"The best laid schemes o' [Bread] an' [Wom]en, gang aft agley"

See my bright, shiny new toy?

I was ecstatic to see it on my porch today. You see, I have 3 pounds of hard red winter wheat berries from the Farmer's Market that I want to grind into whole wheat--real whole wheat: bran, germ, and endosperm all. I have been waiting three weeks to grind this wheat, and had finally found a manual cast-iron, tinned grain mill on eBay that I felt I could afford. With shipping, it cost just over $48, which I thought a reasonable cost given the fact that it would last me a very long time.

It came in the original box (manufacturer: King; model # 3336-0) in about 5 pieces, which I managed to put together based on the picture on the box. It was quick and simple to assemble, which pleased me immensely--I am not mechanically inclined. Just ask my hubby, who can tell you about the just-shy-of-hysterical (I do not mean hysterical in the sense of humorous, by the way; rather, I mean hysterical in the sense of crying/screaming/cursing illogically while resisting the nearly overpowering urge to crush the remote control with a cement block) fits I throw when I can't make the remote control make the television upstairs do what I want it to do. Which is one reason I got the hand-crank model instead of one of the fancy-schmancy digital models. It's safer for all involved, especially the mill.

Except I can't. make. it. work.

To test it out, I dumped in a couple of handfuls of the wheat berries and began happily grinding. The result was a bit too coarse, so I tightened the bolts on the thingamabob that puts pressure on the gears and began grinding again. About the time I finally got the gears adjusted to the right grind, the gear began slipping. As best as I, with my non-mechanical mind, can tell, the gear sort of fits into the thingamabob that runs through the center. When it isn't fitted right, the crank doesn't turn the gear. But now I can't figure out how to get the bleeping gear to stay fitted to the center whatchamahoogie. Seriously frustrated, I gave up for the evening in the hope that hubby can help me sort out the problem in the morning.

Meanwhile, I did take my curing bread-and-butter pickles out of the refrigerator and put them in jars for the freezer. I managed nine 1/2-pints, with more to be made tomorrow, along with homemade tomato sauce--I just need some fresh celery for the recipe.

If anybody has dealt with this problem before, please help!

The Zucchini Just Won't Give Up

Every time I think the zucchini is nearly done, it surprises me with more. Today's harvest brought in 5 more zucchini, with more lurking in the plants for future harvest. Part of me wants to just mow down the plants and forget about them, but the more practical side of me thinks, "what a waste of perfectly good food." So no mowing; I'll just keep harvesting until they give up. I still haven't dealt with the leaf mold, but I've been working so hard on making pickles before the cucumbers I've harvested rot and dehydrating fresh herbs that I haven't had time to do the research.

I harvested 4 more Beefsteaks today, and these are getting much healthier looking than the first batch. I also brought in 84 more sun sugar tomatoes. Those plants are definitely prolific! It won't be long now before the heirloom plants start turning, and I'm looking forward to taste-testing the different varieties.

I didn't check the cucumbers today--I have no room for them in the refrigerator right now. Today I've got some giganticus zucchini to chop and freeze, and until I get that done, I can't get into my chest freezer. How do people keep up with their harvests?

TOTAL PRODUCE COUNT TO DATE:
Zucchini: 87
Cucumbers: 88
White Onions: 1
Yellow Onions: 1
Sun Sugar Tomatoes: 312
Beefsteak Tomatoes: 14
Best Boy Tomatoes: 4
Herbs: cilantro, mint, dill

Purple Is Not Just for Barney

I promise--I did not Photoshop this picture to get the purple hue you see here. This head of cauliflower is truly purple.

It was the last head of purple cauliflower the farmer had at today's farmer's market in downtown Bloomington. I try to get to the farmer's market every Saturday morning to pick up organic meats, produce, and herbs. I couldn't believe how beautiful this cauliflower was, and decided to try it.

The coloring comes from anthocyanins, phytochemicals responsible for the purplish color in cabbage, leaves, and other vegetation; this cauliflower variety is richer in antioxidants than its white counterpart. The color is a little off-putting, but the farmer assured me that it takes just like "regular" cauliflower. I will cook it up tomorrow and then let you know what I discover.

In addition to the cauliflower, I purchased a 5-lb. bag of sweet walla walla onions, more green and chocolate beauty peppers, some green onions, radicchio, red-leaf lettuce, dill, cilantro, and chicken drumsticks--all chemical-free. I also picked up a 3-lb bag of hard red winter wheat berries. I had no idea what to do with them, but the farmer said I could grind them to make my own wheat (although I do not yet have a flour mill, although I'm looking for a reasonably priced one) or could soak, cook, and eat them like hot cereal. I found a couple of recipes online that use red winter wheat berries, so I will soon give those a try.

My goal with farmer's market food is not only to eat fresh healthier, chemical-free produce now, but I've started freezing the produce so I'll have almost-fresh, healthier, chemical-free produce over the winter. Today I managed to chop and freeze the green onions (about 1 1/2 cups, separated into 1/2-cup packages) and green and chocolate beauty peppers (about 5 cups total, separated into 1/2-cup packages). I also baked two loaves of zucchini bread (which won't make it to the freezer) and am in the process of shredding some more zucchini and also chopping some zucchini for winter soups. The cucumbers I'll throw in the refrigerator for future bread-and-butter pickles and perhaps even freezer dill pickles (I just found a recipe).

Tomorrow I'll tackle chopping the walla walla onions. I'm not sure how powerful they'll be--today's green onions were powerful enough to get my eyes burning and tearing--but I'll manage somehow. Come winter, it will be a delight not to have to chop any onions--just open the Ziploc bag and pour!

Gardening Is a Full-Time Job

I can't keep up.

The zucchini were bad enough, and they still keep coming. But OMG, the cucumbers have kicked in now! Here's today's count: 7 zucchini, 11 sun sugar tomatoes, and 20 cucumbers. (I promise I will get you a running total of produce harvested in the next week.)

I'll be out of town for the next couple of days, so I'm hoping that by the time I return, I'll have some of the bigger tomatoes ready. I'm looking forward to a light, summery cucumber-tomato vinaigrette salad! Of course, that means we need a few hot, humid days, and Mother Nature hasn't been truly cooperative in the weather department this summer.

I spent time this evening washing freezer canning jars so I can move my first batch of bread-and-butter pickles into the jars for freezing. Tomorrow, I'll set a few cucumbers aside and turn the rest into a second batch of bread-and-butter pickles. I also diced and froze 10 beautiful peppers I bought at the local farmer's market--6 green peppers, 4 chocolate beauties (although they were picked before they became "chocolate"), and a lilac pepper. I just mixed them all and then separated them into snack-size Ziplocs, 1/2 cup of chopped pepper mix per baggie, and then bagged all those in a gallon-size Ziploc that I labeled and dated.

The okra and sunflowers continue to grow. The cilantro is growing but hidden beneath cucumber vines, as is one of the dill plants; the other has shot up above the cucumber plants. When I return from my trip, I'm going to harvest some of the mint we have growing wild in our yard and play with my dehydrator. I'm not sure what I'll do with a bunch of dehydrated mint, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

The dishwasher has stopped, which means I have clean, sterilized canning jars calling me.

Bring on the Pickles!

I finally found my recipe for freezer bread-and-butter pickles last night, still packed away in a box from the move with all the loose recipe sheets I never got organized. After looking over the recipe, I realized that the cucumbers I picked yesterday would not be enough for one batch of freezer bread-and-butter pickles.

So I headed back out to the garden this afternoon and found 11 more, for a total of 20 harvested, and promptly set out to clean and slice them. The recipe is very easy--my kind of recipe--and doesn't require any kind of canning. You can freeze them in canning jars designed for the freezer or in freezer bags, whichever you prefer. I've used freezer bags in the past, but this year, I'm going to freeze in canning jars. That way, I can give them away as gifts much easier and can reuse the jars. Plus, I don't have to worry about the mess I always make trying to transfer the pickles and juice from the bags to a jar for current use.

To show you just how easy this recipe is (and I can attest to its tastiness), I've provided the recipe below. As usual, I have made an adaptation, so I'll give you the recipe as it was given to me and then tell you how I change it.

EASY FROZEN PICKLES

16 c. cucumbers, sliced thin (not peeled)
1 c. onions, sliced thin (I leave this item out and substitute another cup of cucumbers)
3 Tbsp salt (I use sea salt)

Combine the above ingredients, then set aside for three hours. Rinse and drain. Meanwhile, mix together

2 c. white vinegar
4 c. sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. powdered alum
1 tsp. whole mustard seed

Set aside for three hours, stirring often to dissolve sugar. After three hours, pour over cucumbers and onions. Refrigerate for several days, then put in containers and freeze.

These pickles are crisp and very refreshing--I think you'll enjoy them!

Cucumbers at Last!

Harvested 9 cucumbers this evening, with the promise of more in just a day or two. It's time to break out the freezer bread-and-butter pickle and the marinated cucumber recipes. Add to the cukes 4 more zucchini and 23 sun sugar tomatoes and a few sprigs of dill for today's total harvest.

Note: I will be spending the evening shredding zucchini for freezing until my arms fall off. At least I can do it while I watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Hornworm update: Upon investigation, hubby and I spied two more hornworms this evening, which met certain death. I plucked them and David stomped the first one.

Those two hornworms stripped the leaves from several tomato stems, and one of them was cheeky enough to eat one of the green tomatoes. It looked like he had been pretty darn hungry, because as you can see, a little more than half of the tomato is gone (with a big pile of what I can only assume is hornworm poo --not shown--globbed up where a couple of stems bifurcate). For his blasphemy, he was killed with a large rock and, five minutes later, had become bird food.

It looks like I will be on hornworm patrol daily now if I want any tomatoes.

Pickles on the Horizon

I've been looking every day since the cucumbers blossomed to see if I had any cucumbers actually growing. Today, I spotted this little guy, about the size of a small gherkin pickle. My first cucumber, I cooed.

And then I spied another one. And another one. And another one. They're all fairly small, although some are bigger than this one. But within a couple of days, I suspect I'll have pickable cucumbers.

I did pick one today, despite its small size. I couldn't help myself. It wasn't fully grown by any means, but I have been dying to be able to pick that first cucumber, and decided today was the day. I also harvested two more sizable zucchini (not shown--I'm getting tired of photographing zucchini) and three sun sugar tomatoes. How sweet they are!

I can hardly wait for pickable cucumbers so I can make freezer bread-and-butter pickles...