Green Beans

It's that time of year when things are producing quickly. Last weekend I pulled up my peas. Some of the plant were six feet long! I have never seen such tall plants before. They produced very well too. I think it was because of all the rain and cool weather this year. Underneath I had planted green beans. My peas had collapsed over the green beans because they were so heavy so some of the plants look a little sad. However, a lot of the bean plants already had beans ready to pick. I also made a trellis up the side of the shed next to the garden and planted pole beans. They are as happy as can be in that location. I love to eat beans in a lot of ways: steamed, stir-fried, etc.

One of my favorite bean recipes is a "copycat" recipe. If you go to TGI Fridays order the fried green beans, or make them at home. It's not the healthiest way to eat them, but they are so good! I got the recipe here: http://www.recipezaar.com/Copycat-Crispy-Green-Bean-FriesTgi-Fridays-191793. I also like the dip in grilled turkey burgers. It makes a great sauce.

Ingredients

Wasabi Cucumber Ranch Dip
1/2 cup bottled ranch dressing
1/4 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, minced
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper

Green Beans
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
6-8 ounces fresh green beans
1 cup flour
1 cup plain breadcrumbs or seasoned dry bread crumb
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
vegetable shortening, for frying or vegetable oil

Directions

1. Combine dip ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Place in bowl; cover and chill till ready to use. Dip will thicken as it chills.
3. Place beans in the broth.
4. Bring to a boil and cook 15 minutes, then place in cold water to stop cooking process.
5. Mix beaten egg with milk in a shallow bowl.
6. Measure 1 cup of flour into another shallow bowl.
7. Combine bread crumbs, 3/4 teaspoons salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder into a third bowl.
8. Take a handful of beans out of the water and shake off excess liquid.
9. Coat the beans with the flour, shaking to remove excess flour.
10. Dip the beans, one at a time, into egg/milk mixture, then dip in breadcrumb mixture.
11. Place the beans on a plate until all are coated.
12. Heat the shortening or oil to 350°F in a heavy skillet(or use deep fryer). Use enough to cover the beans, about 1 1/2 inches.
13. Fry until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes.
14. Drain on paper towels.
15. To serve, place on a large platter and serve with the wasabi cucumber ranch dip. Enjoy!

Raspberry Honey-Butter and Sixty-Minute Rolls

This is a recipe that I got from my sister Judy. I think it is the recipe that was used at the Inn at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It's another really easy recipe.

1 lb. softened butter
8 oz. honey
8 oz. raspberry preserves
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:Whip softened butter until very light and fluffy. Use a whipping paddle if possible. Whip in honey, then preserves and vanilla. Keep refrigerated.

This roll recipe I found a few years ago, probably online. I don't remember exactly where. This recipe is so nice because it really does only take 60 minutes, and they turn out really good. If you don't want to have them as rolls you can flatten out the dough and fry to make scones. Mmmm.

3 1/2 to 4 1/2 c. flour
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. yeast
1 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1/2 stick butter

Directions:In a large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast. In a saucepan, combine milk, water and butter. Heat to very warm (120 to 130 degrees). Gradually add to dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto floured board and knead, about 5 minutes. Place in warm place to rise 15 minutes. Make rolls, put in greased pan. Let rise 15 minutes. Bake at 425 degrees, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Raspberry Buckle

I actually got this recipe from the Martha Stewart website. I made it and served it warm topped with vanilla bean ice cream and hot fudge. It was quite the hit and so easy to make. Next time I might throw in either white chocolate or chocolate chips.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for baking dish
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 containers (1/2 pint each) raspberries (2 3/4 cups)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart oval or square baking dish. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to combine. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder; with mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture until incorporated.

Spread batter in baking dish. Scatter raspberries on top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean and top is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes; dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. With a large spoon, scoop out onto serving plates; serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

Raspberries and Peas

I have to admit that we don't often use fresh peas in recipes or for freezing. Why? Well, the reason why is that we pretty much eat what pick. There is nothing like fresh peas from the garden. Mmmm! I can't believe how much everything has grown this year, especially peas. Here in UT June was unseasonably rainy and cool. I only had to water my garden once in the month of June. It has been so nice. I staked my peas up as usual, but to my surprise they grew twice as high and ended up toppling over in a big mound. It's no problem really. I just have to hunt a little better, but hunting for fruits and veggies is one of my favorite things.

Raspberries - I have a confession to make. Do not throw rocks. I don't like many fruits because of the texture, however I love growing and canning them. Am I crazy? We've had a lot of rasberries so far this year, but my husband and daughter have been eating them almost as much as I can pick them. I'm finally getting enough berries that I might be able to make some things with them.

First thing I will make is raspberry jam. Be really nice and kind to me because I like to give away raspberry jam, and raspberry honeybutter. I also have a good recipes for things made with berries that I'll post when I finally get enough berries to make things out of them.

Jam - For those of you who haven't made jam before it's actually quite simple. Freezer jam is especially easy to make. If you are going to process the jam you will need canning jars, however if you are making freezer jam all you need are any kind of freezable containers. Freezer jam does not need to be processed, and you can store it in your freezer for a year. The most important thing you need (besides berries of course) is this:

The brand doesn't matter much, but you do need fruit pectin. If you are doing raspberries you will need 3 cups of crushed raspberries. It's very important you don't double jam raspberries, because the pectin won't turn out right and you will end up with runny jam. I think by tomorrow I will have enough to start making my jam. I of course need to make sure I have enough to make the jam, and enough for my husband and daughter to eat for the day :)

If you want a great canning and freezing website, this one is one of my favorites: http://pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm

Squash Bugs

Here is another gross bug update. As I was walking through my garden yesterday morning I spotted this:

Not only were there one, but there were 4 groups of them mating. Nice. They are squash bugs. I have always joked that growing zucchini is like growing a weed. It's not very difficult to do. However, last year we were eating and enjoying our zucchini when I noticed this:

There were hundreds and hundreds all over the plant. I couldn't believe it. The next day my zucchini plant was completed wilted, and it took just a few more days until it completely died. The little critters were all over. Thank goodness we'd already had our share of zucchini that year.

However, this year I've been eyeing the zucchini I'm going to pick any day when I saw the aduts mating. I quickly did a search online for any organic way to get rid of them. A couple of suggestions were to put a board next to the plant. The next morning they will all accumulate under the board and you can quickly try to squash them, or throw them in a bucket of soapy water. Most online articles stated that it was always difficult to find or kill all the bugs so it is sometimes a worthless battle. I turned over the leaf and saw some eggs. I wasn't willing to risk it. While I try to grow things as organically as I can this called for drastic measures.

I'm pregnant and can't deal with insecticides so I got my trusty husband. I pointed to the insecticide powder I have in the garage. First we tried to kill what we could, then I had him apply it with a paintbrush I always keep in the bag on all stems, leaves (bottom and top). I also had him go to the cabbage because even though a few posts ago I said I didn't have cabbage worms I saw the moths flying around the garden, and I saw some eggs. I'll just make sure I wash my veggies good. Most of the insecticide will be gone by then anyways, but I'll make sure to wash and soak the veggies 3 or 4 times before we eat them.

Today, go to your garden, check pumpkins, summer squash, fall squash plants, and any kind of squash-like veggies to make sure you don't have them on your plants. They will totally demolish them.