.

All Things Pumpkin

It's been a long summer of defending my pumpkin patch against squash bugs. At last count it produced 27 Sugar Pie pumpkins and 3 of the larger Jack O'Lantern variety. If you've ever made a pumpkin pie from scratch, you can attest to the work involved. But finding the canned type gritty and over-oxidized, I've grown to accept the chore in exchange for a year round supply of scrumptious pumpkin.

The Sugar Pie pumpkins-- smaller, darker, thicker--each make about two of the best pies you've ever eaten and are very much worth the work. There are endless uses for pumpkin puree: bread or muffins, biscotti, mousse, custard, and my favorite, the Pumpkin Torte with cinnamon whipped cream layers.

I usually process 3-4 pumpkins at a time. First, cut the pumpkins in sections, removing the seeds and scraping the inside smooth. Use a serrated knife and large cutting board for this task and proceed with care. The Sugar Pie has thick, meaty walls and is not very stringy. Bake the sections in a large covered pan for about an hour, or until soft. Scoop the soft meat from the skin and process the cooled pumpkin in a food processor 2-3 cups at a time, adding a small amount of water if the pulp is too thick. Then use or freeze. Don't forget to save the seeds; some for next year's patch and the rest to oven roast for snacks.

Note: If you've added water or thawed your puree to find it separated, just place it in a strainer, lined with a coffee filter, until it becomes the consistency of thick pudding. The USDA does not recommend canning pumpkin, and freezing works well.

How I Won the Battle Against Squash Bugs

In the fall of 2009, I had dozens of lovely orange pumpkins ready for harvest. While attempting to cut the stems, I noticed armies of squash bugs covering the tops. The vines and stems were rotted, and so were all but a few pumpkins.



The previous summer I'd grown all of my pumpkins on a fence with no problems. But the word must have gotten out: hoards of squash bugs were destroying my crop . So late in the season I was left with only a few pumpkins.



This summer I was ready. The first step in any battle is to know your enemy. The nearly 1" long brown squash bugs start small--a tiny, bowling pin formation of eggs on the undersides (and occasionally upper side) of the leaves. Pressing a piece of duct tape against the leaf will lift the eggs with little or no damage. A daily routine of search and destroy reduces their numbers greatly. If you find the small, grey nymphs on the underside of a leaf, simply smash them with the palm of your hand (they don't bite). Or you can give them the "duct tape" treatment. The nymphs generally huddle together while very small and are easy to target en masse. If you come upon a large leaf that is covered with squash bugs, clip the leaf and plunge it in a bucket of water. You may lose the leaf but you'll rid your garden of hundreds (and potentially thousands) of destructive pests.
I've never found an effective chemical to combat squash bugs. The main pumpkin I grow is the sugar pumpkin, you know: pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin cookies. I found it was possible to control the bugs without resorting to pesticides. Next year I'm going back to the fence: it saves room and keeps the fruit off the ground.

UPDATE (9/30/11): This year I worked during the summer months and spent an abbreviated amount of time in my garden. I never had time to erect a trellis. Despite this, squashes (including pumpkins) and melons were, for the most part, free of squash bugs. My garden once crawled with these devils. I firmly believe that eradicating hundreds of the pests, their eggs, and nymphs was the key. This morning I went through my pumpkin patch and while searching in earnest, I couldn't find a single one. The photo below was taken last summer while patrolling my squash patch.

Adult and nymph squash bugs, moments before their demise, staking out a butternut squash

Extending Your Garden Season

The garden clock is winding down all over the midwest, but out back pumpkins are still ripening; lettuces, spinach, peas, and green onions --my fall plantings-- are up and running. Brussels sprouts are ready to harvest, tomatoes just keep coming, and peppers of all sorts are turning various shades of red and yellow. One vine of butternut squash, a new venture for me, has over a dozen offerings. They can be left on the vine until the first frost.


Several large containers of spinach and bibb lettuce can be put in my three season porch or covered when the cold hits. This weekend I may sow more carrots, a Thanksgiving staple here.


Most state extension services recommend vegetables which can be grown during the fall. Many such as cole crops, spinach, and lettuce actually thrive during cool weather.


Fall is a good time to save seed from flower and vegetable plants for next year's garden.