What to do with Extra Yellow Squash

I've been baking a variety of things these past few weeks. What I think I've made the most is Zucchini bread. Most of my family and friends love zucchini bread and for good reason. It delicious, easily made and most of the ingredients are already in the cupboards. I went to the garden last week and noticed there was a lot of yellow squash available. Yum yum! I wondered, after I brought an arm load home, what I could make with all of this yellow squash. While I was in the baking mood a few days later I decided to substitute the yellow squash for zucchini in my favorite family recipe just to see how it tasted. It was delicious! Personally, I like to add more yellow squash than the recipe requires. I find it's more moist that way. I didn't get a chance to take a picture before my family tore into the bread, but here is the recipe.

• 3 c. Flour
• 2 c. Grated Yellow Squash ( I use 3 1/2)
• 1 c. Walnuts
• 1 c. Applesauce
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
• 1- 1 1/2 c. Sugar
• 3 Teaspoons Cinnamon 
• 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• 2 pinches of Salt
• 2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

This recipe yields two loaves, takes about twenty minutes of prep time and forty to fifty minutes to bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the dry ingredients separately from the wet. Then slowly stir the two together. This makes the consistency of the bread lighter. I like to put mine in the refrigerator for about an hour or so to let it set before dividing the batter into the loaf pans. Then just let them bake until brown or until you are able to put a knife through the middle of the loaf and the knife comes out dry. Enjoy.

Tarragon Recipes

Hello all! While I was working in the garden this week, I came across a herb that I wasn't quite sure what to do with. So, this weekend, I went on a hunt on uses and recipes for tarragon. It turns out that tarragon is a tasty and useful herb. According to WebMD, it's used to treat digestion problems, start menstruation and help sleep. As a disclaimer WebMD warns pregnant or nursing women not to have tarragon in medical doses, as it may start menstruation and effect pregnancy. It can also be used in certain soaps and cosmetics.

Here are a few of the recipes I found and tried out. This one I found on allrecipes.com.  It had a five star rating and when I made it, the taste was fantastic! 

Mathew's Bearnaise Sauce
1/4 c. White Vinegar
1/4 c. White Wine
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
3 egg yokes
1/2 c. melted butter
1 tbsp minced shallots

1. Combine the vinegar, wine, shallots, tarragon, salt and pepper in a sauce pan. Boil over medium heat until only 2 tablespoons of liquid remains. Strain the liquid into a large bowl. 
2. Bring several inches of water to a boil in the sauce pan over high heat, then reduce until barely a simmer. Whisk the egg yokes into the liquid reduction, then put the bowl over the simmering water. Whisk until the eggs are thick and have turned a pale lemon color. When the yoke mixture come out like ribbons when lifted from the bowl, remove from heat.
3. Slowly pour the butter into the egg yoke while stirring quickly. The sauce will separate from the butter if not stirred quickly and continuously. You'll know it's done when the sauce is thick and creamy. Serve immediately.

It tastes great over fish, chicken, red meat and various vegetables. I asked a few of my friends if they knew any good recipes. One of them had a good snack suggestion. She has it with feta and pita bread along with slices of cucumber and tomato with salt on them. Its a great summer snack. The best part? You can get most of the ingredients from you very own garden!  

Another delicious way of using tarragon would be oils or vinaigrette. An simple old family recipe I found is as follows: 
Ingredients needed:
1 Mason jar of any size
5 or 6 tarragon sprigs (about 1 cup)
1 1/2-2 cups white wine vinegar depending on the size of jar

First of all, wash the tarragon under cool running water. Then, put the sprigs in the mason jar, fill halfway with wine vinegar and lightly crush the leaves so that they looks bruised. This will release the oils in the tarragon. Add apple cider vinegar until about 3/4 full, stir leaves and fill the rest of the jar with the white wine vinegar. If you want, you may add any spices to taste. Seal the jar and let the vinaigrette sit in a cool dark place for 2-3 weeks. Enjoy! Keep in mind that this recipe can be used for other herbs as well.

I hope you all have a blessed and fulfilled day. Try out one of the recipes above. They are delicious, nutritious and many of the ingredients can be found in your garden.

Come! See the Garden!

It's raining! It's pouring! The young leaves are growing! The weather has been typical Indiana weather; undecided. It has been raining nearly all week, but as I sit here typing, the rain has cleared up and it is sunny outside. Oh well! God sent both the rain and the sun to help our plants grow. We've been busy bees in the garden these past few weeks. Two weeks ago we put leaves and mulch over the cucumber patch to help keep the weeds at bay.We're going for a nearly weed-free garden two years in a row! This past week has been maintaining what we have and watching as our young plants spring to life.

I can not wait until harvest time. Then we can see the fruit of our labor, but right now let's take a quick  look at what is growing in the garden. 

Remember, this is only a few of the lovely things we are growing here at South Paw Unity Garden. We would love to invite anyone interested to come and join us at the Garden! Thank you so much and God Bless! 

The spinach is growing so fast! 

The strawberries are beginning to sprout!

The mini herb garden- tarragon and mint

Rhubarb!!

The grape vines climbing up the back fence

Spring is Here Finally!

Praying mantis cocoon.

Our garden is waking up from a very long winter's sleep. Everything seems to have survived the cold winter, even some of the Brussels sprouts! I really can't believe they were still green on the bottom. Some of the gardeners have had a taste of the asparagus crop for the first time since they were planted three years ago. That was a wonderful surprise. Since we had covered the ground so well last year with cardboard and straw and mulch, the weeds are manageable for the first time in 5 years. I really love that! The Penn High School agriculture students have grown all our sprouts for us this year. We got the cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower in the ground already. Since it will be consistently warm for the first time this week, we will be getting the seeds and other plants in the ground. And just think, it is only the first week of May! We had the garden entirely planted way before this time last year, but every year is different so we will do our part and God can do the rest.

The Harvest Has Begun

We are getting to enjoy the produce of our hard work in the Spring. There is an abundance of yellow squash, beans, onions, cabbage and much more. I want to thank our gardening team this year for all their hard work in preparing the garden. We have not had to weed all that much because of it. The kids are having a blast collecting the produce they helped to plant. They always run to check out how big our 500 pound pumpkins are coming along. We don't have one that large but every week it is amazing how large it is getting. I could go on and on about the garden, but the pictures show more than I can convey with words. Thanks to all who have contributed to the success of the SouthPaw Unity garden. I also was to bless God for providing the perfect weather and plentiful rain making this year's garden the best ever.

 Our Work is Paying Off

It was a lot of work at the beginning to plant, to lay down tons of cardboard and mulch, but all that work is paying off! The garden is beautiful this year. I was working last night tying up tomatoes to stakes and looked around an almost weed-free garden. I almost cried when I saw the squash and other vines looking so pretty in the middle of the patch, blooming and putting forth fruit. The grapes vines are covered with grapes this year. The herbs are overflowing their containers and the corn is already tasseling. Broccoli is coming along nicely and the cabbage plants are beautiful. I think all the potatoes we planted this year will feed the whole neighborhood. Everywhere I look, there is a potato coming up.



The strawberries are done except for an occasional berry tucked under the leaves. But, I picked green beans, squash and an onion to cook for supper. Thanks to the dedication and all the hard work from our gardeners, this year is the best garden ever. And thanks to God for all the rain we have had this year so far. We have not had to spend a day watering the plants like last year at this time. Gardening is enjoyable and rewarding when the harvest starts coming in.

SPRING GARDENING

Big dark clouds didn’t stop our dedicated gardeners. They trickled in one by one, no one empty handed. Some brought cardboard and kneeling pads, others brought plants and fertilizer. Within a few minutes of our starting time everyone was there and eager to get to work. We dug trenches, cut and laid cardboard, covered the cardboard with straw, weeded the raised beds, and planted over one hundred broccoli, Brussels sprout and cabbage plants. In less than two hours, we were done. Everything was cleaned up, put away and our gardeners left one by one. Again, no one was empty handed. We left with bags full of parsley, rhubarb, thyme and chives.

But most importantly, we left with feelings of accomplishment, hope and excitement for what this gardening season holds.

Chives in blossom.

Sweet corn popping through the soil.

Below is a recipe recommended by Dianna for the rhubarb in the garden.

Rhubarb Meringue Squares

Crust
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling
3 cups fresh rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Topping
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flaked coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 8x8-inch square baking pan.

Crust: Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth;beat in egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and mix into butter/sugar mixture until a stiff dough forms; press into bottom and 1/2-inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until firm, about 15 minutes.
Filling: While crust is baking, in a saucepan over medium heat, mix rhubarb, sugar cinnamon and 2 tbsp water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and cook until rhubarb is soft, about 10 minutes. In a cup mix 2 tbsp of water with cornstarch, add to saucepan, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Spread over baked crust.
Topping: In a medium bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over rhubarb layer. Sprinkle with coconut. Bake 10 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Cool completely. Cut into squares.