In the garden now

The first of the green beans are finished. They were so welcome this year. Green beans that are fresh and not over cooked become almost sweet, I do think they are my very favorite vegetable. If you must choose them in a super market run your finger over them and if they don't feel just slightly furry they are too old and will not be optimal.

The yellow wax beans will be up next. As you can see, they are in full flower; it doesn't take much time from flower to bean. My grandson, Bobbie, and I just put in a final planting of Blue Lake Bush Beans. Well maybe it is the final. It sort of depends on what the weather people are predicting. As you can see, planting beans takes real concentration.



The rest of the garden is doing "as well as can be expected", I guess. That very long cold spell in June has slowed everything down. It has been chilly the last few days and it is expected to be colder this coming week. In this area the tomatoes are way beyond slow. From my neighbors to local garden blogs there are anxious comments. Even some of the grape growers are getting a little anxious. My daughter, El, who lives about 50 miles away, in zone 9, has already picked full sized tomatoes. Taking pity on me, she shared a few of the Kellogg's Breakfast from the seedlings plants I had sent her and they are delicious. Here, I have picked four cherry tomatoes and if truth be told, they really weren't as ripe as they should have been. I ate them in the garden.



Let's talk "weeds"






















Purslane (portulaca oleracea) is a "weed" everyone should get to know. It is listed as the seventh worst in the world because it is so pervasive. It grows flat to the ground with branches radiating like spokes of a wheel. The leaves very much resemble those of the Jade Plant, perhaps a little flatter and more paddle shaped. Circumstances can dictate the shape of a plant. My daughter, Cee, who is nurturing hers as a free food source, has the volunteers so crowded between her pepper plants that they are actually growing upright. I have a new batch growing between the rocks I placed to edge a bed. Purslane has delightful tiny yellow blossoms which if left to produce seeds will proliferate beyond your dreams. The plant is related to the flower, Portulaca. If Purslane is watered the leaves grow fat and healthy, if it is not watered it will probably survive. It is quite draught tolerant.



It is said that a weed is a plant that is in the wrong place. Here in the U.S. most of us have considered Purslane an annoying weed in an otherwise well tended garden. If we had first found it in a produce section, as they do in many other countries, it just might be at the top of our shopping list because of the nutrition it offers. In the rest of the world it may well top the shopping lists because they consider it a highly nutritional, good tasting vegetable. You can find recipes from India where it may have originated, and where it has been a major vegetable commodity. You can find it served in Germany (portulak or buerzelkraut), Italy (porcellana), Greece (andrakli or glistritha), Spain and Mexico (verdulaga) and in the Philippines (ngalog). In France (pourpier) it will be found served with fish and in Russia (donduri) it is often canned or dried to be used for winter nutrition. In this country chefs such as Hubert Keller have served it in very upscale restaurants. So why isn't it in your crisper?


It must have been a vegetable used here once. There is a rather fancy, somewhat complicated recipe in Charles Ranhofer's The Epicurean. He was chef at Delmonico's circa 1893. I found a similiar recipe in the more recent The Montana Cookbook (a fund raiser type book).


Recently Purslane has been elevated to one of the superfoods. For less than 30 calories per cup it provides vitamins C and A, iron, and just recently it was discovered that it is a great source of Omega 3. So, if you don't like fish, find fish too expensive, or worry about mercury or the salvation of the oceans, give it a look.

If you don't have a garden, speak nicely to someone who does or look for it at the Farmers' Markets; if you don't find it, ask the farmer if he/she has some to bring to market. Maybe it is in your CSA box. Often it can be found in big city Chinese markets where it might sell under its Philippine name. (See above.) Check with your trendy green grocer. You can purchase seeds for an upright, yellowish variety, portulaca sativa .... there are thousands of varieties. My personal preference is for the wild purslane.


Once you find it in your garden give it a little water and it will be with you for years. One of those tiny yellow flowers, left to it's duty, will shower the garden with thousands of seeds. It is easy to pull out if you get too many.


Recipes


Purslane has a slight lemony flavor which goes well in potato salad. If you can find just one plant in your garden give this a try.





Remove the roots if you pulled the entire plant and wash well. Wrap and store in the refrigerator until you want to use it. From the picture you will note the underside of the leaf has a reflective quality.








Potato Salad


Everyone has a favorite potato salad so we will just add to yours. (Mine is Yucan Golds one to one with hard cooked eggs and soaked onions, celery, S and P, real mayo and ...when my older daughter is elsewhere ... lots of fresh dill.) Cut the well washed green into small segments, and add it to almost any potato salad recipe. Adding the small stems of the branchlet is fine but the major stem should be discarded or saved in the freezer where you keep the pot herbs for vegetable stock.


Purslane is best with a potato salad that does not include pickles or relish which would compete.



Pickled Purslane


This is a quick pickle and needs to be stored in the refrigerator.



In each pint jar place:

1 dill flower head, or a handful of fronds
1 clove garlic
1 small hot pepper, whole (Serrano or Jalapeno)

Fill each jar with purslane which has been trimmed of roots and washed well, then separated into branchlets.


In each jar, add:

2 tablespoons salt
1/4 teaspoon alum*
3/4 cup white wine vinegar
Enough water to fill the jar


Place lid on the jar and shake well to distribute everything. Store in the refrigerator. Serve alongside of sandwiches, hamburgers or other summer lunch fare.


Tips

The pickles are best about one month after they are made, but check them each week to be sure they are not getting too much dill, garlic or pepper. If one begins to predominate more than you wish remove it. Serve as you would any other pickles.

*Alum should be available in supermarkets where they sell canning supplies or sometimes you find it in the spice section. It is used to keep pickles crisp.

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I submitted this pickle recipe to the Grow Your Own roundup of recipes for dishes made from the garden. (Ends Aug. 15, '09)

http://momgateway.blogspot.com/2009/07/grow-your-own-33-august-15-grilled.html

We appreciate all those who signed up as followers. It does a lot for moral here. So, we wanted you to know we did not dump you off the page. Apparently Google is having some problem with this gadget. We have reported it, as have many others. In response we have been put on a "spread sheet" which, I infer, means that they are going to gather data and see if they can find the problem and fix it. Patience everyone, especially me.