Red Onion Marmalade

Red Onion Marmalade

Here are red onions from my garden.  What to do with these?  Red Onion Marmalade from Ball's Blue Book Guide to Preserving. Sweet marmalade that has a taste of onion dip, very tasty on a cracker with a dab of cream cheese. To my taste palate, this marmalade is addictive.

Yield: about 5 half-pints
1-1/2 cups thinly sliced, halved, peeled red onions
1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 package powdered pectin
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3 cups bottled unsweetened apple juice
4 cups granulated sugar

Saute onions, cranberries, brown sugar and cider vinegar in a skillet over medium heat, until onions are transparent.  Combine onion mixture, powdered pectin, orange peel and apple juice in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add granulated sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.  Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Eight Ball Zucchini 2016

Possibly my favorite zucchini variety on the planet.  I grow these from seed with great success; when conditions are just right, this plant gives forth a bountiful harvest; the fruit is tender with a delicate flavor; however, not the best for zucchini bread in my experience. As fruit formed this season, my squash balls would wither with blossom-end rot at about 1 to 1-1/2 inches in size.  Easy remedy...calcium deficiency in the soil. Purchased a good calcium-enriched vegetable plant food/fertilizer with immediate results.

Eight Ball Zucchini - 2016 harvest

From this plant my round zucchini grow

Basil

Here's how I grow basil in the hot Temecula sun.  This paper umbrella shades the basil enough to protect it from hot burning rays.  All I add is water and plant food when needed.  Last week our temperatures soared to above 100 F plus, but my basil survived. Beautiful basil but in truth, we're not big basil eaters, although I have already made pesto from this crop.

Almost springtime...2016

Flat-leaf parsley, white violas, German thyme, and a white Icelandic poppy.  Our fierce Temecula sun bakes the hard-pan dirt that's in my garden and amending the soil is quite labor intensive; thus I do a lot of container gardening.

2016 Winter Planting

Living in this temperate climate in Temecula, at the northern border of San Diego County, the weather variances are mild at best, although we do get a very small period of chill time.  This past winter, I've been holed up in the house entertaining guests during the holidays, as well as sewing, quilting and baking bread.  I thought I might have lost all interest in digging dirt, but my little garden beckons and with Spring in mind, I had to visit the nursery to buy those things that I grow every year about this time, here at the Casita:

1. Walla walla onion sets
2. Winterbor curly-leaf kale
3. Cheerful violas and delicate poppies
4. Bulbs that are already sprouted (daffodil and hyacinth)
5. Flat-leaf parsley, cilantro and German thyme

The onions and kale are planted, and the rest will go in this week.  As for the rest of the garden, my ultra-dwarf apple and peach trees, now in their second or third season, are pruned and now waiting for the miracle of spring.

Daffodils and violas

kale and onion sprouts

Summer harvest 2015; container gardening

"Eight Ball" Zucchini

I do believe plants do better grown in the ground if possible; however, My garden is small and I grow my veggies in raised beds or containers.  Why?  Poor soil, limited space, for better control, those kinds of things.  Here's the best of the 2015 summer garden, grown from seed, at Paz Casita.  These are Eight Ball Zucchini and Little Price Eggplant.  Both varieties purchased from Renee's Garden online; both varieties are great for container gardening.  As you can see, success!


Eight Ball Zucchini  These round-shaped zucchini are firm and have excellent flavor.  I have had great success in cooking them on the grill, marinated in Italian dressing; frying them after dusting with flour (I used Mochiko sweet rice flour) and then dipping in an egg batter; and also grated for zucchini bread.  Next I'll be putting up some zucchini relish.  Must say that I still have a whole refrigerator drawer full of zucchini; they just keep coming.

Little Prince Eggplant  It's mid-August and the fruit of this eggplant variety are now setting.  Pictured are two plants in a container purchased from Home Depot, which measures about 24" x 30" and about 14" deep.  There are lots of blossoms and I'm thinking there will be a bountiful harvest to come.  These eggplant are supposed to  reach about 3" in size; so far, mine are about 1-1/2".  I'm leaving them hanging to see how large they will grow before becoming too seedy

Gnomes, gnomes, gnomes

See what I mean?  It has gotten out that this is a gnome-friendly abode.  They are tucked in here, there and everywhere.

There be gnomes in her garden!

Gnomes are tucked in here and there amongst the flowers and potted plants.  There are a handful of these bearded fellows in my garden.  I wanted to create a magical fairy garden, but instead of fairies, gnomes appeared. Whimsical and charming, cheerful and hardworking; these fellows do not disappoint.

Bits and Pieces

Delphinium

Mrs. Beasley

Every morning I am in the garden, first thing.  Earlier this Spring, I did a number of plantings, bits and pieces of garden whimsy tucked here and there.  Mrs. Beasley has found a spot next to the yarrow patch, Coronation Gold.  The blue, blue delphinium are stunning, highlighted by white primrose plants, all of these harbingers of springtime. 

Springtime 2015

Has it been that long since my last gardening post?  Spring is here and I find myself back in the garden.

White Sage Infused Honey

White Sage growing in the garden

Harvested white sage, hung to dry

Dried sage leave, infusing in honey

I had decided to grow white sage in my garden, having read that this is the variety of sage used for cleansing or smudging, and medicinally as well.  In the hot, dry climate of Temecula, my sage plant thrived, although I had to spray the leaves from time to time with water, to be rid of pesky aphids.  White sage has a very strong odor, pungent and almost overpowering.  When the plant was fully developed, I gathered my sage and hung the branches to dry.  Recently, I was suffering the beginning twinges of a sore throat.  Honey works well to soothe my coughs and minor sore throats issues.  I had read about herb-infused honey and the medicinal properties of white sage.  So there you go...I have white sage and honey in a jar, steeping in the sun.

The onion 'n me

 

White Spanish Onion, summer harvest

O beautiful White Spanish Onion, I have waited patiently for you to grow.  See how round this one is?  14" circumference and perfectly shaped, I have plans for this one.

Sprouts growing in the garden

Summer harvest

Tah dah!  Time for yummy goodness!

Onions and Garlic, home grown

Onions and garlic, homegrown
 

Yesterday, I dug out the onions; a week before, the garlic.  Here's the harvest, in a shady spot outside, curing.  Both the onions and the garlic were grown in containers in a good quality, moisture-control potting soil mix. 

It's tomato time!





Here they are, heirloom tomatoes of the Marglobe variety, fresh from my garden.  My tomatoes grew small, measuring only 2" to 3" in diameter.  Aside from planting the seedling, purchased from the local nursery, and staking it early on, I did very little maintenance.  I was lucky in that there were no problems with hornworms or other kinds, and the plant has remained healthy and disease free.  From Wikipedia, I have copied the following information:

• "The Marglobe tomato was developed in 1917 by Frederick J. Pritchard of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Experiment Station by crossing the Globe and Marvel tomatoes ("Marglobe" is a fusion of the two names). It was publicly released by the USDA in 1925, and was one of the first disease-resistant strains that also had a good resistance to Verticillium and Fusarium wilt.^[1] The Marglobe tomato is the parent of many tomato varieties, such as Rutgers."

It's tomato time!

Better Bush tomatoes

Sun Sweet cherry tomatoes up front; plum tomatoes in the background

Mid-July and it's tomato time!  Tomatoes are ripening on the vine, and every day I pick a few.  This has been my most successful tomato growing season ever.  I attribute this partly to the varieties that I chose to grow this year and, more importantly, to the good growing conditions as a result of Ray's help in building raised beds and installing irrigation.  I have had zero success with zucchini and pumpkin and pulled the plants early due to mosaic virus and leaf miners that wouldn't quit.  Growing watermelons was another failure.  Homegrown watermelon, zucchini and pumpkins sound like such a fun project, but I doubt I'll be trying that again. 

"I'm just a lucky duck..."

Herb garden in the making...

This past weekend, Papa Paz worked in the hot summer heat, amending the poor soil on the hillside at Wienie Dog Hill, to prepare for fall planting and to help me realize my greatest dream: to create a heavenly herb garden.  It's not fall yet and probably a bit too warm to be planting; but, with careful tending and mindful watering, the plants should survive these hot Temecula summer days.  I have studied all the herb books in my library and have researched all kinds of herb varieties.  This a work in progress: planning, picking, and finally planting carefully selected herbs and flowers.  So far, I have put in one of each of the following: Barbeque Rosemary, Coronation Gold yarrow, French lavender, white sage, Echinacea (White Pow Wow), a miniature white rose bush, and a Lamb's Ear plant.  The soil is just perfect, thanks to Ray's good efforts, so now it remains for me to be patient and see how everything grows.  More likely than not, I'll be moving plants around like musical chairs until I find just the right balance.

Balsamic Marinated Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

Balsamic Marinated Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

One of the joys of having a kitchen garden is to take fruit, vegetables and herbs, fresh from the garden, and make something delicious to eat.  This summer, my Sun Sweet tomatoes have provided a bountiful harvest of sweet cherry tomatoes.  Yesterday I made this very delicious Balsamic Marinated Tomato and Mozzarella Salad to eat with dinner.  I used cherry tomatoes, basil and a clove of garlic, all grown in my garden.  Yummy delicious! 

Hot summer harvest...

Summer Harvest:  Jalapenos, Better Bush tomatoes, Sun Sweet cherry tomatoes

There are many gaps in my postings, from early spring where I left off, to now.  Here we are, already at mid-summer, in the midst of a hot and humid July.  The plants are not bothered by the humidity, and thrive with mindful watering and care; but for me, the humidity makes me wilt!  My zucchini (there was only one) succumbed early on to some kind of leaf virus, and I had to pull that one.  The Sugar Pie pumpkin plant (again, only one vine) didn't survive past its initial lush beginnings; my greatest disappointment.  I had also planted two Sugar Baby watermelon on the dirt hill and, so far, there is only one good-sized mini melon, almost ready to pick.  If I were to grow these again, I might put a protective covering over the vines to prevent leaf miner damage, and I would also enrich the soil with organic stuff.  But that's a handful of work for such hit and miss results, so I'll have give some thought to what goes into the garden next season.  All that aside, the jalapenos, and New Mexico peppers, as well as the tomatoes, are all thriving and giving fruit.  Besides jalapeno poppers, I'll have to think of what to do with so many jalapenos.  A girl can eat only so much salsa.

Seedlings and other things

Seedlings

Kale, sweet onions and garlic

At the end of April, here's a small peek of early spring at the Casita.  For the very first time, I planted veggie seeds for transplanting.  To my amazement and delight, they have sprouted and I now have healthy seedlings ready to go.  My selection include Tom Thumb peas, Sugar Daddy snap peas, a hybrid zucchini for small gardens, Micro Tom tomatoes (the world's smallest tomato plant?), bush cucumbers and Sugar Pie pumpkin seeds.  While we have a pretty big back yard, my actual planting area is limited; hence the micro-size selections.  The kale, green onions and sweet onions have flourished beyond my greatest expectations.  And the garlic is growing very well, too.  There's surely no greater pleasure that gathering one's own veggies from the kitchen garden.  Ray and I have enjoyed many green smoothies this season, using fresh-picked kale leaves.  Kale leaves, you may ask?  Mixed with bananas, pineapple and strawberry yogurt, the flavor is truly yummy.  As for roses, we've been in Temecula for nearly three years now and this year's been a bumper crop; healthy, fragrant and oh so sweet!  I've still much to do and, therefore, at this time of year, more likely than not, you'll find me in the garden.


Roses in full bloom, April 2013