When I was a kid, my grandpa had a huge garden in the back yard with vegetables ranging from the tender, spring asparagus ( which of course is a perennial ) to the abundant, bright green zucchini.  Being a grandpa’s girl, I was with him all the time in the garden from start to finish and hard as I tried to be a grandma’s girl when it was time to weed, that didn’t fly.

After the very last spring  snowfall, which was generally a wet one, he’d be out that garden with the rototiller, tilling that snow into the ground.  He called it poor mans fertilizer, but to a garden, it’s a magic potion. He’d till it a couple of times, a day or two apart  carefully checking to make sure it wasn’t to wet for planting.

Next was my favorite part of planting and a trick I still use to this day when I ” put in ” a garden…..the snap line! He’d stick his  markers ( little wooden stakes ) at the end of the row and then he would pull the line to other end and eyeball that string until it was straight. Then it was time for my important job, I got to walk the row and ” snap ” the line.  Seeing that blue chalk make a perfect mark in that rich black soil promised the beginning of beautiful and bountiful harvest.

Then the seeds would come out of his garden shed. Some, like radishes, beans, peas, zucchini and yellow neck squash, he would have bought at the hardware store. Others such as pumpkins, acorn squash and corn, he would have had seeds from the year before. Potatoes, he would have a bag in the basement that he would let the “eyes” grow long and scary looking, he’d cut them in quarters and in the ground they’d go.

Planting seeds was a tedious job and of course as a kid, I grew bored easily, but grandpa wouldn’t let me off the hook, we had the garden to plant!  I was in charge of the beans, corn, melons and any of the bigger seeds, only 3 and you had to be able to get the hand hoe in between each hill of seeds, already he was planning the weeding process, sheesh! Gramp’s would be in charge of the teen tiny carrot and radish and the like. apparently I put in too many at one time.

Now  we wait, and wait, and wait some more. Every day I would go over to grandma and grandpa’s and search the soil for the first sprouts to come up. I loved the asparagus patch where I could search around for the green shoots hidden among the rhubarb and strawberries. They could be picked when they were just the perfect height and thickness. If the heads started to ” flower ” out, we’d leave them be so they could go to seed to keep the patch producing for years to come.  At a certain point in the early summer, when they started getting ” woody ” we’d quit picking and watched at they grew, sometimes as tall as me.

When the main garden started to get a beautiful green hue to it, I knew the plants were shooting up out of their sleep and stretching towards the sun and would now grow by leaps and bounds, this of course also meant it was time to weed. In the beginning grandpa would do it because the sprouts were so young and delicate, he didn’t want me pulling any of them out accidently when I pulled the weeds around them.

By this time we’d already had the tomatoes and peppers that had been started in the greenhouse, planted and were being supported by the wire cages allowing them to entwine their vines around the metal and keep their fruit up and off the ground.

The rest of the summer was busy with weeding,  thinning out the rows so the strong plants could thrive and produce their yummy goodness, weeding, picking the peas was great if we could get enough of them into the kitchen for dinner, weeding, running through the rows of corn and weeding some more.

Suddenly the crops were coming in faster than we could eat so we began to can and freeze. Canning is one of my favorite things to do in the late summer and early fall. I love the look of those clear jars filled with their glistening colors and ready to be enjoyed all winter long.

The squashes always seemed to never end, grandma made them every which way, up an down, then mom would come up with another way to make them. We had them fried, sautéed, stewed, in soups and casseroles, breads and cakes. I’ve found myself making new and different things with them as well and this SUMMER SQUASH SPAGHETTI is one of our favorites.

This is simple to make and served up with some well buttered garlic bread and fresh green salad you’ve got a wonderful delicious dinner.

SUMMER SQUASH SPAGHETTI

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I just cannot imagine a better time of year than Fall and Winter. The changing of colors of the trees, the chill in the air, the smells are a crisp and clean woodsy aroma. Football season starts and with the comradery of rival team fans comes cozy flannel shirts,  hot spiced apple cider, S’mores, Baked apples with sweet caramel sauce and before you know it, out come the soup pots.

Kitchens all over are fragrant with chili’s soups and stews from all corners of the world. From Albondigas soup from Mexico with it’s minty meatballs to the creamy Italian Zuppa Toscana. Hearty Beef Stews, Chicken and Dumplings, Spicy chili’s, meaty chili’s and of course the debatable chili with pasta……or not. I prefer mine not spicy, no beans, lots of meat and yes…..pasta.

My dad loved soups and it’s a good thing because my mom can make soup out of a rock and some grass and it will be outstanding. I remember watching her in the kitchen she’d take something out of the fridge, look at it and the masterpiece would begin. One of my favorites of hers was and still is her Garbage Soup.

She would cook pork neckbones until the meat fell off the bone, remove the bones, and chill it down to remove the fat. Underneath would be the tasty pieces of pork suspended in the rich, gelatinous broth that quivered and held it’s shape; the perfect picture of an amazing stock.

Now the magic begins; in the freezer there would be a partial package of frozen peas, carrots, corn and maybe some beans. Into the pot they’d go. She’d find some cauliflower, broccoli, rutabaga, turnips, parsnips, cabbage, basically any kind of vegetable  in the fridge. Lots of onions, potatoes and her special seasonings and let it simmer all afternoon.

By the time dinner came around, a fresh loaf of crusty bread was on the counter with the butter dish along side and we would dig into those big steamy  bowls of rich soup with enough broth to dunk the buttered bread into. Heaven on earth, literally.

Thankfully, I too can make delicious soup and my husband loves them brothy or creamy, as long as it is loaded with lots of good stuff, he’s happy. One of his favorites is ITALIAN SAUSAGE STEW, it’s one of those that is even better the next day. Bob likes lots of zucchini in this so I always put in extra. You can add any squash or other vegetables you wish to make this your own special meal.

                                                                           

Welcome back Foodies! It has been such an amazingly hectic year. Bob left for work in West Virginia and I stayed back in El Paso until we had a definite destination to move to. So after 9 months apart, he came and packed us up and trucked me and all the fur babies across country. Now for a while we are located in the little town of Weston, WV. This is probably one of the most beautiful and relaxing places we’ve been thus far. Rolling hills, green, green and more green. Our RV park in the historic Hackers Creek area and the creek runs through the park. The sound of the bubbling water is so relaxing and peaceful.

Well even though I haven’t had the time to write, taking care of all the critters by myself and working full time left precious little time to be literary BUT I have been cooking up a storm so look out folks, lots of good and fun stuff. I’m also not working as much out here, and have ingredients in the pantry to start on Halloween and Fall goodies!.

But we are technically, still in summer and what is summer without ice cream right.  This desert is a “Throwback Thursday” creation.

As a baby boomer, I grew up in the supper club era; we dressed up, mom and I in dresses, Dad always in a suit and my pesky little brother dressed in some adorable little man outfit. I still don’t know why we had to drag him along everywhere anyway.

Dinner was an event, cocktails, appetizers, salad bar; oh the salad bar, but that’s another story for a later date. After the main course there was dessert. In those days, desert was typically included with the meal, usually a dish of ice cream or a piece of pie or cake.

One supper club used to have BAKED ALASKA, you remember, the white cake with ice cream that was covered in meringue and baked to a shimmering light golden brown.

I was making ice cream one afternoon and reminiscing about the good old days and thought why not experiment. I had an angel food loaf cake and a meringue mix ( yes, I cheated, but it’s so humid here, real egg whites would weep quickly )

My favorite flavor combination is Raspberry and Lemon so it made sense that it would be the perfect pairing of a fresh ice cream bursting with bright flavor and soft cake enrobed in the glistening, silky meringue.

As I said, I used a meringue mix, you can find it in the baking section at your local store or in the cake decorating area of the craft area or Walmart. Of course to make it with egg whites would be the old fashioned way, but either option is perfectly acceptable.

You can put your cake under the broiler to brown, but if you have a Creme’ Brule torch, go ahead and use that. This is my favorite kitchen toy. Besides who doesn’t like the idea of firing up a flaming torch and ” burning ” something!

RASPBERRY LEMONADE BAKED ALASKA

   Let the kids pick their favorite flavors to change it up!

Maybe a mimosa with this for brunch!

1 Angel food loaf cake ( from bakery section of the store )

1 pint raspberry ice cream, softened

1 pint lemon ice cream, softened

1 cup meringue powder ( can be found in the  Wilton cake section at Walmart or craft store )

1 cup warm water

1 tsp, scant almond extract

Lemon slice and/or berries for garnish

Slice Angel Food cake in thirds lengthwise and set aside to use for layering..

Place the bottom layer of cake in loaf pan and top with one of the ice creams.

Place middle cake layer and top that with the other ice cream.

Place top cake layer on and cover tightly with foil and freeze until firm.

In a large mixing bowl, combine meringue mix, almond extract and water and beat until stiff peaks form. About 8-10 minutes.

Remove frozen cake from loaf pan and cover with a fairly thick layer of meringue.  Place under broiler, watching very closely so as not to burn it, until a nice golden color. You can use a crème Brulee’ torch.

Garnish with berries and/or lemon slices and serve.

You can use any kind of ice cream combination. Chocolate and mint, chocolate and strawberry, peach and vanilla, etc.

Have some fun, experiment! Let your creative mind free and enjoy the flavors of the seasons.

Go Ahead….” Just Try it! “