Month: August 2015

Bartlett Pears

~ lindy

I’m sure if you have a garden you’ve been picking, canning and working hard to keep-up with your harvest.  I will be posting pictures of our garden and tips and ideas that have helped me this year and hope it can help you with your garden.

I picked our Bartlett pears this week and they are still are mostly green which is when you pick them.  Just let the pears ripen (to a yellow color but not too soft) on your counter or in baskets then eat, bake, or preserve them.

See Here for canning, recipes and pear baby food.

Our pear tree is a Dwarf Bartlett Pear

We have had our issues with this pear tree.  We have had Fire blight for about the past 5 years.  I have trimmed out the bad branches each year and so far it is still alive and it has given me lots of pears.

I like Utah State University Extension for helpful information on insect and diseases on fruit trees.

  

  

See Preserving Pears and Pear Baby Food

See Pears and Pear Bread

Enjoy!

Lindy

Summer Corn Chowder

~ lindy

We’re busy in the garden this time of year freezing corn, green beans and harvesting onions.  The black bean plants have been pulled-up and are drying so we can dry them to store.

This is a yummy recipe we found over at Cooking Classy and thought it would be a great way to use up our garden crookneck squash, corn, garlic, onions and thyme.  I love it when we can make a recipe from the things we grow in our garden.  See our Freezing corn, green beans and Gardening tips and storing garden harvest.


Summer Corn Chowder

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*6-8 slices Bacon, chopped, cooked and crumbled (Save 4 teaspoons bacon fat for flavor and sautéing onions and garlic or use extra light olive oil and omit bacon fat)

*1/2 cup sliced Green Onions or Onions from your garden

*2 cloves Garlic, minced or pressed

*3 small Crockneck Squash, sliced or Yellow Squash, seeds removed, chopped

*2   3/4 cups Milk, your choice

*6 Fresh Ears/Cobs Corn, blanched and cut from cobs or 4   1/2 cups fresh frozen corn

*1/2 cup Whipping Cream or Heavy Cream

*1   1/2 teaspoon fresh Thyme or 1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme

*3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

*1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper

*1 cup Cheddar Cheese, freshly grated, topping

*1/2 cup Green Onions, chopped, topping

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Saute Onions, garlic (add garlic the last-minute of sautéing) in bacon fat on medium heat about 4-8 minutes in a cast iron skillet.

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Reduce heat to low and add 1   1/2 cups of the milk and 1   1/2 cups corn. Sprinkle in the thyme, salt and black pepper to sautéed mixture.

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Pour mixture into a crockpot or cast iron pot and add the below ingredients and heat through completely and keep warm until ready to serve.

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In a blender add the cream, remaining milk and corn. Blend until nearly smooth. Add this puréed mixture to the above cast iron pot.

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Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

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Top with cheese and green onions. Enjoy!


Have a great day!

Jessica