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Archive for the ‘garden’ Category

Harvest

Posted in food, garden, Portland on September 7, 2009| 2 Comments »

This weekend it has started to feel like fall around here; there have been a series of rainy days and the air is cool, even when the sun shines.

pepperandflower

The changing season and the start of a new school year remind me of my own good fortune as I get ready to return to work in times that are so difficult for so many.

In the garden the end of summer is apparent as well. Peppers are ripening,

greenpepper

redpepper

and so are the tomatillos.

tomatillo

The herbs continue to grow as well, with sage,

sageleaves2

thyme,

thyme

and sorrel still green and fresh.

sorrelleaves

Some of the plants are still flowering, including peppers,

pepperflower

cucumbers,

cukeflower

chives,

chiveflowers

and eggplants.

eggplantflower

We’ll have to see how far they get before the first frost.

reflections

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Picking and pickling peppers

Posted in food, garden on August 11, 2009| 4 Comments »

Today I decided it was finally time to pick some of the peppers that are ripening on the deck. Even after I picked all of the ripe ones there are still a few more out there that are not quite ready yet.

peppersonthevine

After picking a selection of ripe peppers (we have jalapeno, cayenne, and a third kind called a Tunisian Baklouti), I brought them in and got them ready to pickle.

cuttingboard

There is nothing fancy about the method I used for these pickles. I cut the stems off the peppers, peeled some garlic cloves, quickly blanched a few spring onions, cleaned the baby carrots some friends had brought us from their garden, and squeezed everything into two wide mouth, pint-sized, mason jars.

jars

I tossed in some whole pink peppercorns and some Penzey’s Shrimp and Crab Boil, and filled each jar to the brim with boiling white vinegar.

vinegar

I let the jars cool and then refrigerated them. These pickles will need to stay refrigerated, and should keep for at least a month.

peppersinjar

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In the front

Posted in garden, wildlife on August 9, 2009| 5 Comments »

Even though I see it every time I come home, for some reason I don’t usually think of the front of my house as something worth photographing. The roses are lovely

rosebud

and so are the other flowers.

flower

It wasn’t until this morning, when I went out to get the paper and realized that the roses needed some attention, that I found this visitor:

giantslug2

a Large red slug (aka European red slug).

This particular slug really is quite large (at least 2 inches when not fully extended) and seems to have made itself right at home on the stem of what I think are peonies.

giantslug3