Spiced Persimmon Cake with Dates and Lemon Glaze

We discovered the persimmon tree in September when we noticed the golden orbs hanging from the branches. We hadn’t paid attention to the tree before because it was in a relatively inaccessible area behind our house and we had no idea what it was or what if anything it would produce, it had not set fruit until this year. When we found the fruit, we realized it was American persimmon (aka common persimmon and Eastern persimmon), which is a berry in botanic terms. The fruit is small, ranging 1 to 1-1/2 inches (2.5 to 4 cm) in diameter and very sweet when ripe.

Persimmons are autumn fruits that can hang on even after frost, and you can wait until after frost to gather them to ensure they are fully ripe. The leaves start to droop and fall off the tree as the fruit ripens. The persimmons should be very soft and even a little wrinkled before eating, otherwise they’ll have a chalky taste. If the fruit starts to drop when you shake the tree, they are pretty much ready. Read more

Grow Your Own #37 Round-up

Based on the emails I’ve received lately, my announcement of the Grow Your Own winter hiatus seems to have sparked concern, and I want to thank everyone for thinking of us. We are all well, no health problems, home life is just a little overwhelming right now. Caring for three little boys, two of whom have special needs, is a challenge and I have come to a place where I need a little break so I can find some balance at home. For now I will continue working in our garden, writing, and photographing, but without the self-imposed deadlines. I’ve dropped all freelance work for a little while and am assessing other things I participate in that have deadlines. This is not a permanent change, just a temporary adjustment to give us a breather. I will continue to write Grow Your Own posts in the coming months, I just can’t keep up with organizing an event until things settle down at home. Thanks to everyone for your understanding and support.

I hope you will continue to share your Grow Your Own posts on your blogs and will join us when Grow Your Own returns in the spring. Read more

Oven-Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Have I ever mentioned that purple is my favorite color? I find the color exhilarating and like plants that bear purple fruits and vegetables, including tomatillos.

Our tomatillo plants were slow this year along with everything else in the garden. The extended cold, wet spring put a damper on things, making everything slow to grow and blossom. We finally harvested some tomatillos a few weeks ago, much later than last year, and with the early cold snap this week we didn’t get much of a growing season at all. All we can do is preserve what we have and hope for better next year. Read more

Thai Basil Chicken (Kai Kraphao)

This dish is the main reason we grow Thai basil in our herb garden. We’ve grown many kinds of basil over the years and seem to have settled into a routine of Genovese, Lemon (Sweet Dani or similar), and Thai (Sweet Thai or Queen of Siam) basil because they cover the spectrum of our uses. The Sweet Thai variety we grew this year produces plants with purple stems and gorgeous purple flowers. Like most basils, the flowers are also edible and add a punch of anise flavor to Asian dishes. Our basils will last a few more weeks, then it will be time for the final harvest of the season and a marathon session making pesto (basic and sun-dried) and basil ice cubes. Read more

Zucchini Risotto

Zucchini season will soon come to an end, but there’s still time to enjoy this icon of the summer garden. We’ve made salads, pasta, bread, gratins, and all sorts of things with zucchini, even though it was a sad zucchini year for us after losing all our zucchini plants to garden pests.

Risotto is comfort food for me anytime of the year no matter what I put into it, and this one with zucchini and our fresh homegrown basil and garlic does not disappoint. The Grana Padano cheese adds a slightly nutty yet delicate flavor that is worth the search, but you can also substitute Parmigiano Reggiano if you can’t find Grana Padano. The recipe is adapted from My Italian Garden, by Viana La Place (in my personal collection), a lovely little book Read more

Grow Your Own #34, the Second Anniversary

I’ve been thinking about what I wanted to say for this post, perhaps something profound about growing our own foods and sharing them with others, or this being the second anniversary of Grow Your Own and how the event has evolved, but each month I come back to the same theme: how much fun it is to see what everyone is growing, hunting, foraging, and making. I always find ideas for new things to grow in your posts, and even though we may have some of the same foods in season, there is always a variety of dishes. I hope you find the posts as inspiring as I do.

Thanks to everyone who posted for the second anniversary of Grow Your Own! We had eleven thirteen participants from three four countries, and we cooked with our homegrown tomatoes, basil, methi, peppers, squash, onions, greens, pears, and lemon verbena. If I missed a post, please let me know.

Read more

Next Page »