Precious Delights Part 1

Sorry, I have been away for awhile, taking care of the goodies that I have been blessed with in my own cupboard.  I feel like a quick update is way over due...so here it goes...

Peaches.  My last couple of posts were about the Lil Peach Tree that could. The peaches were starting to turn red, and they were starting to drip sap.  I am a little disappointed to have to announce that from there, it got extremely hot and dry, and most of them fell off the tree before ripening.  The good news is that I have 2 other peach trees, and now I am hoping the best for their future...we'll see.  To recap the peach tree that could, here is photographic story of how it appeared to me at different stages of the season...it may not have bared any eatable fruits, but it definitely showed off its beauty along the way...

3/6/12  Bare tree...

3/11/12  A few buds are popping up...

3/15/12 The blooms opened...

3/21/12  More blooms...

3/23/12  Blooms and Leaves...

4/3/12  All leaves...

4/25/12  Lots of leaves and little peaches...

5/14/12  This is about all she produced :(. Better luck next year!

Cucumbers & Squash. This year I went out on a limb and tried my hand at growing squash and cucumbers, too.  They did real well until the temperatures here were 100 degrees or higher for 10 days straight.  I have now laid them to rest until next year. But, check out what I was blessed with before they withered away...I had 1 eatable cucumber with all of it's pricklies, and 2 squash, who showed off their beautiful blossoms before leaving me.  It just seemed like I could not keep them watered enough, and next year I think I will plant them directly in the ground, instead of in large pots. You live, you learn, I guess.  On the bright side, it was a pleasure watching them grow!

Grapes.  My mom and step-dad assisted my husband and I with the trimming back of the much dreaded grapevines. They hadn't been touched in at least 10 years, and were full of poison ivy, morning glory, and honey suckle.  We spent many, many hot and sticky hours cleaning and pulling out unwanted plants by their roots.  This was not an easy job.  Ken cut them back first with a special piece on his weed eater. The vines bled abundantly.  But much to our surprise, for the first time in the 9 years I have lived here, we have recognizable grapes!  The new growth seems very happy, taking over the old chicken wire, which was originally placed by Charles' grandmother and grandfather.  We are pretty sure that we have at least two different types of grapes, one on each side, one of them being the concord, which are harvested in the summer, and the other one being scuppernongs, which aren't harvested until the Fall. So far, I have only gathered small hand fulls at a time of the concord grapes, not really enough to do anything with.  I am hoping they will do better next year since they were severely trimmed this year.  There may be some grape jelly in my future for next year...we shall see!


Well, I guess that's a wrap, until next time...stay tuned for Part II...I have plenty more to share!

Spring Is In the Air, & Everywhere!

Spring is (almost) here!  I say that lightly, because here in North Carolina, it has been a very mild winter, allowing for an early Spring, and I could not be happier!  The trees are budding...and you know what that means?!?!  It means the fruits of our trees and plants will be here very soon!

So, during the first week of March, I ventured out of the cupboard and looked for the first signs of Spring.  To my surprise, I found my lilies popping above ground.  My outside cat, Amber, was rolling in the warm sun, watching the birds.  And last but certainly not least, I found the cherry, peach, and crabapple trees with tiny innocent little blooms!  What a nice surprise!  Guess it's time to start cleaning out the flower beds!   

Bubbly Summer Apple Triple Crust Cobbler

The refreshing yet warm, country smell of apple cobbler reminds me of Fall, only a little bit early...cinnamon, brown sugar, and of course, the crisp yellow apples.  

To me, the best thing about a cobbler is the crust.  If you agree, you would love, love, love this!  It has a soft bottom crust, a crisp top crust, and an extra crispy crust drizzled over the top before baking.

This extra crispy, thin crust is what makes this cobbler delish.  Made of equal parts brown sugar and butter, and a little flour, it gives the apples a caramel kiss of flavor.  You can almost eat it like a cookie, sopping up all of the melted ice cream and applesauce that has left its mark on your plate.

The second best part has to be the home grown apples.  They are the bigger and better this year, the best I have seen in the 8 years I have lived here. I am still unsure what type of apples they are, other than a gracious, soft, yellow apple, not too sweet, and not too tart.  They seem a little mealy, but nothing a little cooking can't fix!

And last but not least, the cobbler must be eaten warm with a nice scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, slowly melting down the sides.  After this scoop of vanilla, I just might have to switch to the butter pecan...hmmmmm.

The end product is a warm, thick, and bubbly cobbler, with a cool, creamy melting ice cream, tart summer apples, and lots of homemade love in my tummy!

Crabapples are such a yummy treat!

The low branches were hanging full!

The center contains seeds like an apple.

These tiny and tart fruits are similar in appearance to apples.  They grow in bunches with a stem similar to those of cherries.  They have an extremely tart flavor, comparable to lemons.

Crabapples are grown normally for their ornamental abilities.  But I was curious.  Since they were an edible fruit, I figured there had to be some way to utilize the bearing fruit.  The only recipes that I found were for jelly, chutneys, or cooked in addition to another ingredient, mainly because they are inedible by themselves.  They are packed with a natural fruit gelatin called pectin, which is the ingredient that causes jelly to thicken.  When cooked with sugar and pushed through a sieve, they produce this wonderful, flavorful, vibrant, ruby jelly.

Crabapples are very labor intensive.  I spent about half an hour plucking these delights from the tree.  I was accompanied by the sound of a gray dove somewhere in the distance, and a light breeze to keep me cool.

Wonderful as an afternoon snack!

Next I took them inside, removed the stems (which was no easy task), and thoroughly washed them to remove the bloom ends.  They were then cut, cooked, and strained.  Sugar was added, and the pulp was reduced once more.  Then it was poured into a glass jar and allowed to cool overnight. Definitely well worth the wait...even Charles enjoyed it!

From my very own tree!

There is absolutely nothing better than harvesting your own fruit to fill your own tummy and fridge...

Delights from My Garden--Part 2

As the summer continues, my cupboard continues to fill with lots of tasty things, some with a childhood memory attached, and others left open to start new beginnings.  I will begin with the grapes.

"I heard it through the grapevine.."

Their twisty, curly vines wrap around the man- built frame, supporting tiny bunches of premature grapes; accompanied by the sweet smell and honeysuckle.  The grapes are a new and exciting venture for me, I can't wait to see how these tiny bundles of joy grow!

Honeysuckle contains a sweet, edible nectar. 

 Next up are the famous wild blackberries.  To me, summer just isn't summer without them.  I spent many summers picking blackberries in the dark until my fingertips turned purple...now that's love!

Looks like the critters enjoy them too!

I enjoy eating them just as they are, right off the vine, or, rinsed and chilled (if they make it back to the house). But, my all-time favorite would still have to be homemade blackberry cobbler (right out of the oven), topped with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.  Summertime lovin'...lovin in the summertime!

The blackberry "bush"

Blackberries...Take Me Back To The Good 'ol Days

Sitting here eating blackberries...soft yet crunchy, sweet yet tart...takes me directly back to my childhood. I vividly remember picking wild blackberries in the edge of the woods on a hot, humid summer night. Most of the time it was a treat after a long day of hauling corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, squash, potatoes and butter beans to the house from Gingi's garden. The sound of tree frogs and crickets in the background, the setting sun (if it wasn't already dark), sweat dripping down from Gingi's sweat band ,and the smell of honeysuckle. There was nothing better than sticking your already dirty hand into a prickly bush, and finding that big fat juicy berry. The end result...purple stained fingertips and seeds in your teeth...yummy, yummy, yummy, I got love in my tummy!


I will also never forget the red bike tire tracks I received while picking blackberries...;)