Category: Recipe

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Dreaming of Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie by endless beauty

This is the season that I start dreaming of pumpkin pie.

To make my pie from canned pumpkin or to buy a fresh pumpkin, that is my question. I like them both. A friend says that because fresh pumpkins are so expensive and canned pumpkin is so cheap and so good, why go to the bother of making it from a fresh pumpkin. I agree that pumpkins are terribly pricey especially when they are sold by the pound. And you really get so little meat from the pumpkin- I read that a 4 lb sugar pumpkin will only give you about 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin- not even enough for the famous Libby’s pie recipe.

But I think it is fun to use fresh pumpkin at least once. I think it helps the farmer and if people will try various varieties, the farmer will have reason to plant different types. If only canned pie is used, the farmer will only farm for the factory and variety might be lost for the future. So at least once each year, I buy my fresh pumpkin.

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‘Tis the Season for Plums

part of the plum tree by Brenda Anderson

I love a good plum.

I remember when my father planted a plum tree that was supposed to have 5 different types of plums on one tree.  We couldn’t wait for that first year’s harvest. I don’t ever remember 5 different types of plums on the tree, that was a bit of a disappointment. But I do remember that there seemed to be more than one kind of plum on the tree that first year. And they were delicious. After that first year I only remember one type of plum on the tree and the yield was always sparse. But l  always loved plums and couldn’t wait for the plum tree to have fruit. And I have always loved plums after that.

Plums were the right sweet tart for my tongue and the skin was smooth, not furry.  My mother rarely bought fruit at the market- if we didn’t harvest our own fruit, we didn’t buy fruit because we were so poor. Except for Italian prune plums, which I still buy if I see them. But the bought plums were never as good as the plums on our plum tree.

It is plum season in California where we get so many of our wonderful plums. The season is really just beginning. People refer to plums as stone fruit. I had never heard this expression applied to fruits with pits until my son moved to California.

I try all the different plums as they arrive in my supermarket, but my favorite is one that has smooth and almost black skin and the pulp inside is purple as well. I wish someone would  tell me which plum this is.My son in California, who also loves this plum, says it is the Santa Rosa plum. But the information I see is that Santa Rosa plums have amber flesh.  See here.   Can anyone tell me what is the name of the plum that has the purple pulp that is so heavenly? Is it a variety of the Santa Rosa plum?

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Garlic: The Stinky Savior

Garlic by riesling_76

TheGardenLady has invited people with horticultural interests and expertise to contribute posts to this blog.  The following post  was submitted by Christy Baker, a certified Family Herbalist and Consulting Herbalist.   Christy is currently pursuing a certificate in Horticulture Therapy and a second Master’s in Landscape Architecture.

“Bronx Vanilla”, “Stinking Rose”, “Italian Perfume” or more commonly called today- garlic. Garlic (Allium Sativum) has been known by many names and has enjoyed its fair share of fame and rejection since its first recorded use in Mesopotamia by the Sumerians. In the 1550 BC Ebers Codex of Egypt garlic was included in 22 different medicinal formulas. Dating back to 3200 BC sculptures and paintings of the bulbous plant were found in Egyptian tombs while an Egyptian papyrus boasts of the benefits of garlic in the successful treatment for over 22 ailments of the time. In Korea, the six clove black garlic was given to women to bless them with supernatural powers and immortality. Interestingly, early Christians believed that when Satan left the Garden of Eden underneath his right foot sprang an onion and from his left garlic. The ancient Greeks and Romans used garlic to treat dog bites, repel scorpions, bladder infections, leprosy and asthma. In 1858 Louis Pasteur was able to prove that 1 mm of raw garlic juice was as effective as 60 mg of penicillin. The list of ways garlic has been used over the span of time humans have walked the Earth is plentiful.

The Stinking Rose garlic restaurant by Erwin Bolwidt (El Rabbit)

Due to its high antibacterial content, during World War II British and Russian soldiers used diluted garlic solutions to stave off infections and gangrene. Early Transylvanians used garlic as mosquito repellent (and to ward off more menacing blood suckers); but despite a long and distinguished history garlic was rejected by the American elite, who deemed this powerful bulb unfit for proper ladies and anyone who wanted to court them- however in the warm comfort of immigrant kitchens garlic never lost its place among revered culinary delights. It wasn’t until the 1940’s that Americans once again returned to the beckoning arms of this pungent culinary staple. Today, Americans alone consume 250 million pounds of garlic each year.

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More about Dandelions

Dandelion Fireworks-PHOTO 183-The halfway mark by aussiegall

TheGardenLady enjoyed Christy Baker’s guest post about dandelions that is on TheGardenLady blog. I hope the readers liked reading it, too.

Growing up on a truck farm, I am proud to report that the adjacent town to my town is known today as the dandelion capital of the world. Even the New York Times had an interesting article about Dandelion growing in Vineland, NJ.

Because dandelions were so prevalent, I always wanted to try a recipe for dandelion wine. Obviously lawns, when I was growing up, were not so pristine as they are these days. No one, that I knew, used any herbicides to kill dandelions. They may have been considered weeds even then. I can’t remember, but we children always loved them and loved blowing on the seed heads, dispersing more seeds to turn into yet more dandelions. And the flowers and leaves were always healthy to eat.

Wine recipes always read as an easy wine to make.  But I never tried. However, we had the dandelion leaves for salad.  No one that I knew ever heard of arugela in those days for the bitter green in a salad.

Someone observed that the healthiest diet is the one poor people had to eat in the old days. So consider adding dandelion greens to your diet for health reasons as well as a more diverse green palatte in the salad bowl.

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Dandelion: The Unappreciated Medicinal Warrior

Sinfonía de cristal (Taraxacum officinale) - Dandelion by Arbego

With the dawn of a new year and the approach of spring this is the perfect time to do some internal spring cleaning. Clearing out the buildup of winter feasts is a great way to jump start your system and ensure optimal health.

Dandelion - All Things must pass by Batikart

TheGardenLady has invited people with horticultural interests and expertise to contribute posts to this blog.  The following post  was submitted by Christy Baker, a certified Family Herbalist and Consulting Herbalist.   Christy is currently pursuing a certificate in Horticulture Therapy and a second Master’s in Landscape Architecture.

With a 30 million year history originating in Eurasia, Dandelion, Taraxacum Officinale, was once revered for its healing properties. Today however, most people think of it as a brightly colored nuisance, especially gardeners; the self fertilizing herbaceous plant does a very good job evading eviction. Instead of relentlessly fighting the Dandelion, try embracing its presence, for as many herbalists and naturalists know this small unassuming plant is a nutritious wonder.

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Biblical Garden Foods for the Winter Holidays

Allium Cepa by Bambo

It is December and many of TheGardenLady‘s readers are celebrating either Hanukah or Christmas. The  house is decorated in the appropriate way for the holiday you celebrate and food will be a main part of the festivities.

So this year TheGardenLady is suggesting that her readers try to cook with some of the herbs (Bible herbs) or foods that are  mentioned in the Bible.

While friends and family are seated at the dinner table enjoying the special holiday treats, talking about the foods in the Bible might even add to your discussion – after all these celebrations are related to the Bible plus TheGardenLady‘s readers are those who are interested in plants, even ancient ones.  And these dinner discussions might encourage some readers to grow the Biblical favorites in their own gardens.

Some of the Biblical foods mentioned are garlic and onions. Onion, garlic or shallots are all in the allium family of plants, relatives of the Lily. The common onion is the allium cepa (see photo above), the garlic is allium sativum and the shallot is Allium ascalonicum named for the city, Ashkelon in Israel  from which it was supposedly brought to Europe by the Crusaders. (Alliums are now becoming a popular flowering plant for the garden; Allium giganteum is a particular favorite in TheGardenLady’s ornamental garden. Though ornamental alliums are not for eating.)

Lentils – Lens culinaris is another food mentioned in the Bible. Lentils are thought to be the oldest cultivated legume.

Some other foods mentioned in the Bible are honey, olive oil, and cinnamon.

This holiday you might try a Baked Honey Lentil Casserole as part of your menu. This casserole is composed of herbs, spices and vegetables that were eaten during Biblical times.

  • Baked Honey Lentil Casserole for 6 as a side dish.

Cook 1/2lb red lentils as directed on the package. (Do not add salt when cooking lentils.)

Make a mixture of 1 tsp. dry mustard (optional), 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 small onion in small dice, 1  clove garlic minced, now add salt- 1 tsp or to taste.

All the above items are mentioned in the Bible. (You can add ground black pepper to taste.) Mix this mixture into the cooked lentils and taste to see if you want to add more of any herbs or spices.

Put 2 Tbsp Olive oil on bottom of casserole- olives and olive oil were used in the time of the Bible.

Then pour the cooked lentil mixture into the casserole and pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup of honey on top. It depends on your sweet tooth. (Honey is another food that was used during Biblical times.)

Cover the casserole tightly with the lid or with aluminum foil.  Put casserole in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake until tender- start checking after 1/2 hour- it could take up to 1 1/2 hour. When tender, take the lid off and let cook uncovered for another 10 minutes and serve.

Happy Holidays