The Advent Of Our First Frost
From the time I crawled out of bed this morning, I was in a near-constant state of motion, and most of it was directed at getting all my veggies harvested since we're on the advent of our first frost which they're saying our over-night lows tomorrow night are supposed to be in the upper 20's, but since I live in a lowland, it'll likely be two or three degrees colder.
Knowing how many times we'd planted Buttercup squash in our gardens which we sold every season, I was in shock to find that those three hills which I planted in late June, produced well over 100 of them, and for sure we never had even a quarter of that amount even on a good year back in those times. The extra rain and high temps we had this summer must've provided the perfect growing conditions for them. Now I'm gonna be on a burn to get them gifted to anyone who'd like to have as many as they'd like.
Having baked several of them already, I dare say they're absolutely wonderful in taste and texture. Any time someone tells me they don't like squash, they've eaten the wrong type or fixed it wrong. What I do, is bake them, and then scoop the meat into plastic freezer bags which I vacuum seal and then send to my freezer, just so I'll be able to have them for months to come. After they're thawed out, I simply place them in a sauce pan, add a little butter and get them readied as my meal's side-portion. My mother used to also add brown sugar to it, but I always thought it made it too sweet tasting.
I also managed to get all the carrots dug, and since I basically sowed them in wide rows without taking the time to thin them out, I dare say there'll be a good portion of them going to good causes as well. A friend of mine has already requested three squash and a grocery bag of carrots which I'll be dropping off tomorrow. I also get my carrots prepared by cleaning them really good and then sliced into smaller sections which I blanch and then send to vacuum freezer bags as well. I could eat those all natural home-grown carrots every day of the week, but you couldn't pay me to buy and eat those we find in the stores, as for whatever reason, they've always taste moldy to me.
The photo I posted last night, was of three giant beets, and one of them happened to be a white one. I gave away a good number of them, and the rest also got blanched and sent to the freezer. I'm not sure if I mentioned my having a number of weeks ago, tried out a popular British recipe which called for beets, so I made it, and it ended up tasting like a very rich and moist chocolate cake or brownie. Truth be told, I couldn't seem to stop going back for another piece. For sure I never would've thought beets being a required ingredient in a popular British cake recipe. Isn't it fun whenever we can learn something new like that?
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I'll likely go out before dark tomorrow night and pick the remaining half-ripe tomatoes which I'll be eating until they're gone. Even though I had a late crop, I've definitely had a good run at getting my fill of fresh tomatoes. This season was the first time in years I've planted the Brandywine variety, and for sure I'll be planting them again next year. They certainly make a good breakfast companion with eggs and toast. Am I making you hungry yet?
My old friend who earlier said his walnut trees had very few nuts on them, called today and said he found one in his grove which was dropping hundreds of nuts, so I ran out and picked up a much smaller amount than I did last year, and only because I'd gone overboard with the number I ended up having to crack this past winter. These coming days I'll have to get them shucked, washed and laid out to dry. I'll have to look for a stellar recipe which calls for them as well. It'll likely be a trial and error effort until I find a good one.
This was likely one of my most non-real estate days I've had in months, but at least I managed to stay ahead of the game with the coming cold, and yes, it was a delight being outdoors without having those wicked gnats bothering me.
Tonight's One-liner is: Every age has its beauty as long as we allow it to reveal itself.