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Pear Pie, Lemon Buds and Fried Green Tomatoes

post from A Study in Contrasts on 06 November 2009 04:35:00 PM. © A Study in Contrasts

Seriously, is this not one of the weirdest blog post titles you have ever seen? It's definitely been a strange stretch of days, both garden- and cooking-wise, though, so the title "fits" my week pretty well!

The weirdness started on Sunday night, when I freaked out a little bit because the temperatures were supposed to drop down into the low 30s for the first time. I had left my tomato plants up in the garden as a little experiment to see just how long into a Northeast Ohio November they would survive... but I had a LOT of green tomatoes out there, and I hated the thought of them all going to waste. So I went out and picked a bunch of the largest ones left on the vine:

A not-quite-ripe 'Pineapple' with pretty yellow stripes but (sadly) no red streaks

On Monday nights, I head over to Steve's apartment and we watch "Jeopardy," "Heroes," and "Castle," and just generally chill out while Steve makes dinner. Sunday night, I told him that I needed to make use of some of my newly harvested green tomatoes, and offered to fry them up as part of Monday supper. Sliced to about 1/4 of an inch, breaded first in flour seasoned with smoked paprika, sea salt and black pepper, and then in cornmeal... they were delicious.

On Tuesday after work, I noticed a distinct pear smell when I walked into the kitchen. Last week, during a quick trip home, my grandma and I filled up a large grocery bag with fresh pears from her neighbor's tree. Eloise doesn't do anything with the pears anymore so she's glad when someone takes them so they don't go to waste... and I'm planning to bring her a jar of pear butter as a thank you when I go home for Thanksgiving. But Tuesday night, I skipped the pear butter and made this instead:

It's a mishmash of two recipes from Epicurious, Pear Pie with Maple and Ginger and Pear-Cardamom Pie with Almond Crust. Steve and I tasted it while it was still oven-warm, and it was... absolutely amazing: The flavors were more subtle and delicate than I thought I was capable of producing in a pastry, and completely balanced.

The next day, though, I had a small sliver of pie after work and was surprised to find that it tasted completely bland! In a panic, I tossed it in the microwave for a few seconds... and luckily that did the trick. I handed out a few slices to friends with the warning that it needed to be reheated, but I'm still curious: Why would both the spices and the luscious pear flavor itself disappear like that at room temperature? Any of my foodie friends have a guess as to why the heat restored the flavor excitement?

Speaking of excitement, this gardener is extremely excited about a certain development in her indoor garden:

There are 51 (yes, fifty-one!) flower buds on my Meyer (Improved) lemon! I'm sure that they won't all turn into baby lemons--and I know that the ones that do will not be ready to pick for a while--but I will definitely enjoy the flower fragrance in a few weeks. And if I get enough to make even just one of the yummy-sounding Meyer Lemon recipes I've uncovered, I'll be ecstatic.

Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend, full of similarly pleasant surprises!

Read The Full Article:
http://blackswampgirl.blogspot.com/2009/11/pear-pie-lemon-buds-and-fried-green.ht
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Tom Wagner Pedigree Information

post from Bifurcated Carrots on 06 November 2009 02:02:00 PM. © Bifurcated Carrots

This is the final video from Tom Wagner’s Sunday workshop in Oxford. In this video Tom presents some pedigree information for seeds he left with us that day.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

For a high resolution downloadable file to view directly on your computer, click here.

I haven’t carefully inventoried the seeds I have, but I think I have some of everything he talks about here. I’m pretty sure more is available on request. I probably have other seeds he didn’t talk about here, and I’ll have to ask Tom about these.

I also have a large number of tomato seeds, but Tom didn’t have information on these available on that day.

In the past I’ve offered a number of seeds to anyone reading this blog, but in this case it’s a little different.

These seeds are still on offer to anyone, but the intention is when you receive them you agree to participate in a breeding project that goes along with them. That means committing yourself to learning something about the genetics involved in the project, and reporting back to Tom on your progress.

When Tom left the seeds with me, I think he was thinking that members of the workshop or contacts within Europe would be the ones receiving the seeds, but as we know this blog has readers in most regions and many countries of the world. As far as I’m concerned, and I think Tom too, anyone who’s genuinely interested in participating in a breeding project is welcome to seeds. I’m personally willing to send them anywhere.

So, regardless of where you live; Europe, North America or elsewhere, if you’re interested in joining a tomato or potato breeding project, please get in touch! There’s really a lot of very exciting biodiversity to work with here.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.patnsteph.net/weblog/2009/11/tom-wagner-pedigree-information/

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Tillandsia Wreath

post from Cactus Blog on 06 November 2009 01:48:00 PM. © Cactus Blog

Yesterday I forgot to mention that we’re also now making Tillandsia Wreaths.

tillandsia_wreath

That looks like hundreds of tillandsias on that wreath, but then I haven’t counted so I could be totally off.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.cactusjungle.com/blog/2009/11/06/tillandsia-wreath/

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Fall Color - Liquidambar

post from A Gardener's Notebook with Douglas E. Welch on 06 November 2009 12:44:50 PM. © A Gardener's Notebook with Douglas E. Welch

Fall Color - Liquidambar - 1
Originally uploaded by dewelchFound along my walk yesterday, this Liquidambar styraciflua was bursting into color. This is one of the few trees that give us any sense of Fall here in southern California. They are planted along many streets here in the San Fernando Valley.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/agn/~3/raHpMQx64aY/fall-color-liquidambar.asp

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Hide and Seek

post from Notes from Wazoo Farm on 06 November 2009 12:18:00 PM. © Notes from Wazoo Farm

I observed Elsepth and her sweet friend Ben yesterday playing Hide and Seek. They were both hiding; nobody was seeking. At least nobody I could see. As they crouched in the front hallway behind a heap of shoes, Ben said, "We're hiding from God."

"People have tried that before to bad results," I said. Watch out for large fish with capacious mouths.

Later I reflected playing Hide and Seek with a three- and four- year old is probably a bright spot in God's rather serious schedule of disasters and dreary requests from the rest of us. Ben told me God can't see through doors, so maybe he turns that off as a sort of handicap to level the playing field.

In other news, I have a new nephew! Born this morning to my sweet sister-in-law Caroline: Joseph (nobody knows?) Guerra.

Martin's already announced his intentions to call the boy "YOsef." Caroline's husband, Ilich, is Columbian and named for a character in Russian literature, and Martin thought it only right that the tradition continue. Congratulations, Guerras! Welcome, Yosef!

Read The Full Article:
http://wazoofarm.blogspot.com/2009/11/hide-and-seek.html

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Friday Whippet Blogging

post from Cactus Blog on 06 November 2009 12:12:00 PM. © Cactus Blog

It’s robot day at the Jungle.

And it just so happens that we have a robot dog!

Come to our Opening Night Party today 3-6pm at the nursery.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.cactusjungle.com/blog/2009/11/06/friday-whippet-blogging-82/

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All the things you may not have known about
Chrysanthemum!

Chrysanthemums are the most popular plants sold between August and November. 11.6.09 Chrysanthemums or the hardy mums contribute to varieties of colors in the garden more than any other flowering plants in the fall. 10.14.08 Chrysanthemum is a name of...

Read The Full Article:
http://gardenblog.projo.com/2009/11/all-the-things.html

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Collecting leaves

I remember walking to school in the fall with a beach-comber’s lurch looking for the most beautiful leaf. When I found it, I memorized it and then kept looking for a more perfect one. I don’t remember ever making anything from my found leaves – some people probably like to press them or make wreaths [...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blithewold/~3/vVG0laHu6ug/

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Do You Grow Gingers

The variegated one is Dr. Moy. Gingers R US has a photo of the flower though they were not in bloom last week at the Dallas Arboretum.

I know the white flowering variety below is cold hardy. If you are growing gingers outside how to you keep them going over the winter?

White ginger, has the most beautiful scented blooms.

Read The Full Article:
http://muskogeephoenixonline.com/blogs/MollyDay/2009/11/do-you-grow-gingers.html