Frost-o Pesto

Tonight is forecast to have frost, which will be our first frost of the season.  I'm not very happy about it because I do not at all like the garden season coming to an end, and I really don't want to see winter.  Fall is a lovely season but it always comes too soon, and ends too soon, and then we're thrown in the deep freeze until May.

I've put some 4 degree row covers over the remaining plants in the raised beds (except the carrots and parsnips which should be fine).  I'm hoping that I'll get another week or so out of the tomatoes.  We shall see how bad the frost is.  After 2 nights, it is supposed to go back to "normal" fall overnight temps, which are not below freezing yet. 

Today I made pesto cubes with the remaining fresh herbs from my raised beds.  I didn't want them to go to waste in case the frost is significant.  I had a lot of basil and parsley, and also some sage, although the sage is a perennial type and doesn't mind a bit of frost.  The basil and parsley would not do well at all in frost.  It was time to make frost-o pesto!

I don't use my food processor all that often, but I do use it for pesto because I find it really does the job well.  I suppose a blender would be good for it as well.  I have a Braun food processor - this is my second one and the first one I had lasted for a long time.  I find it works very well and is reliable.  I use the regular blade for pesto.

I put the herbs that I'm using into the bowl after giving them a thorough wash and spinning them out in the salad spinner to remove most of the water.  You can use any blend of herbs you want, and you can also use garlic scapes.  I make the garlic scape pesto earlier in the season.

I use sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in my pesto because Marc is allergic to nuts.  I don't think he has actually tried pine nuts, which are the traditional nut used in pesto, but I don't want to risk it. I also recently managed to get some very fine Lucques olive oil from France at 50% off .  It is a really high quality olive oil, which I think is important to use in a pesto.  Sometimes I add parmesan but I didn't do so today.  I can always add parmesan to the dish when I use the pesto.

I can't tell you exactly the amount of seeds I use - probably a cup or so.  I just do it by eye.  Then I drizzle the oil all over it and start the processor blade.

Initially, I have to use a scraper to move all the material around in the bowl to get things evenly chopped.

As I continue, I increase the speed of the blade and the chopping gets faster and the pieces are smaller.  I keep scraping it down.

Eventually, it starts to look more like a paste than a mess of chopped leaves.  I added a little more olive oil at this point.

Another minute or so, and I call it done.  It's essentially the consistency of chunky peanut butter.

At that point, I scoop it out of the bowl and into ice cube trays.  I gently press the pesto into each compartment and then pop the trays into the freezer.

In a day or two, I'll pop them out of the trays and put the cubes into ziploc bags in the freezer.  Then I can pull out a cube anytime I need one.  They add a wonderful taste of summer to dishes throughout the winter.  Sometimes I use it on pasta, but I also use a cube or two in soups, casseroles, on baked fish, or other dishes.  It's a great way to use the end-of-season fresh herbs. 

Garden Update: Raised Beds and Containers

I seem to be doing a lot of garden update blogs recently, but that is the topic of most interest around here lately, so that's what you get!  It's also a nice record keeping method for me so I can remember next year what I planted where.

My raised beds are, so far, a great success.  I'm really pleased that I had them installed this spring.  All six beds are full of edibles, and edibles-in-progress.

Bed Number 1
This bed has two rows of beets (Crapaudine and Fuer Kugel) that are coming along nicely.  Then there are two rows of parsnips (Half-long Guernsey and Javelin)) that are slow, as parsnips usually are, but still coming.  The pak choi (Pechay) grew very well and then all ripened at once and I didn't get to it all before it bolted.  I'm thinking of planting another row of it since it's quite quick, but some of it is still in the back of this bed.

Bed Number 2
This bed was off to a tough start on the rows of herbs in the front.  Nothing germinated first time around, probably because our spring was so cold and wet.  I re-seeded and I have 3 successful sage plants coming along (and a purple sage that I purchased as a transplant).  I have 6 flat Italian parsley starts from a friend which are doing well.  I have two rows of basil on the far left that are still coming along slowly.  I had to re-seed that twice.  I'm growing mammoth and regular basil.  If I'm lucky I will have enough for a couple of batches of pesto before fall.  The peas, variety "Golden Sweet" are doing very well at climbing the lattice.  They are not flowering yet but hopefully soon will be.

You can't see it in the picture above, but at the opposite end of the lattice, there are a couple of tomato plants coming along.  These are "Scotia" variety which is supposed to be an early tomato, which around here means it will be before the end of August, in theory.

Bed Number 3
The third bed is a funny mix.  On the closest end in the picture are two kiwi vines (Actinidia kolomikta) which is commonly called the variegated-leaf hardy kiwi.  This is a kiwi that develops a fruit that is approximately the size of grape.  Originally from eastern Asia, it is hardy to zone 4.  The variegated foliage isn't evident at the moment but it was earlier in the season.  My local carpenter is going to build an arbour for me for the kiwi vines but they are in the raised bed for now.  I'm hoping to get a couple of Actinidia arguta type vines to go with these. Then there are a couple of squash plants, some tomatoes, and a row of tomatoes in the back.  You can also see the "fruit salad" tree on the left side of the picture.

On the other end of Bed 3, there are cucamelon (Melothria scabra) vines just starting to go up the trellis.  Sometimes they are called Mexican Sour Gherkin.  I hope they will produce before the frost!

Bed Number 4
This bed has more potatoes - both Superior and Russian Purple varieties.  Also there are a couple of squash vines and tomato plants.  My zucchini didn't germinate.  Again....poor spring conditions. 

I also planted Poona Kheera cucumbers which didn't germinate.  But, I do have a butternut squash that has recently had its first female flower and I hope that it has been pollinated successfully.  Ignore the cucumber sign.  That's definitely a squash vine.

Bed number 5 is a hot mess.  The Superior variety potatoes are threatening to take over the world.  There is a pumpkin vine that is threatening to take over everything and has even come out the side of the bed and is wandering over towards Bed number 4.  The early cantaloupe vines have sat and done absolutely nothing.  The kale starts that I received from my friend in exchange for eggs have gone berserk and I made a kale and beet greens galette with some of it today. 

Bed 5 is basically a jungle.  Oh, I forgot, there are tomatoes in there too.  I planted a row of violet cabbage but it was quickly shaded out by the kale. 

Bed Number 6
This is the carrot bed.  There are 5 varieties:  Pusa Rudhira Red, Gniff, Black Nebula, Cosmic Purple, and Rainbow Mix.  It looks good.

So far, we've eaten kale and pak choi, but we will definitely be eating more from the raised beds as the season progresses.

We also received a second-hand garden arch from my parents which has been placed at the "entrance" to the raised bed area, and it has two grape vines planted next to it - one Marechal Foch and one "Beta" grape vine.  These are both intended for eating - we are not getting into wine production!

I'm also pleased with how my containers have worked out.  My mom helped me plant most of these in their visit earlier this year, and I'm glad we worked on them together because each time I look at them, I think of her and her help.

There are two box-style containers by the front door that are doing really well.  I got the boxes at an auction last year and I'm glad I bought them.  They work well.  You'll see some diatomaceous earth in the background - that's to stop the ants coming in the house.

We made some hanging baskets that look lovely now in purple and white.

The deck containers are coming along well also.

This one has a "bonus" basil plant in it that I enjoy using in the kitchen!

The herb containers include sage, apple mint, rosemary, thyme, variegated thyme, and some seedling basil.  You'll also see one of those tiny container tomatoes if you look closely!

I bought two purple and pink mixed petunia hanging baskets to support the local high school.  They are looking good, although this one got a drink soon after the photo was taken.

The "night sky" petunias looked great for the first flush of flowers.  Since then, some have been reverting to a more striped appearance with the "night sky" effect on only one or two petals.

The flowers are still pretty though.