Who stole our summer?
My veg and berry garden has literally become a jungle.
With all of this rain, there is so much green growth I now have Rainbow Chard that looks a bit like Ornamental Rhubarb.
Usually I run out of time for planting but the weather this spring and summer had given me some wiggle room, so I’ve planted up some theme pots on my deck.
I’ve got a few with some really cool heritage tomatoes as well as tomatillo underplanted with chives, cilantro and basil for my ‘Salsa’ planter, marjoram, oregano and thyme for my ‘Spaghetti’ planter and lots and lots of parsley for my 'Tabouleh' planter.
I have a Mojito planter stuffed to the gills with mint. If we ever get any more heat I’ll be set with my frosty glass of mojito with the crushed fresh mint…
I even bought some of those little umbrella’s and dragonfly twinkle lights to go with the whole mojito experience.
Don’t forget a salad pot with mixed lettuce, so easy to start from seed or even from nursery seedlings and no, it’s not too late!
I do have some early blueberries starting to produce, Patriot is the first I believe, with Duke, the smoothie blueberry hot on its heels
(Duke berries taste sweeter after being frozen so I save those for my fruit shakes).
The berries are HUGE this year! I will pick a bucket of blues as well as a bucket or two of Tayberries as soon as it dries out a bit.
Tayberries have a growth habit almost like a blackberry, so they need some support, though they are not as vigorous or as invasive thank goodness! They are almost like a milder floral tasting raspberry.
My Goji berry is just a baby so is not producing but my Goumi berry is ripening…even in this weather. They are at their sweetest and astringent right when they are about to fall from the bush and are high in vitamin A, C and E among other things.
My Honeyberries (Lonicera edulis) are also ripe and as usual hiding along the stem under the leaves…sneaky plant. They are not the sweetest this year but still good – a bit of a cross between blueberry and huckleberry.
I’ve also got some thornless blackberry on the go.
I’ll feel a bit guilty about harvesting without the requisite payment of scratches and cuts…but I’m sure I’ll get over it. I thought I’d share a few summer recipes with you, to make our own bit of summer smiles…sun or not
How To Make a Mojito:
You’ll need:
-
About 1 ½ oz of white rum (you can also use Tequila or Gin)
-
½ lime
-
About 6-8 oz of Club Soda or sparkling water
-
A big handful of mint leaves
-
Sugar Syrup or icing sugar to taste (sugar syrup is just a syrup made with water and sugar, approx 2 cups of sugar to 1 cups of water heated and stirred at med temp in a small saucepot until dissolved – makes it easier to add to drinks but cool before you add or you’ll melt your ice)
Squeeze half the lime over ice cubes in a tall glass, bruise up the mint leaves to release the aromatic oils and toss into the glass, add the rum (or not if you are making the non alcoholic version) and the club soda and then add the sugar syrup to taste and stir.
Mixed Berry Crumble
Approximately 6 -8 cups of mixed berries – I’ve used blueberries and tayberries and a tiny splash of honeyberries and a few black currants…just because. I like a lot of crumble topping with my berries but you can adjust if you like more berries.
-
4cups of flour
-
2 cup rolled oats
-
3 cups of brown sugar
-
3 cups of butter
Mix together the flour, oats, sugar and butter until crumbly, place washed berries into a large lasagna type pan, add crumble mixture on top. Place into a preheated oven at about 350 degrees F. for approximately 40 min or until browned on top. Serve warm. Hubby likes his with ice cream but I think it’s a rather fine dessert on its own.
Cheers,
Laurelle