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George Shirley
 
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Loki wrote:
> On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 16:46:14 -0500, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>
>
>>Zukes can be pickled in slices and can be made into a tasty relish. Run
>>over to Walmart and get the latest version of the Ball Blue Book. I've
>>even succesfully frozen zuke slices in vac bags and then added them to
>>stews and soups, same with eggplant slices. Moussaka freezes well too.

>
>
> And since my charming new (hey, it's not quite a year yet) husband is
> of Greek extraction that would be most appropriate. I even have his
> mother's recipe. <grin> Ok, so I have her personal three volume
> family cookbook. Yes, three volumes of family recipes. Yikes! Talk
> about intimidating a new bride...


I defrosted the freezer yesterday and ran upon four of the eleven
moussaka I put up in 2003. I make them up in throwaway aluminum pans and
then vacuum seal them. Thaw completely, whip up the necessary egg stuff,
then make the bechamel sauce to go on top and toss in the oven until
done. No family recipes but a neat little paperback I bought in Athens
in 1985 for about one US dollar, title is "A Bunch of Greek Recipes."
>
>
>>I think you're probably in zone 8, maybe 7. You can go to the USDA
>>website and put in your zip code and it will tell you. You're in Monroe
>>area right?

>
>
> Yep, zone 8. I did check. I don't find the local extension office a
> lot of help, I must admit. I'm out in the boonies and not a farmer.
> LOL.
>
>
>>I plant a second crop of green beans in August to carry through the mild
>>part of the winter down south of you.

>
>
> Good. I will probably go put in a row or three this week then. I'm
> accustomed to gardening in the intensive manner but the guy who did
> the garden for me (disabilities suck) did it the old way with long,
> raised rows. I have a two acre lot so space is not a problem for the
> first time in my life and my usual method of vertical gardening does
> not seem to be necessary. Well, not this year anyway.


Wow, 2 acres, you could plant fruit trees, they do well in your area,
grapes or muscadines, kiwi, lots of stuff that doesn't require a lot of
work but provides outstanding foods for later use.
>
>
>>Food bank, needy neighbors, Doc Charlie's patients, lots of people like
>>fresh produce.

>
>
> Yeah, I could show up at the ER with food. LOL. He's not in private
> practice these days so I'm a little limited but generally food in the
> ER is greeted cheerfully. That *is* an option. The neighbors are all
> trying to dump food on me...


Since most of the folks, at least around here, that use the ER are the
poor ones who can't afford doctors they probably would appreciate some
free food.
>
> I do think I'll go see if we have a local food bank that will take
> extra produce though. Heck, if we do, I'll plant more for them!


A number of folk on this newsgroup and many on rec.gardens do just that.
>
>
>>Ask some specifics Loki and this group will help you. Also a book
>>"Putting Food By" is good but I like the Ball Blue Book better myself.
>>If you have a Big Lots nearby they sell fruit jars and lids at cheaper
>>prices than any others I've found except for thrift stores and garage
>>sales. Hang in there, either the bugs will get their share or the
>>critters in the urban environment or the woods will get some of it.
>>We're having to pick tomatoes at the barely pink stage to get them
>>before the squirrels do.

>
>
> I am losing my tomatoes to them, I know. I got the first cherry
> tomato today before they found it! Well, probably not THE first, but
> the first one *I* saw.
>
> I grabbed your sweet pickle recipe. I'm going to try that later in
> the week when those little cukes that were *everywhere* today are a
> bit bigger. I've got a bunch of jars from last year when I didn't
> manage to get the garden in but my loving husband wanted to be sure I
> had enough jars for the produce I hadn't grown yet. <grin> I will
> check out Big Lots though. We have one in Monroe. I know I'm going
> to run out of quart jars. I didn't plan on needing a lot of those.
>
> Is this blue book different from the one last year? I have that one.
> It's just been sooooooo long since I even did jelly that I feel like a
> newbie at it. I don't have any family recipes at all and am wondering
> which ones folks here like best that are in the ball blue book? There
> are a lot and I don't know where to start!

Nope, you probably got the latest version, I think the latest is
copywrite date of 2003, someone correct me if I'm wrong.
>
> I know I want to do sweet pickles. Chuck does not like dill pickles
> (or pickles at all) so I will limit my pickles to just the sweet ones.
> What else do folks do with cukes?


I make a lot of sweet pickle relish straight from the BBB, lots of onion
and bell pepper in it, sorta looks like a jar of confetti. Our
descendants, kids, grands, and greatgrands, all love hot dogs with
pickle relish. Wife makes a lot of cold soup in the hot summer, big
batch of gazpacho made today, cukes, onions, and tomatoes from the
garden. One of the teachers at her school is retiring and a lot of them
are showing up to help her clean her classroom out tomorrow. Guess
what's for lunch?
>
> I make them up with onions in a vinegar, water, sugar mix and eat
> those every day with cheese and bread for lunch. I also do a Thai
> stir fry with cukes, tomatoes and scallions (and some beef) that is
> wonderful and I can eat every day too. But, Chuck is home a few days
> a week so I need more ideas.


We like them done that way too, I toss in a couple cracked pepper corns
to add more flavor. Around the south that's known as a "fresh" pickle,
my old dad really loved that one.
>
> I want to do tomato sauce, tomato paste (if that's possible), tomato
> juice (not much, but I use it in marinades so some), crushed tomatoes,
> diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, spaghetti sauce (will freeze that),
> and whatever else folks here recommend. I didn't get my Principe
> borghese tomatoes in this year so I won't do sun dried tomatoes but
> next year I plan to. Well, oven dried, I think it's too humid here to
> let the sun do the work.


I've never tried to make tomato paste but made a bunch of "sun dried"
tomatoes one year in my dehydrator. Vac sealed them in quart jars, put
in the pantry, and took out as needed and resealed. Lasted about two
years IIRC.
>
> I suppose I'll make this a trial year for a lot of things.
>
> Oh, and the HUGE fig tree is loaded as is the neighbor's that hangs
> over our fence. Those will be ripe soon so fig jam/preserves/whatever
> but what else?


Fig wine ain't bad, got a Cajun friend makes a mess of that every year.
My whole family loves the jam/preserves, etc so much that they run
through a couple cases of pints every year from our tree.
>
>
>>Glad to hear you've settled into north Louisiana though.

>
>
> Well, sorta. See, there is this lack of animal control (complete
> lack) and this excess of stray dogs and well, I can't stand to see a
> stray hungry or sick or anything so we now have 8 dogs and adding
> more. I'm the new Humane Society down here. We currently have 2 labs
> (one black, one cream), one golden retriever, and one tiny spaniel up
> for adoption. There rest are my own dogs.


Don't feel bad, we have a leash law that applies to dogs and cats,
certain people in the community don't think it applies to their pets
though. Fellow across the street is one of them, he currently has 10
days to pay the fine for failing to leash his dog or they will put him
in jail with the dog. I think this is the third time they've taken dogs
away from him since he moved into the neighborhood about ten years ago.
Like you I have difficulties with folks who don't care about their
companion pets. Mine is a nine year old Rat Terrier who thinks she's the
alpha female around here and keeps rounding up the little grands and
greatgrands and makes them come in the house.
>
> Poor Chuck is a cat person. He *must* love me.
>
> No, settled does not describe my life. <laugh>
>
> Loki


Hey, I've been with the same woman since June 1958, drug her all around
the world, lived in places genteel folks wouldn't live in at all and
she's stuck to me for all these years and keeps on smiling. If there's
someone for this old oilfield hand there's someone for everyone.

George
>