Picking, Gathering, Baking, Preserving

I just love preparing food this time of year - both cooking and baking. The delicious flavors and varieties.

The children have been having fun collecting raspberries from our woods and Abby found a recipe in the King Arthur Catalog (which she loves to look through but we don't generally buy from) for scones and she added raspberries instead and most of the children loved it so she baked some more just two days later.

We have been collecting the chamomile blossoms each day to dry and use for our tea this winter

~chamomile growing in our garden~

~collected and left to dry~

Our neighbor has generously offered to allow our family to pick from their amazing blackberry patch. Many are probably about 10 feet tall. After our first picking, we will be sure to dress better, in long pants and long sleeves with gloves. The thorns are a bit tough. But the work is all worthwhile. We will be going back at least two more times. So far one pie and one blackberry crumb have been made. After buying some organic lemons at the natural foods store today, I will make blackberry jam.

~my favorite pie crust, from one my favorite cookbooks ~ The Amish Cook, by Coblentz & Williams~

~waiting for the bread to rise to put both in the oven~

What are you picking?

Warm wishes,

Tonya

From Garden to Table

We had purchased some organic bulghar wheat at the natural food store and I had Tabouli on my mind on this very hot day.

Skimming through my favorite cookbooks I came across a great recipe in the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.

So I took a stroll through our gardens to see what else I could find to include in the tabouli.

Here is what I found after a brief walk. I had already pulled, washed and grated some carrots earlier in the day to include in the salad.

~pepper, parsley and chives for the salad, the lavender and egg I put aside for other uses~

Here is the recipe I used for the Tabouli :

You should begin to soak the bulghar at least 3 hours before serving time. It needs to thoroughly marinate and chill.

1 cup dry bulghar wheat

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 heaping tsp. crushed, fresh garlic

1/2 cup chopped scallions (I used chives)

1/2 t. dried mint (I used finely chopped fresh mint, about 2 Tablespoons)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 medium tomatoes , diced (we didn't have these yet, so no tomatoes but soon)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup chopped cucumbers (didn't have these ready yet either)

1 chopped green pepper

1) Combine bulghar, boiling water and salt in a bowl. Cover and let stand 15 - 20 minutes.

2) Add lemon juice, garlic, oil and mint and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate 2 -3 hours.

3) Just before serving add the vegetables and mix gently.

Warm wishes, Tonya