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Banana Bonanza

July 18, 2016

Bishop bananas, Gardening, jam and jelly, Making Jam, Recipe , , 9 Comments

2016 – the banana plants have been going bananas! Literally. Yes Plants not trees. The past two winters here in Houston have been mild resulting in the banana bonanza. I pulled up some info from the Texas A&M Horticulture website;

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/fact-sheets/banana/

Here is the intro to growing the bananas;

“Banana

Julian W. Sauls Extension Horticulturist

Broad, long, graceful leaves and rapid growth-commonly reaching full size in just a few weeks-make banana a favorite plant for providing a tropical look to pool and patio areas. The development of bananas following a frost-free winter is a source of both pride and amazement to those unfamiliar with banana culture.

Banana is a tropical herbaceous plant consisting of an underground corm and a trunk (pseudostem) comprised of concentric layers of leaf sheaths. At 10 to 15 months after the emergence of a new plant, its true stem rapidly grows up through the center and emerges as a terminal inflorescence which bears fruit.

The flowers appear in groups (hands) along the stem and are covered by purplish bracts which roll back and shed as the fruit stem develops. The first hands to appear contain female flowers which will develop into bananas (usually seedless in edible types). The number of hands of female flowers varies from a few to more than 10, after which numerous hands of sterile flowers appear and shed in succession, followed by numerous hands of male flowers which also shed. Generally, a bract rolls up and sheds to expose a new hand of flowers almost daily.”

Ok – enough of the technical talk. The bonanza is a bit like your neighbor that is overwhelmed with zucchini – you hide when you see them coming. Yes, I gave away a lot of bananas. Once you cut the stalk off the ripening process speeds up. They are great in smoothies but one smoothie a day doesn’t take much of a bite out of the bounty. Eating fresh is a good idea too, but………you get the idea. The freezer is well stocked with both the Burro and Manzano bananas so now what?

Jam, yeah jam! Never heard of banana jam…..Google it! Yes Virginia, people do make banana jam!

Food.com, Yee Haw!

Banana  Jam by Chef GreanEyes on April 2nd 2009

4 cups of ripe bananas……no problem here!

6 ½ tbsp.  of lemon juice

6 cups of sugar – again no problem, I buy 25 pound bags to feed to the bees during lean times

3 ounces of pectin –

¾ cup of unsalted butter – I cut that back to a little less than ½ cup

Now the tough part…..it takes time and multiple steps to make the jam.

  1. Combine bananas, 3 cups sugar, lemon juice and let stand for an hour
  2. Add remaining sugar and cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved
  3. Bring to a boil for two minutes
  4. Remove from heat and skim foam
  5. Bring back to a boil – boil 1 minute
  6. Remove from heat and skim foam, yes, again
  7. Add butter and bring to boil AGAIN
  8. Add pectin and stir constantly
  9. Boil for  1 minute
  10. Remove from heat and skim once again.
  11. Allow to cool for 7 minutes
  12. Add to sterilized canning jars
  13. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes
  14. Let sit for 24 hours

Then enjoy!

IMG_1826

On the stalk and very ripe.

IMG_1828

Boil and skim 1, 2 or 3…..

FullSizeRender3

Some of the skimmed foam, no, it didn’t go to waste.

 

Based on what is on the “plant” in my garden, I have more neighbors to overwhelm, more freezer space to occupy and maybe a few more batches of this jam. The first batch was with the Burro bananas, the next will be with the Manazano…..taste test comparisons sometime soon!

 

TTFN

Bishop

“Aunt Toni’s Excellent Banana Bread”

November 20, 2015

Bishop bananas, Dessert, Healthy Lifestyle, Humor, Recipe , 1 Comment

What do you do when 8 or 10 of your homegrown bananas ripen all at once? everyone knows that it is Banana Bread time. My wife dug out the recipe for “Aunt Toni’s Excellent Banana Bread” for me to use…..problem is, it is not my sister Toni’s recipe, it is our sister Denise’s recipe….how did it get named for Toni…..That is a bit of a story.

July 19th, 2012 was my sister Denise’s 60th birthday. Toni….the other sister, requested that friends and family send Denise birthday wishes along with a favorite recipe….Denise is an awesome cook so the recipes would  be well received. The flyer and recipe that Toni sent out explains the “misnamed” recipe.

Toni’s recipe sent to Denise read;

” This is a recipe of a food gift that Denise and I have made for years to give to family and friends. A few years ago Denise’s son Sean asked me for my banana bread recipe and he has continued the tradition.  Recently he was telling Denise about my “Excellent Banana Bread Recipe”. She wanted to set the record straight that the recipe came from her. We had a good laugh, because the recipe named had changed to “Aunt Toni’s Excellent Banana Bread”.

“Aunt Toni’s Excellent Banana Bread”

3-4 ripe bananas

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup  chopped nuts – optional

Mash bananas and add sugar. Stir in the other ingredients. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake one hour in a preheated oven at 325 F. Cool on  a rack then cover with plastic wrap…….if it survives that long! Makes one large loaf or two small loaves.

Ripe bananas ready to mash. In the center, the seed area of the endocarp, the flesh has a bit of a golden color.

Ripe bananas ready to mash. In the center, the seed area of the endocarp, the flesh has a bit of a golden color.

Mixing with the sugar after mashing. The golden center flesh is still visible.

Mixing with the sugar after mashing. The golden center flesh is still visible.

Ready to pour into the greased loaf pan.

Ready to pour into the greased loaf pan.

Final product....this variety of banana is very creamy -it still is evident in the finished bread....Yum

Final product….this variety of banana is very creamy -it still is evident in the finished bread….Yum

After I made the bread I contacted both sisters so we could laugh again…

TTFN

Bishop

Honey Sweetened Meyer Lemon Jam – A Sensuous Kitchen Experience

December 29, 2014

Bishop Decadent, Dessert, Gardening, jam and jelly, Making Jam, Recipe , , Leave a comment

The title….The title is an apt description of the jam making experience but I will keep the blog descriptors “G” rated. What was actually going through my mind – is open for interpretation. I found this recipe in the same place I found the Meyer Lemon Curd recipe in the “Food in Jars” blog I mentioned in the post published on December 27th…..wait, wasn’t that yesterday? Life has given me lemons, more correctly, Meyer Lemons, and lemonade is not high on my list. Three alternatives made to date; 1. Limoncello – still a few weeks from completion, 2. Meyer Lemon Curd – a double batch, and now 3. Honey Sweetened Meyer Lemon Jam. Three decadent treats and the decadence is not restricted to flavors.

I will attempt to recreate the “cooking” experience as safely as I can. It has been a nasty, drizzly and cool day here in the Houston area. I stepped outside into the drizzle and hand selected 5, plump Meyer Lemons for the primary ingredient! Don’t try to read my mind, I will tell you that Led Zeppelin lyrics did not pop into my head until just a moment ago, so lets put that one to rest. I also used local honey…not mine but very similar in flavor.

The first non-cooking thought that hit me while stirring the batch was triggered by the aromas caressing my nose…. it was the mix of honey and, what must have been the volatile oils from the Meyer Lemon peels. The aromas were like the spring blossom time for citrus, most notably, from a midnight ride many years ago on my motorcycle down Sunset Blvd. The trip started on the UCLA campus and ended at Will Rogers Beach in Santa Monica. I have written in the past about the intoxicating scent of those Sunset Boulevard citrus blossoms on that cool and clear night. Just an amazing memory of the scents burned into my memories. My passenger that night I’m sure has similar memories of that scent filled ride, along the sweeping turns, cool and scent filled night leading down to the beach. Mmmmm – great memories triggered by the aromas buried in my gray matter.

As I was day dreaming and replaying that ride down the windy Boulevard the aromas coming off the batch of jam began to change. My first impression was that of a citrusy – Jasmine perfume scent. I had some, uh hum…. interesting thoughts….if a women was wearing a scent like this, the temptation to nibble and nuzzle her neck would have been overpowering. Plucked from somewhere deep in my memory banks was a connecting thought….pair this perfume aroma with the fresh scent of Herbal Essence shampoo and the beast within would have been testing the chains! – Careful Bishop…. I wondered if it was just my maleness fueling the thoughts when my wife popped into the kitchen and noted the perfume like aroma coming off the pot on the stove. She provided confirmation that my olfactory sensors were correct. Her comment pulled me back to the task at hand…..Jam!

The boiling process went on longer than the recipe called for. In hindsight, based on how thickly the jam set up, 15 minutes of boiling is probably correct time. I went well beyond that based on my sense of the thickening. During that time the aroma changed from arousing….(can I use that word?) to something very pleasant. The new aroma made me think more about hot, buttered and toasted sourdough bread lathered with this jam…I am very basic in my desires! I went from carnal to primal over the course of about 25 minutes.

I wound up with almost two pints of jam, probably a little darker in color than expected. If I had cut off the boiling time at 15 minute’s it may have been several shades lighter. I am assuming some “carmelization” took place. The jam is very well set and very tasty. I have many more lemons to pick so my next batch may be a little different….in results, but I hope that some same memories are triggered, memories that still make me smile. My lemons could not have been any fresher, once picked they were washed and in the boiling/simmering pot in less than 8 minutes….that may help explain the abundance of volatile lemon oils in the kitchen. Note to self……lets go ultra fresh again.

Honey Sweetened Meyer Lemon Jam

Yield: 3 to 4 half pints, plus a little for your morning yogurt

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds meyer lemons
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 2 cups honey

Instructions

  1. Wash the lemons and place them in a saucepan that can hold them in a single layer. Cover them with the water and bring to a boil.
  2. Once the water is bubbling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the lemons for 25 minutes, until the skins are tender but still hold together.
  3. Remove the pot from the heat and let the lemons cool completely.
  4. Place the lemons in a blender carafe and add two cups of the cooking water.
  5. Blend at low speed to break up the lemons. Take care not to puree them entirely smooth.
  6. Pour the lemon mix into a low, wide pan and add two cups of honey (choose something mild in flavor so that it doesn’t overpower the lemons).
  7. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to medium-high.
  8. Cook, stirring regularly, until the jam thickens and sheets off the back of your spoon or spatula. You can tell it’s nearly completion when it hisses and spits when you stir. My batch took all of 15 minutes of vigorous boiling to achieve set, but times will vary.
  9. When jam is finished cooking, remove pot from heat.
  10. Funnel jam into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for ten minutes.
  11. When time is up, remove jars from canner and let them cool on a folded kitchen towel.

By on February 19, 2014 in jams, jellies, marmalades

 

My little dwarf Meyer Lemon tree on an earlier day.

My little dwarf Meyer Lemon tree on an earlier day.

In a few more weeks I should see my bees working the Lemon blossoms....Mmmmm so good!

In a few more weeks I should see my bees working the Lemon blossoms….Mmmmm so good!

TTFN

Bishop

Meyer Lemon Curd – So Damn Good

December 27, 2014

Bishop Canning, Decadent, Dessert, Recipe , Leave a comment

I apologize if the curse word that shocked movie audiences in 1939, Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) to Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) still offends….. I resisted using language from the “Thug Kitchen” a fun and irreverent look at eating healthier. Here is the trailer for the book…..be prepared – it is not G Rated!!!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar7g_26QWu0      I thought the trailer was a joke…..it is tongue in cheek and the book is very real and has some great recipes!

Back to the curd…..It really is that good! I made a double batch. A doubled batch yields a little more than couple of pints and includes 12 egg yolks, two sticks of butter, two cups of sugar and –  Oh yeah lemon zest and lemon juice! I processed two of the 8 ounce jars in a boiling water bath so I could ship one of the jars to my great grandson up in Wyoming. Unfortunately, processing changes the color just a bit and the texture is not near as silky smooth as the fresh stuff! Given a spoon and left alone for a short time I could finish a jar on my own!

Yum - A plate of Lemon zest, 12 egg yolks, two sticks of butter, two cups of sugar and one generous cup of lemon juice. In the background is my sourdough starter bubbling away.

Yum – A plate of Lemon zest, 12 egg yolks, two sticks of butter, two cups of sugar and one generous cup of lemon juice. In the background is my sourdough starter bubbling away.

Do you think the lemon zest looks like shredded cheddar? My daughter Ashleigh did! We had a good laugh!

The patience in cooking was rewarded with a silky smooth and decadent lemon curd. Before dropping the utensils used in the process into the sink, I had to play Momma kitty and lick everything clean…..Yes I know, some may say bad form, but frankly, I don’t give a damn!

Ready to ladle into the hot and sterile jars.

Ready to ladle into the hot and sterile jars. My canning funnel has been well used!

 

Trying my best to not make a mess!

Trying my best to not make a mess!

Meyer Lemon Curd – USE MEYER LEMONS!

Yield: 2 half pints – single recipe

Ingredients

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 Meyer lemons, juiced (you should get a generous 1/2 cup. Make sure to strain it, to ensure you get all the seeds)
  • zest from the juiced lemons
  • 1 stick of butter, cut into chunks

Instructions

  1. In a small, heavy bottom pot over medium heat, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
  2. Add the lemon juice and zest and switch to stirring with a wooden spoon, so as not to aerate the curd.
  3. Stir continually for 10-15 minutes, adjusting the heat as you go to ensure that it does not boil.
  4. Your curd is done when it has thickened and coats the back of the spoon.
  5. When you determine that it’s finished, drop in the butter and stir until melted.
  6. Position a fine mesh sieve over a glass or stainless steel bowl and pour the curd through it, to remove any bits of cooked egg. Whisk in the zest.
  7. Pour the curd into two prepared half pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. If you want to process them for shelf stability, process them in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes (start the time when the water returns to a boil).
  8. According to So Easy to Preserve, it is best to process only in half-pint jars or smaller, as they allow better heat infiltration.
  9. Eat on toast, stirred into plain yogurt or straight from the jar with a spoon.

Here is the link to the recipe – http://foodinjars.com/2010/01/meyer-lemon-curd/

A very good canning blog by Marisa McClellan. Check her stuff out

TTFN

Bishop

 

Rainy Day Garden Blog

December 19, 2014

Bishop Baking, Beekeeping, Dessert, Gardening, Recipe, Strawberry , , , , , 7 Comments

We had a rainy and stormy night last night. The thunder was the booming and it was the rolling type followed by the sound of heavy rain drumming rain on the roof. The last 24 hours brought 2.76 inches of rain in my neighborhood and as much as 3.64 a few miles away. As I write the sound of rain beating down of the roof is accelerating again…. Gotta love it!

Too wet to have coffee with the bees but I am enjoying my coffee. I am kinda sorta having coffee with my oldest daughter and her husband – they are out in Camarillo California to be precise, but with me in spirit. They sent the family a gift pack the past several Christmas’s from Harry & David, well known for their pears, but this pack had a 12 ounce package of coffee beans. The Northwest blend flavored – Hazlenut, Praline and Cinnamon. So, Melissa and Tayna….here’s to you! I am also snacking on my homemade sourdough bread, 30 minutes out of the oven…..still warm enough to melt the butter under a layer of my Serrano pepper and peach preserve.

Fresh and warm sourdough - Yum - I love making bread but even more so...... eating it!

Fresh and warm sourdough – Yum – I love making bread but even more so…… eating it!

I did check on the bees and the garden yesterday and they are busy buzzing away and gathering pollen. The strawberries are kicking out blossoms like crazy and I noticed a handful of blossoms on the sugar snap peas. I suspect I will be picking some snap peas well before New Years Eve. The carrot seeds sprinkled a few weeks ago are coming up nicely and should be ready to thin in another few weeks….I say should….seems like I have good intentions and always wind up with crowded carrots!

I will be picking my lemons this week and I need to decide how to reward my self, hmmmm – Lemon Curd is high on the list and may also be compatible with making Limoncello. How about both! Claire from “Promenade Plantings” gave the best advice for using lemon curd – open jar, insert spoon, pull out a heaping spoonful and insert into your mouth and let your taste buds celebrate….She said something like that

  • 1.5 Liters of Everclear – available in Texas
  • 14 Lemons
  • 1.5 Liters of water
  • 2.333333333333333333 pounds of sugar

Peel lemons taking care to not use the white portion of the peel…..just the yellow.

Place peels and Everclear in glass jars, seal tightly and place in a dark cool place for two weeks.

Mix sugar and water – heat and stir until dissolved. Let sit for an hour or so.

Drain lemon peels from the jars and mix with sugar water. Make a calculation a head of time in order to have on hand enough bottles to accommodate the new volumes.

Be patient and allow the bottled Linoncello to sit for a full month in a dark and cool place.

Store in the freezer and enjoy shots….I am looking forward to the fruits of my labors.

TTFN

Bishop.

Cinderella Pumpkin…

November 29, 2012

Bishop Baking, Composting, Recipe , Leave a comment

I took one of the house decorations, a large Cinderella Pumpkin (Rouge Vif d’Etampes), cut it into segments and baked it. This pumpkin is a French heirloom that was introduced to the US around 1883. It is flat in shape and deeply lobed. Normally the pumpkins gracing our fall decorating are dealt with once they become mushy, ooze and attract fruit flies. Not a total loss, they always wound up in the compost bins. Through my blogging and blog reading I have discovered that folks still take the time to actually use pumpkins as a wonderful addition to the table. It is a bit of work but the aromas and flavors are awesome.

It starts with dismantling the pumpkin.

Out on my garden bench, I make the first cuts using the lobes as guides.

The color of the flesh is stunning.

Sections cut prior to scrapping out the seeds.

I noticed that some of the seeds had begun to sprout.

The surgery produced 10 lobes of the deep orange flesh for baking.

Once cut and the seeds were removed I moved the cut up sections into the kitchen. I made shallow lipped trays with foil to catch the fluids and placed the foil and sections of pumpkin onto cookie sheets. They baked at 350 deg. F for about an hour and 45 minutes. I removed the sections and cooled them on wire racks until cool enough to handle.

Fresh out of the oven, steaming and smelling so good!

Pardon the mess on the kitchen counter – I promise to clean my mess up!

Cut into chunks, mashed, puree mode in the blender and allowed to sit in the sieve to drain off the free water.

Four cups of the puree were put to use immediately in the form of a pumpkin pie. It is sitting on the rack cooling as I write. I am so looking forward to tasting the ultimately fresh pumpkin pie! I think I still have about 5 quarts of pumpkin puree to deal with. I am told that it freezes well. I see some pumpkin bread in the near future and maybe a pumpkin ale! That sounds very tasty!
FYI – the pumpkin ale was brewed this past weekend!
TTFN

Bishop

Rose Petal Jelly and Other Gardening News

October 20, 2012

Bishop Dessert, Gardening, jam and jelly, Making Jam, Recipe, Strawberry , , , 2 Comments

I stepped out into the front yard yesterday and picked up the scent of my wife’s roses in bloom. What immediately hit my mind was an article I read a few days ago about “Rose Petal Jelly”. I knew that I had to get it made this weekend before I left for Long Beach California for a week-long session with a client.

I picked this recipe up from “The Creamer Chronicles” blog. Easy recipe!

The ingredients you need are:
1 cup packed fresh flower petals
3 cups of water
Juice of one lemon
1 box powdered pectin
4 cups sugar

“Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan and stir in the roses. Remove from the heat, and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes, as if you were making rose-petal tea. Strain the “tea” making sure to squeeze the petals to get every last drop of flavor out of them. Now this is where the magic happens: Pour in the fresh lemon juice and the “tea” turns back into the color of the flowers you used………”

The jelly making from this point forward is pretty straight forward. After steeping, I went triple the 10 minute suggestion. I poured the tea through a coffee filter before the jelly cooking process.  Stir in the pectin and bring to a boil. Add the sugar stirring constantly and return to a full boil. Boil for 2 minutes at a full boil, remove from heat and skim any foam off before ladling into clean sterilized jars. I went ahead and processed the jars for 10 minutes in boiling water bath.

A small rose shown with the jelly. The jelly does take on a hue very similar to the color of the petals used.

I also put a few more strawberry plants out this afternoon. I ordered “Sweet Charlie” plugs from Ison’s Nursery. They are a recommended variety for my Zone 9 gardening area. I filled my strawberry towers and filled in a few spots in my beds. I had 5 of the 50 remaining so I went over to John’s house, you remember him, Mr. 2 – 4X4 raised beds that I tend part-time. He has been smitten and does a pretty good job keeping stuff alive.

My home-made dibble used to plant some strawberry plugs.

I thought that my Asparagus bed was done for the season…beginning to yellow and die back. I cut it back a week ago and look what I find. A few of the root crowns are still pushing up spears. I love to just snap them off in the garden, give them a quick rinse and munch away…..so sweet!

Renegade asparagus – I cut it all back last week and I have a few trying to break out…Guess I’ll just have to eat them!

TTFN

Bishop

 

 

Oatmeal Applesauce Raisin Cookies

February 11, 2012

Bishop Gardening, Oatmeal Cookie, Recipe 9 Comments

I thought that I would deviate from my usual and share a recipe. One companion activity to gardening is cooking!  – I do love to cook and bake…I’m a little weak on the clean as you go part! This recipe was one of my favorites growing up. My Aunt Lula – yes that was here real name, used to make these when we visited. They are better after being stored a day or so, they become more chewy/soft. The are a prize winner too…. I won first prize with this recipe two years running in the Junior Division – fruit cookie category-  at the Kern County Fair so many years ago! The  Junior Division is 16 and under. There is a long story associated with the competition that I won’t share but, my sister Denise will remember the details!

Ingredients

Amount Ingredient
2 Cups

1 Cup

2 ¼ Cups

½ cuo

1 Cup

1 tsp

1 tsp

1 tsp

1 tsp

Pinch

 Applesauce

Raisins

Flour

Butter or margarine – I like butter

Oatmeal – Old Fashioned

Allspice

Cinnamon

Ground cloves

Soda

salt

Directions

  1. Mix applesauce, sugar, butter and raisins in saucepan. Heat up until very warm – just short of boiling.
  2. Mix flour, spices and salt in a separate bowl.
  3. Add 1 tsp soda to warm mixture, it will foam up pretty strong sometimes,  stir.
  4. Add warm mixture to bowl with dry ingredients and mix well.
  5. Spoon the sticky dough onto cookie sheet in ball shapes – adjust size of ball as desired after first sheet is done.
  6. Do not lick fingers between each spoonful! Wait……
  7. Eat and enjoy …… homemade cookies have many fewer calories than store bought….. Don’t quote me though!

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F

Bake 17-20 minutes

TTFN
Bishop

Ok – I Will Try The Turnips!

January 17, 2012

Bishop Gardening, Recipe 2 Comments

Three nice turnips on an 8 inch plate - ready to peel, boil and mash!

I have been looking to find some decent recipes for my turnips. They seem to grow like crazy here in Houston! Most of the recipes I find include turnips as a companion for the main portion of the recipe, i.e., stews…… I dove into allrecipes.com and found “Patty’s Mashed Turnips”….. I have been trying to curb my appetite for starches and refined carbs over the past few months. This recipe may help satisfy my craving for mashed potatoes. My daughter’s 27th birthday was a week ago and she asked for “meat and potatoes”, specifically mashed potatoes. I indulged in a spoonful at her birthday dinner and avoided loading my plate up! Lord knows I would have and could have put away a mountain of mashed potatoes – with garlic and real butter! I needed a mashed potato fix!

I picked three nice sized turnips from the garden…. I am plucking them at this size rather than letting them become large and pithy. I have also staggered my plantings so I have a good variety in size and age in the beds. I cut the recipe down to a more manageable size. What I like about the allrecipes site is the feedback section…. I usually read and make modifications based on what the practicing audience advises. In this case, most recommended cutting way back on the added milk when mashing……the recipe tends to be very wet naturally due to the high water content of the turnips. That is the approach I took. Boiled until tender, about 35 minutes, rinsed and then mashed. My only add to the recipe was a large clove of garlic boiled along with the turnips and mashed together with everything else. I used skim milk….not much but enough to provide the “right” consistency. I used a few tablespoons and that was too much….. also a teaspoon of butter, a little sea salt and ground black pepper to taste. Surprisingly good! So, I tried them and they were good enough to become a keeper recipe….. They are filling and low in calories! Nothing was wasted…the peelings, tap root and cap all went to the worms….they have to eat the remnants raw, but hey, they don’t seem to be fussy eaters.

I will still experiment a little. I read that some folks tried cauliflower along with the turnips. That seems to be a reasonable alternative…. and then maybe a 50/50 mix by weight of potato and turnip. This recipe can help my efforts to be/become healthier in 2012. I started my quest last July at 19.8% body fat, just under the recommended upper end for men. Last week I tested out at 12.1 % body fat and I feel like a younger man (is that right hun?)…..The lower end of recommended % body fat  for men is 10%…. That has now become my target. Portion control…and more activity!

My vegetable garden….a stress reliever, a place to experiment, the satisfaction of seeing the results of my efforts & sometimes my failures, a place to share with friends and neighbors….including the “cyber” neighbors looking over the “blog fence” into the garden as well as providing for the table. Pretty good stuff, eh! ……( I have been practicing my Canadian as I will be paired up with a lad from Alberta this week in my consulting work)

P.S. – I started another experiment in the garden today……..details later! Oh yes, today in my posts, I ate the turnip from top to bottom, well almost bottom…. I did cut the tap root off!

TTFN

Bishop

A Garden Jelly to Delight the Senses

November 25, 2011

Bishop Composting, jam and jelly, mulching, Recipe , 3 Comments

Jars, Jelly and Beer

My Serrano Pepper plant was not nearly as prolific as last year’s specimen. Usually one of these hot pepper plants is more than enough for a family! Last year’s plant must have had the perfect accommodations. A nice view of the sunrise, warm enough throughout the day and into the shade as late afternoon crept in. I think the dining in this location must have suited the plant well. The corner occupied by this plant was in my oldest raised bed, six years in the making.  It had been nurtured with aged compost every year and the worms turning the soil are abundant. The food must have been as good as any ***** establishment….. based on the size and productivity. This year the location was missing the morning sun…and the bed is just 2 years old.

So now – back to the title of the post. From last year’s plant I made several batches of Serrano Pepper Jelly. Each batch was made with a different recipe but they all came out well, each with its own merits. The first was a back to basics batch, I made it with pectin I made from apples. It jelled very well but was not hot enough. The next batch was made using commercial pectin, more Serrano peppers, but didn’t set well. This poorly set “jelly” turned out to be perfect for pouring over soft cream cheese used as a party dip. I tried to replicate the “pourable” jelly and came close. It was all good…just some better than others. Where have I heard that phrase before?????

Now the batch I made two days ago seems to be setting up nicely….. may not pour as well over the cream cheese but I can still blend it in. The remedy for the” jelled-jelly “- just blend it into the cream cheese – it seems to work very well. Recipe number 4 may turn out to be a keeper. I actually wrote it down – not really wrote it down – I typed it into a word document and saved it into my recipe file on the hard drive. I am not sure that many of us really “write” any more. My mother is good about sending hand written letters and notes. It is such a pleasure to see her beautiful cursive script. My grandson recently sent me a hand written thank you note after receiving his birthday card….. made me feel warm inside. I think we need to slow down sometimes and reflect on some simpler pleasures and times.

Where was I going? – oh the new recipe. What I like about it is the abundance of Serrano peppers it calls for. The flavor is nicely warm without causing beads of sweat to break out on your forehead.  I was concerned about having pepper pieces in the jelly so I used a sieve and removed some before canning. In hindsight I should have left it alone. Those that remained give the jelly a pleasant look and a bit of something to chew on. All of the peppers came from my garden ……. I know how they were grown and fed. The recipe basics –  A cup each of finely chopped red and green Bell Peppers(2 total), about 20 deseeded Seranno peppers, I added a half dozen yellow peppers just because they would have been lonely in the fridge, one cup of apple cider vinegar used to puree the Serrano peppers, a box of Sure-Jell pectin and 5 cups of sugar. Yum! Standard directions – heat pepper mix to boiling, add sugar, heat to rolling boil – hold for a full minute (does that make sense, isn’t a minute always a minute?) then place in hot clean jars.

It was a busy day in the kitchen. My wife had left on a trip to California to be with her brother and family as he recovers from a serious surgery. With her gone I could spread out a little more and let the resulting mess linger a little longer…..without her comments – I have learned that she really cares for me and that is why she continues to invest time in coaching me. I had also been delaying the process of getting my beer out of the secondary fermenter and into the bottles. So I combined efforts in the kitchen and completed two culinary actions…..I think I can lump beer into that culinary category can’t I? As you can see from the picture above I was busy in the kitchen. I have to wait a couple of weeks for the beer but the jelly is ready to go. Link to my beer blogging is shown below.

http://pappadeckerbrewing.wordpress.com/

My lettuce growing efforts had a bit of a setback – my son came home from school for the Thanksgiving Holiday and brought his lovely Labrador mix pooch, Sierra, home from school. She apparently still has a bit of puppy in her and loves to dig in good, moist and rich soil. So, where do you suppose my young lettuce plants were…….emphasis on were. You guessed it, like a laser guided missile she made a precision strike on the three rows of young lettuce plants. There is that old philosophical question about a tree falling in a forest. If no one is around to hear it, does it make any sound? Hmmmmm. When young and tender lettuce plants are brutally shredded and no one is there, do their screams of agony not make any noise? Take a deep breath Bishop and remember that the new lettuce seed packets have many hundreds more waiting to be planted.

My to-do list for today will include lettuce planting, green bean picking, turning the compost pile and raking leaves. I wonder what he neighbors were thinking on Wednesday when I cruised the street with my portable leaf vacuum and shredder….. I was able to gather a barrel full of shredded leaves from the neighbor’s yard. Shredded leaves make great mulch and adds carbon to my composting efforts. The leaves are dropping all over the neighborhood so the crazy guy in the big green truck will be gathering leaves today and tomorrow. My wife is still gone so I will not be embarrassing her directly. ;-D

Strawberry rantings coming soon.

TTFN

Bishop

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