I never met a zucchini I didn’t like. I’ll grill them, relish them, pickle them and freeze them all season long. But at least once (or twice) a summer I’ll bake up a storm with them too. And over the years I’ve tried and loved many versions of zucchini breads and desserts- but I think I’ve settled on this as my favorite. Adding some fresh whipped cream and sour cherry sauce doesn’t hurt either…
Cucurbit What? All squash and zucchini are in the Cucurbit family (along with cucumbers, melons, gourds etc.) All zucchini are squash, but not all squash are zucchini…
There are few crops as funky, dependable and well loved as garlic. For good reasons too! Garlic, and the other bulbs in the Allium family (like onions and shallots) add the base flavor to meals the world over. They’re easy to grow, easy to store and easy to cook with.
Humans have been cultivating garlic for over 7,000 years! In that time, we’ve selected variations in flavor, size, growth habits to come up with roughly 700 current varieties.
Welcome to summer at its best – Fresh Garden to Table Eating that celebrates so many of our favorite flavors of the season!
This is a great flexible recipe that can be changed to what you have on hand.
We eat this is as a chilled meal during high summer. While some might call it a salad, I see it as more of a base to add other things to; from leftover grilled chicken, some sourdough slathered with pesto… We’ve also added cooked and cooled cannellini beans to this for a protein boost. If you add beans, plan to add more dressing to keep the flavors balanced.
We’ve garnished with balsamic vinegar, pesto, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, olives, or whatever Italian flavors feel right that night. The main idea with this meal is to let the flavors from the garden shine. All the herbs in this recipe are easy to grow.
You can make this with regular pasta or use zucchini noodles (zoodles) or both if you have split family preferences like we do.
Filling your basket with fresh picked herbs is one of those garden routines. It is by far one of the more glamorous parts of gardening (much better than mixing compost or weeding, right!?!) so don’t skip this joyful garden practice.
Whether you are growing herbs for cooking, herbal tea or the medicine chest there are a few tips to harvesting and preserving that I’ve learned along the way…
Favorite Homestead Herbs
Here are a few of my favorite (which also happen to be the easiest) herbs to grow. Watch a recent video of me harvesting herbs growing in my garden HERE on my @forksinthedirt Instagram.
As sunlight hours (if not warmer temps) return to Minnesota, so do the backyard eggs. This gluten free Strata recipe is a beautiful way celebrate the return of spring and fresh eggs. It is also a healthy family favorite, and a great way to sneak in all kinds of veggies.
On Our Suburban Homestead
I love how our chickens help keep us in tune with nature’s cycles. If you’ve been interested in starting a backyard flock of your own, or want to learn where you can buy local farm fresh eggs, I’ve got you covered. This is a family favorite for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Especially when the boys go and collect the eggs then crack them right into the mixing bowl!
One of my all time favorite vegetables is the humble Beet. Sometimes Beet Recipes can get a little predictable, but I’ve got a guest chef helping us keeps beets exciting today…and sharing his Beet Risotto Recipe with us!
I think my deep love for beets may be in part because it was one of those vegetables my mother NEVER cooked. So, I got to discover it all on my own and there’s something simply endearing about that, isn’t there? Their flavor and nutritional powers are pretty good reasons to love them as well…
Variety Matters!
I also love beets because you can use the entire plant, literally roots to shoots. I admit it took me a few years to fully board the ‘beet green’ bandwagon- but I am quite comfy now not giving up my seat now!
The rest of my family grew to love beet greens as a substitute for half the greens in their salads last summer. They even preferred it to spinach as the season wore on… we’ve also been enjoying frozen beet greens this winter.
But the beetroot is still up for debate with most of them.
Symmetry within the circle of our season — that’s the overarching lesson from the garden. But just one of the ways gardening teaches me year after year.
It is perfectly absurd to search for a beginning or an end to this cycle; is it when the seeds start forming, when I harvest my saved seed out of the garden, as I store it over winter, or when I plant it next spring that is “the beginning”? Is it when the food emerges, when its ripe, when I harvest, when I eat it, or when I compost the excess that is “the ending”?
Taking into consideration the piles of compost, continuously added to by our hens, and all the other intertwined inputs and harvests from our little backyard homestead garden- I’m proud to announce that I can I find neither beginning nor end… instead I find a naturally flowing cycle that swallows its own tail year after year. A process without any one formula, rather a myriad of methods and infinite accomplishments along its way.
That being said; we all like to “take stock” every so often. The end of the calendar year, as the garden lays sleeping and frozen under the snow here in Minnesota seems a fitting time as ever. So, I’m taking a look back on this year of growing with you to share what I gleaned from my gardens. Or rather, what lessons my garden unearthed for me. I’ve added links to previous posts at the end of most topics, as it seems the lessons I learned this year are also perennial. But as with gardening- the roots grow deeper and the harvests increase with each passing year. I hope you can take a few of these ideas and let them inspire you to grow and harvest more (veggies, sustainability, peace) from your gardens this upcoming season. Let’s Dig In!
Soup Season is here and we couldn’t be more ready!
Leeks are a favorite late season crop that add so much depth of flavor to everything they touch, especially soup! We had a bumper crop this year so I’m excited to experiment with leeks this winter…
Straight up Potato Leek soup is divine, so I wasn’t sure if I should mess with it… but I did because I can’t help hiding extra veggies in all my meals.
So, here’s a soup that’s every bit as delicious with some added protein and veggie power. But it all starts with bacon, so don’t worry, this is definitely scores high on the flavor meter.
Ingredients
Bacon- 1 lb locally raised Leeks- Three large or four medium leeks Thyme- few fresh sprigs or 2 tsp dry Bay Leaf- 1-2 Potatoes- 4 medium-sized, peeled and cubed Cauliflower- half to a full head, cut up (or 2 cups Zucchini, shredded) Any White Beans- ~ 1 cup Chicken Stock- 3-4 Cups Salt + White Pepper to taste 2 Tbsp Cream Cheese – optional
Directions
Soak and cook beans until soft (or used canned). Fry the bacon on low until crispy. Set bacon to drain. Use bacon fat to sauté leeks, on medium low for 5-7 minutes. Add in potatoes, cauliflower or zucchini, thyme and bay leaves. Pour in chicken stock. Simmer until everything is well cooked, 20+ minutes. Fish out bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Add in cream cheese. Use an immersion blender (or blender) to puree soup, or leave chunky if preferred.
Garnish with cream, microgreens, fried leeks, bacon, kale chips, etc… Delicious with homemade sourdough!
I’ve got more Forks in the Dirt “Veggie Heavy” Recipes over on my RECIPES PAGE. I hope you love this soup as much as we do, let me know what you think of the added cauliflower and white beans.
In typical Forks in the Dirt fashion, I have gift ideas for you that cover a lot of ground. You could even say gifts from the ground up. So, here’s my lovingly curated, Mix + Match, Handmade, Local, Always Learning + Eco Friendly Holiday Gift Guide.
Homemade
Calendula Salve: Calendula Salve is a super healing and soothing balm great for cold northern winters. I make it with my homegrown Calendula Resina, but Mountain Rose herbs has high quality herbal products.
Soap: I love gifting homemade soaps, especially when it contains some of my own floral or herbal infused oils! I keep it simple and usually have make the hot process soap. We go over this recipe in detail in our book, Small-Scale Homesteading.
DIY Cocktail Infusing Kits: These are super simple to make but are really a big impact gift. The recipes I share in THIS ARTICLE are some of my favorite, but you can get creative – just don’t forget to make a few extra for yourself! All recipes can be made into N/A options.
We’re so ready to kick off this White Bear Lake Winter Farmers Market season. What started small has grown to be a much anticipated community-wide event each winter.
This season’s market dates are set for November 13 th , December 11th and January 8th. The markets will run 10am to 2pm outdoors, right in front of Tamarack Nature Center. Bringing together local farmers, makers and community is the driving force behind the event- which continues to evolve each year.
Winter Farmers Market Haul!
Last year because of Covid, we moved the event outside and you, the community, didn’t skip a beat! Local food lovers don’t seem to mind an outdoor event, and with Ramsey County Park buildings still closed, we’ll be staying outside again this year. Of course, we’re making it extra cozy, with free hot apple cider from Pine Tree Apple Orchards, and a warming fire pit courtesy of Tamarack Nature Center.
