The Fall Garden

It's been a busy week at work, but I've been able to spend some time in the garden, cleaning up the summer garden, preparing periennials for the comiing winter and planting more for the fall garden. I'm concentrating on greens this fall. About mid-August I began planting assorted salad greens every week. The first batch is being harvested. I'm hoping to keep fresh salad greens coming until at least Christmas. In years past I've put in cabbage and Brussels sprouts in the fall. If you're lucky enough to have a plant nursery that stocks vegetable plants for fall planting try some. One year I grew peas in the fall. They just barely were ready for harvest before the first big freeze.

My recipes don't have a theme this week. They're just good. The first two recipes use turmeric. There's been recent medical research that indicates turmeric is a good virus fighting food. It's been used medicinally in India for centuries.

Quinoa is a grain I like to eat a lot. It is very nutrious and easy to prepare. In the winter I make quinoa with chopped dried fruit and maple syrup and have it for breakfast. Here's a more conventional use for quinoa.

Quinoa Pilaf
Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence on the Food Network

2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon preserved lemon rind, finely diced (you should be able to find these in Middle Eastern grocery stores. They add a lot of punch to recipes)
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 (15-ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 cup black olives, pitted (my favorite olives are Tunisian oil cured olives)
1/4 cup currants
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
In a small saucepan, combine broth, quinoa, bay leaf, turmeric, salt, pepper and olive oil in a saucepan. Stir in preserved lemon and cover. Simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Add tomato, artichokes, onion, olives and currants, mix well to combine. Top with mint and serve.

I have a bounty of bell peppers, as well as chili peppers. Here's a nice pepper salad.

Roasted Red Pepper Salad

6 large roasted red bell peppers, julienned
1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 scallions, finely chopped

Dressing:
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil


Place the peppers, onion and scallions in a medium size mixing bowl. To make the dressing, place all the dressing ingredients, except for the olive oil in a blender or a food processor fitted with a steel blade and blend. Gradually add the olive oil, one tablespoon at a time. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to combine.


Here's a recipe my brother sent. It is one from our mother's oldest sister Susie Virginia Conn. She outlived her eight brothers and sisters and died at 99. She made her own sauerkraut until she was over 95. My husband (who eats meat) often reminisces about Aunt Sue's chicken fried steak. I've adjusted her recipe a bit because she used bacon drippings, and I don't. I have so many chilis this year that I'll have to make a lot of fire bread.


Fire Bread
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/3 cup olive oil
1 can corn, cream-style -- (#2 can)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 cup cheddar cheese -- grated
4 medium jalapenos -- chopped

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients, except for cheese and jalapenos, together. Pour half of batter into hot, well-oiled cast-iron skillet (skillet should be hot enough to make the batter sizzle when it's poured in). Sprinkle the grated cheese and the jalapenos on top. Cover with the rest of the batter. Bake for 30 minutes. You can also use a square baking pan. You could substitute self-rising flour for the all-purpose flour. Just eliminate the baking soda.