Welcome to 2012 everyone! The coming of a new year often makes me think of trying new things. We have grown pumpkins for several years, but 2011 was the first year we ever used them for anything besides decoration.

It didn’t seem like too much extra work, not that I did any of the cutting or scooping or baking. It did take longer than simply opening a can of pie filling, but that process would have been much less photo worthy.

The flavor and consistency were spot on. If it were not for the plague of squash beetles, I’d be looking forward to this year’s pumpkin patch and homemade pumpkin pies.

(I haven’t completely ruled out the possibility of a small patch. Row covers for the squash vine borers and some kind of organic pest control for the beetles would be necessary.)

We are looking forward to more new adventures in 2012!

I have always wanted to grow horseradish. So I did. I thought I was undecided when it comes to horseradish. Then I learned that the wasabi often served in Japanese restaurants may actually be horsey-sauce with green food-coloring. Seriously? I know I like wasabi, or what is served as wasabi, but it’s typically only a part of sushi meals and maybe classy mashed potatoes.

Many gardeners have been down this path before. And many have noted the tenacity of the roots. Once you plant horseradish, they say, you will always have horseradish. That’s fine. Even if the condiment doesn’t rock my world, it feels like a good staple to have around.

Digging the root was more difficult than I expected. The tentacles sprouting from the crown seem to run in every conceivable direction and some were well over fourteen inches long. Even after uncovering what I assumed to be the majority of the root, pulling only resulted in snaps somewhere deep below the earth. This is why they say what they say about having horseradish forever.

I was able to extract a nice collection of root, replanted one section, and took the rest inside for processing. Horseradish really cleans up well after some washing and peeling. Then it was into the food processor with a bit of water and salt and then vinegar. Most sites advise processing outside or at least in a well ventilated area. The fumes can be powerful. I did open a few windows and was a little careful not to inhale too deeply. With all the warnings I read, I kind of expected it to be insane. It wasn’t insane. Maybe my horseradish is mild?

Now I need more recipes. I’d like to try it on some fish and perhaps in some mashed potatoes. I’ll be bringing it to Thanksgiving dinner so the connoisseurs of the family can tell me if it’s any good.

It’s nice to have too many tomatoes. This doesn’t always happen, so when it does I start looking for potentially delicious ways to consume them. I’ve had several absolutely perfect tomato sandwiches this year. I actually prefer the simple cheese + mayo+ tomato combination to the more classic BLT. But a sandwich really only uses one tomato, and I have many. Sauce is already made and frozen. We’ve given to friends and food banks (and to be honest, some of these season finale tomatoes are a little over-ripe).

Soup is an idea. Ketchup? Perhaps, but I don’t use that much ketchup unless I am eating fries. Fruit and veggie juices, on the other hand, if tasty, disappear rather quickly from the fridge.

The recipe is simple and not my own creation. As with all things, I learned this one on the Internet. These proportions are rough and can be adjusted to taste.

8 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped pepper
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
(optional) 1 spicy pepper

Add all ingredients to a stainless steel pot and simmer from about 1/2 hour. Press through sieve or food mill. Chill in fridge. The site I found this recipe on mentions it lasting in the fridge for about a week to 10 days. It’s really quite refreshing.

The garden is bursting with fresh produce that would make most McDonald’s lovers weep. Every night, we toss freshly torn basil with a different assortment of beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Green tomato salsa has adorned cheese and bean filled quesadillas. Tonight we will slice melons – cantaloupe or watermelon, I can’t be sure yet.  There is an abundance of flavor and goodness. Eating well makes us feel good.

But the other day, I was thinking about how much I like French Fries. At first, I was searching for a recipe to make squash fries. So I really started out with good intentions. And I found some reviews of Butternut Squash fries that looked okay. I had a squash (not butternut) sitting on the counter that I wanted to use. It was an accidental pick about a week ago – sometimes fruit falls off when weeding or manipulating vines. So, I cut it open — It wasn’t ripe. Disappointment. The flesh was so thin it wasn’t going to work for fries. And by this time, I really wanted some fries.

Lucky for me, I had some potatoes sitting on the counter too. They were starting to green a bit from the morning sun. I read somewhere that green potatoes are poisonous, but then I thought that might be a myth and these weren’t that green yet anyway. So I peeled and sliced them, tossed them in a bag with olive oil and kosher salt, spread them on a cookie sheet and tossed them into a cold oven and then cranked the heat to 425. They took about 30-40 minutes and I did flip and stir them a bit every 10 minutes or so. They were the most amazing fries ever! And honestly, they aren’t so terrible nutritionally speaking, right? Especially if we don’t count the ketchup.

(Click the image for a larger view)

This heirloom tomato variety, Kellogg’s Breakfast (aka KB), is wonderful. Great flavor, nice size, awesome color, and seems to be producing rather well considering it’s large size. The leaves are showing signs of fungus, but so are all the other varieties we are growing this year. I need to experiment with plastic for mulch to see if that keeps the fungus away. Each year we usually choose different tomato varieties, but this one is a keeper.

Here is a little eggplant + tomato dish we have been enjoying lately.

1. Slice eggplant – enough to cover the bottom of your pan/dish
2. (optional) Microwave eggplant to soften @ 6 minutes (this speeds up cook time), dump out any water
3. Arrange eggplant on bottom of pan
4. Add a layer of basil leaves
5. Add a layer of tomatoes
6. Add a little olive oil on top
7. Bake for about 20 minutes
8. Top with mozzarella/parmesan cheese and continue baking until cheese is toasty and/or eggplant is thoroughly cooked

Anne says she could eat this every day and never be tired of it. It is good, but we have beans and cucumbers to eat too.