Harvest Monday 12.10.12

Harvest Monday again. I do love harvesting, but the harvests have been few and far between as of late.

This weeks harvest:

11 ounces of green beens

4 ounces roselle 2 unfertilized zucchini (3 ounce total) and a dozen eggs.

I should have taken a picture of the zucchini. They were truly picture perfect. Beautiful little miniature squash. But, they were picked, and stir fried with dinner. Sorry!

 

Linking in with Daphne's Dandelions once again, and as always sending a great big Thank You to her for being sucha  generous hostess.

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

 

Harvest Monday 12.3.12

December already. WOW.

 

Happy Holidays everyone! It never fails to amaze me how fast the time whips by every year, but this time of year it just seems to go even faster.

The garden is almost non-existent but I'm still getting a few good things from it here and there.

This is what my harvests are looking like on a daily basis:

A nice handful of green beans and a few eggs. 2 some days and 3 other days. The hens are doing a nice little mini-molt so they don't lay consistently right now. But they are still laying and I feel very lucky to get eggs this late into the year. The picture is deceiving. The eggs are all the same size. 2oz each.

I also harvested 5 large sprigs of rosemary for cooking.

 

The weather has been very nice again. Near 60 at night and in the 70's during the day so very mild. After a few early frost worried me that this year would be the coldest on record things have evened back out. I'm so thankful for that.

I haven't made much headway on getting the garden projects done. I keep thinking I have until spring, but I don't! It will take several weeks to do the bricking and then I'm sure a week or more to bring in the soil and get it ready. By the time I am done it will end up being summer again and I don't want to lose that much gardening time.

 

I think Ill ask Santa for some garden help. ;-)

 

I am still harvesting roselle but after the last light frost the bush is now covered in powdery mildew. It's starting to get onto the calyx as well so while the end was near due to the weather, it's a lot closer now because I will no longer be able to consume the fruit. :-(  So I'm making the last couple of batches of tea and I think I'm going to freeze a gallon. Then I can whip it out on a warm day in spring when I need a real pick me up.

 

I've spent the whole weekend around the house getting last weeks disasters fixed and baking up a storm. I baked a Hubbard's squash and gave 1/3 raw to the hens. I got 5 cups of it for 2 pies and a dinner dish, and they got a treat for the next few days, too.

While the A/C guys fixed my heater I made pecan cookies and pecan pies from last years stash and I still have 6 more bags left... LOL. Then The plumber fixed the drain in the shower and I made oatmeal raisin and PB - but we only got 1 shower fixed. The other 2 need the entire shower fixture replaced and that will have to wait.

 

Fixed the dryer (WASPS NEST! Inside the pipe) and it took 2 days to catch up on all that laundry. So I baked some more...gingerbread, chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin logs and now I think I'm ready to collapse.

 

My holiday baking is done except the pumpkin pies and a few more pecan pies. I feel very accomplished and my house is quite possibly in worse shape than when I started. (The kids were on free for all) But for the kitchen. I can't leave it a mess when I cook like that. LOL. It's in the same order as it started. The flour sack towels are not but everything else is.

 :-)

Linking into Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday. Make sure you stop by her place to se what other people are harvesting and how they are using their stored harvest - from all over the world.  

Thanks Daphne for always being such a wonderful hostess!

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Roselle Tea

I know I've mentioned roselle tea here a few times over the last year or so. It's truly one of my favorite things. You may have heard it called hibiscus tea. You may have had a taste of it in the tea "Red Zinger"

 

I'm still harvesting fistfuls of roselle from my single plant but the frosts are beginning and I'm not a happy camper. I wish that I knew more about canning and could assure myself that storing a syrup into the summer would be O.K. But I'm only a novice to the canning scene - and a real wannabe at that. I've only really made freezer jams and butters. I just don't trust myself to store something in my cupboard for months on end. Part of that is our conditions here. It's hot and it's humid and that my friends is a recipe for disaster. Don't get me wrong. I do make my own syrups and things. It's just that my family uses them up within a week or 2 and I've never been able to make a large enough amount to have to worry about canning/jarring and preserving for the long term storage.

 

To get to the point? Right now I am wishing that I had the knowledge base that would allow me to do so. I'd love to put a bottle of this away for later. The roselle does not bloom until fall and only for 2-3 months until the first freeze. Next year I intend to have more plants - but I intended that this year as well.

 

Here is how I make my roselle tea:

Gather roselle (This can be bought online or fresh in a whole food market as well)

 

If you are making the tea fresh slice in half and remove the seed cavity - if you want to make a syrup leave the calyx whole (the seed cavity has loads of pectin and looks just like mini okra) If you have purchase your roselle this also give you the opportunity to inspect the roselle for any insect damage or any rotting parts that might be unseen otherwise.

 Place the pitted roselle in a pot with enough water to cover them on the stove and bring to a rapid boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from burner and steep for an additional 20 minutes, up to overnight to bring out the full flavor of the roselle.

 At this point the roselle has a very jelly like consistency. Strain the calyx out of the water and squeeze though a sieve or cheesecloth. Be forewarned! The roselle is also used for food coloring in other countries. If you use cheesecloth you WILL have a beautifully died red/hot pink cloth! I often use coffee filters but they rip easily. (You really should squeeze them to get the best flavor) If you have a jelly strainer this is perfect!

Because I make this so often I am comfortable adding my sugar without tasting it. I like to add it while the roselle steeps. This allows the sugar to melt completely away without stirring and becomes a part of the flavoring itself. Much like a light simple syrup. If you have never had the tea before I suggest waiting until it has cooled and you are making a glass to add the sugar to get an idea of what you will enjoy. I don't like much sugar personally.

 

Once it is strained you can add an accompaniment. My kids enjoy adding citrus to their tea. Actually they think the best way to drink it is to drink 1/2 roselle tea and 1/2 lemonade kind of an 'Roselle Palmer' I suppose. LOL.

 

This may look like a lemon, but it's not it's a Key Lime from my little tree. I enjoy a splash of lime with mine the most. But, I do also enjoy it in regular tea, with pomegranate, strawberry, lemon, a dash of honey. I don't think there is a combination I have found yet that I dislike!

 

I do have to say if you like an iced tea make sure it is thoroughly iced! Don't try to drink it luke warm first. This does not have a leafy green tea taste. If you want to impart that taste you can brew it the same way and add a couple of bags of your favorite tea as it is steeping. Otherwise if you have a roselle hibiscus plant, you can steep a few of the hibiscus leaves with the calyx. The leaves are just as good for you as the rest and will give the tea flavor that one would normally associate with a green or black tea in the background of that fruity, tangy flavor of the roselle.

 

So, while I am mourning the impending loss of this drink I am still enjoying it while I can. It's an incredibly healthy drink. Good for your liver, kidneys, lowers cholesterol - all kinds of good things. If you end up with too many of the calyx you can try chopping them and adding a tangy bite to your salads, too.

 

Drink up!

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~



Harvest Monday 11/05/2012

November Harvest. It's hard to believe, but it's true. This years harvest are a bit different. I'm not as active int he garden.

But, what I am harvesting is typical time wise for Florida.

Roselle is day length sensitive so even if planted early the flowers don't produce calyxes until October and until the first frost. I get the feeling this year will be early for us. It's been unseasonably cool so far already.

While one of my bushes has failed to mature and one died entirely the other has made up for it. Next year I won't actually need to plant them, but I will. Because I want them in the front bed as well. They are invasive if you leave them to their own devices and to me, that's just fine! I love this stuff. It's good in salads, as a tea hot or cold and it's so very good for you! As an added bonus I found out this week that the seeds are VERY good chicken food! *BONUS* 8oz Roselle calyx

Sweet potatoes were harvested this weekend as well. I left one plant in the ground and took out the other 2 (or 3?)

3lbs 3oz Porto Rico sweet potatoes

Yes, they are PINK. Very pink.

Inside right now is light yellow. As they age they would turn to the familiar orange, but I know me and there is about zero chance of that happening. LOL. These are destined to become sweet potato fries with a raspberry sauce. My absolute favorite!

20 eggs also graced my harvest tally this week. Love my girls!

I don't have much else in my garden now just a few lettuce seedlings and beans, and 4 or 5 mustard's. I'm getting ready for a massive overhaul. I couldn't stand the idea of planting it and then tearing it all out again when we brought in new soil. It's made me somewhat depressed about the garden but I know once the new beds (same ones, just taller) are in I'll feel a lot better. Meanwhile I'm concentrating on other projects like the walkway and other things.

Linking in with Daphne's Dandelions for today's Harvest Monday. Better late then never. ;-) Thanks Daphne for always hostessing such a lovely display form around the world!

See you soon!

Barbie~