Roasted Hot Peppers

This was a good year for peppers, and with the deer starting to wipe out everything in the garden, we've harvested all of the peppers, sweet and hot.  These peppers are Anaheims, not real hot, but hot enough for us.  (In the past we pickled Jalapenos and never ate them.)

For us, roasting peppers is a two day process; Jack grills them in the evening and lets them cool overnight.  Peppers should be grilled until the skin turns black and crispy.  Then put the peppers in a paper bag and fold over the top so the peppers are in a little steam bath.

   

When the peppers are cool, put on rubber gloves and strip the skins off with a sharp knife.  This is a messy job, but these peppers are so good on sandwiches all winter, you'll be glad you made them!!

Now pack the peppers in freezer jars: (straight sides, slightly wider at the top, because liquids EXPAND  as they freeze.) We put a little olive oil in the bottom of each jar, and drizzle a little more on top of the peppers once they're packed in there.  Probably not necessary to their keeping quality, but it gives them a nice consistency when thawed out, and after you eat the peppers, you can use the remaining oil in your salad dressing.


Put on the two part lids, label, and freeze. Be sure to leave 1/2 inch "head space" at the top of the jar to allow for expansion.

Here's a close-up of Jack stripping the skin off the pepper. 
I hesitated to post it here because I took this shot before he remembered to put on his gloves.

Leek Potato Soup

Here's a good way to use up some of those less than perfect potatoes from the home garden.  You know the ones I mean...poked by the potato hook, or tasted by the vole...

If you look closely, you may be able to see the holes in the potatoes.  I will cut away any bad parts and put them in the compost.  Also shown are my newly harvested leeks and some chives for garnish.  Leeks are great for cooking in a chunky soup like this because they break down so completely in the cooking process: giving the soup a full, creamy texture without the addition of cream (extra calories,) or the need to puree in an appliance (extra dishes to wash.)

Once you have gathered all your ingredients, set a kettle of water on to boil.  About two quarts will do.

Now chop your leeks into medallions about 1/8 inch thick.  Saute them right in the soup pot, to keep your dishes down to a minimum.  Saute in oil or butter, or a little of each.  Add salt, pepper, and dried basil or oregano.  I added some chopped chives and parsley as well. When leeks turn golden and translucent, carefully add about two inches of boiling water.  Then cut your potato into bite sized chunks and add to the boiling stock.  Add some chopped carrots if you have them. Keep chopping potatoes and adding them to the soup, adding more water as needed to keep everything covered. Simmer until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.

You'll notice that I've not given you specific amounts.  I've given you my basic process for making soup:

• bring 2 qts. water to a boil in a tea kettle while you chop vegetables
• in a stock pot saute the "aromatics:" onion or leeks, garlic, peppers, carrots, celery
• add boiling water or reserved vegetable cooking water from an earlier meal
• chop and add remaining vegetables from those needing most cooking time to those needing least
• simmer until all vegetables are desired tenderness.
• turn off heat and add 1 tablespoon miso dissolved in 1 cup cold water and stir in well
• garnish with fresh herbs and serve

Digging Spuds

Potatoes may be dug soon after they flower (mid-July here in the Northeast) for "new potatoes."  New potatoes are small, with thin skins.  The potatoes are tender and delicious with a minimum of cooking time.  "Parsley Potatoes" is a classic way to enjoy them.

Jack pulls up a potato plant in August to show a young fella
where potatoes come from!

For storage potatoes, however, we leave the potatoes in the ground till fall, allowing their skins to become a bit stronger, to keep good things in and bad things out, as they say...

You may dig potatoes for storage as soon as the plants die back.  The ideal tool for this is a potato hook, as seen in this photo.  My suggestion is to shop the tag sales for an inexpensive older tool, which will probably be more well-made than any that you would find for sale new.  Plus, you will be keeping your money local.

Here you see the straw much being pulled back to reveal the soft soil beneath.  And you usually find some small beneficial animals like this spotted salamander living under the protection of the mulch as well.



Spotted Salamander



Salamanders and earthworms improve the soil tilth (texture and permeability) by digging through the soil, and in the case of the earthworm, digesting it. Organic gardening practices allow these animals, and the soil micro-organisms that we can't see, to survive.  Chemical fertilizers and heavy machinery create dead, compacted soil that cannot easily absorb water.  (Recent flooding of the American Midwest can be blamed in part on short-sighted, profit minded, agricultural practices.)

Use the potato hook to gently lift the potatoes from where they rest, just below soil level.  Some damage from the hook is unavoidable, and any potatoes with holes poked in them should be eaten soon, for they will not keep.  Better yet, dig the potatoes with your hands.  Then you can feel around for the potatoes and pull them out without any damage at all.

Be sure to choose a dry, sunny day for potato harvesting.  The potatoes will come out of the ground with a bit of earth clinging to them, and you want to remove as much of this as possible before storage.  By leaving the potatoes to lie in the sun for a short time, this earth witll dry out, and can be easily rubbed off as you collect the spuds.  But you do want to get the potatoes out of the sun, and out of the light for that matter, as soon as possible.  This is because light causes poisonous alkaloids to form, showing up as a green tinge on and just under the skin.

Ideal storage conditions are cool, dark and humid.  A cold cellar is ideal, but the basement may work as well.  You don't want to store your potatoes in the garage or in a shed where they might freeze.  Store only damage free potatoes and do not wash before storing; just wipe off any excess soil, as mentioned above. 

These potatoes have been separated out because they have suffered some damage and aren't good candidates for storage.  Some have fork pokes, but most have been nibbled on by voles.  Voles look like moles, but they eat vegetables, whereas moles eat meat. (V=vegetables, M= meat, get it?)  These potatoes wil be eaten right away as soup.  Just cut off the damaged portions and salvage what you can.  Approximately 20% of our potato crop was attacked by voles.  Just one of many examples I could give of why I have no patience with people who complain about the prices at farmer's markets!

But just so I don't end this posting on a rant about voles, I will share a photo of our friend the earthworm.  One of the many benefits you gain from a nice layer of straw is great crop of large, happy earthworms!