I love vegetable gardening! Well, let me rephrase that. I love to get organic plants or seeds and plant them in my garden with organic soil, water them, weed them and see what happens. I don’t know what the PH level of my soil is. I don’t use any chemicals to make things grow bigger. I just plant.
Growing up in the city, we never had a garden. We lived in a two-flat on the north side of Chicago. We did have an apple tree in the back yard that took up most of the space. Each year I was allowed to climb up the tree and pick the apples on top that no one could reach. Those apples were then cooked down by my grandmother and made into applesauce. She would can the applesauce in mason jars so we could enjoy it all winter long.
When we moved to the suburbs I started a small 4’x8’ vegetable garden. As time went on, my vegetable garden grew to a 25’x35’ enclosed area with 8 raised beds and an open space for berry bushes. Each Spring I plan out what worked well last year and I try to add something new. I love to see how the new plants grow and what culinary creations I can come up with when they are ready for harvest.
I like to plant peppers and the garden always produces an abundance of them. Some sweet ones and some hot ones. I have used them in salsas and salads and I have even pickled them. Last year I decided to make hot pepper jelly with them. It was so good! I made several batches and canned it for myself and gave some as gifts. My favorite way to enjoy the jelly is on toasted bread or crackers along with some goat cheese. It’s sweet and hot and delicious! It also came in handy over the winter months when friends dropped in for a glass of holiday cheer.
This year the peppers are looking good, so another batch of hot pepper jelly will be coming. The recipe I use is great just the way it is but don’t be afraid to be creative with the pepper mixture. I added some red peppers for color, cracked black pepper, fresh thyme and some dried lemon peel.
- 12 oz. of jalapeno (or variety of) peppers
- 2 cups cider vinegar, divided
- 6 cups of sugar
- 2 - 3 oz. pouches of liquid pectin
- 5 - 8 oz. half pint glass-preserving jars with lids and bands
- Prepare/sanitize glass jars, lids and bands per manufacturers directions.
- Puree peppers in a food processor with 1 cup of cider vinegar until smooth. Do not strain puree.
- Combine puree with remaining 1 cup of cider vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add liquid pectin and continue to boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- Ladle hot pepper jelly into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rim. Secure lid and band. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when pressed in the center.
After lamenting my less than stellar rhubarb harvest last year, a dear friend brought me over this homemade rhubarb treasure. She is a fabulous cook, and the pie was delicious….but it was the big D on that pie that was the most delish! Edible friendship!
Sharing the gift of food is a universal gesture of love and friendship, compassion and kindness. A meal to a family struggling with challenges, chicken soup to a sick friend, cookies to your new neighbor…food has always been a way that we reach out to one another, to connect. We all know this. The food itself may or may not be a fabulous culinary creation, but the gesture speaks volumes.
My file after 20 years in my own kitchen is scattered amidst pages of heavily annotated cookbooks, dog-eared pages of Fine Cooking, vintage cards in my grandma’s ornate script and a healthy pinch of recipes gathered online. Of the thousands of recipes that could be unearthed in my home, there are a handful that reappear time and again – a motley mix that is a representation of my family’s tastes and sensibilities. Years of experimentation have mined out our shining stars: an endlessly adaptable loaf of peasant bread, a dead-simple before school pancake recipe, an aromatic chipotle and cumin burger… 
Instead, every spring, I line the stone fence surrounding the trees with pots of herbs. They get enough sun to keep going through the summer months. There’s always basil, cilantro, and mint, sometimes rosemary, and this year there is also lavender and oregano. These herbs form the basis of many a weeknight dinner. Sometimes I’ll grab three and puree them with a little white wine vinegar and olive oil to drizzle over quickly grilled chicken, fish, or steak. Or I’ll throw in pine nuts or pistachios and make a quick pesto. Often I don’t even bother with the pureeing and just mince two or three herbs with a little arugula to toss into a quick summer sauté of grape tomatoes, sweet onions and bi-color corn. The fresh taste and color are welcome and delicious, and give new life to old weeknight standbys. You really can’t miss when you combine fresh herbs – just go a little easy on the mint so you don’t end up feeling like you’re eating toothpaste. Have fun and go a little herb crazy! In a few months, this freshness will be a only a memory.
Having my own real garden for the very first time this summer has been a fun and interesting experience for my family. Everyone had a chance to choose a few items to plant…cucumbers for Katie, beans for Leo, zucchini for Ken and tomatoes for everyone! The kids, my Dad, my neighbors and the internet have helped plant our garden and we have watched plants grow, blossom, and bear fruit. Tonight the kids ate freshly plucked organic beans from the garden, raw. They were over the moon excited and my daughter asked if she could take them to school in her lunch. In addition to the beans, ironically, my Dad was here today to see the very first ripe tomato plucked from our garden! Thanks to my Dad, I know what ripe tastes like. And thanks to my Dad, my kids will also know where their food comes from and know what a real tomato tastes like.