Apples Abound

With apple season starting, Jack and I went to a local pick-your-own farm on Sunday. One of the first apples to pick happened to be my favorite, Honeycrisp. Jack was so excited he could barely contain himself. He needed to sample every piece of fruit he grabbed which left about half the apples we brought home with teethmarks
(which is why applesauce was invented, I suppose). I always assumed that pick-your-own would be cheaper than buying in a store and I guess it is when buying small quantities but excitement overtook us and when Jack and I finished 15 minutes of picking, we filled a bushel. 1 bushel=20lbs x $2.50/lb = $50. In addition to this, we walked over the nectarines and picked 15lbs of some of the largest most delicious nectarines I have ever tasted. All done, we had over 35 lbs of fruit at the low price of $74.

Fearing the apples rotting before we could eat all of them, I decided to make and can apple sauce. Not really knowing what I was doing, I pulled a recipe from my canning book and Charlotte and I started . Next time I think I wont peel and core them as the food mill will take care of removing the skin and pits.

Apple Sauce

Apples - peeled, cored and chopped (about 8-10 lbs)
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp Cinnamon

With a minimal amount of water, we cooked the apples for 20-30 minutes and then ran them through a food mill. Once we had apple sauce, we added 1/4 cup sugar and 4 tsp Cinnamon and brought back to a boil. After canning and processing, we had about 5 pints and 3 half pints of apple sauce.


Determining the ripeness of watermelons is more magic than science as I am finding out. First melon was underripe due to my over zealousness. Now that I am too cautious, two small melons went ripe and rotted on the vine. In checking the pigtails opposite the melons, they were still green and alive so out goes that trick in determining ripeness. In fear of losing the last large melon, I inspected it with a critical eye and noticed pitting on the rind. The pigtail just started to turn brown but was still mostly green. Although I wasn't sure, I picked to to prevent the pitting from getting worse. As a dessert to the lamb dinner, Jen and I cut the melon and it was ripe!!! Although it was not deep red as expected, it was extremely sweet, so much so that I ate 1/4 of the melon. This leaves me 1 more softball size melon on the vine.

As for garden itself as the fall starts, I finally did manage to build the retaining wall for the upper bed. 6 - 8 foot 4x6's and 16-12"galvanized spikes later with two helpers, the wall was in and the walkway was leveled. Jack and Charlotte took turns with my hammer and drove the spikes in. Jack gave me pointers on how to shovel the dirt and Charlotte ate all the ripe tomatoes she could find. Now, with the top bed done, I need 3 more 4x6s to build the edge of the bottom bed which will have to wait until the tomatoes are done. In addition to this, the old fence and gate broke yesterday so I will need to rebuild that as well.

With a few days of very cool nights and wet days, the tomatoes went into ripening overdrive and the cherry tomatoes started splitting. 3 plants have given up all of their fruit and what fruit is left is still small. The only exception is the cherry tomatoes. They seem to still be as loaded with fruit as they were in the spring. Radishes are beng picked almost daily and the beets are growing well. The golden beets however are still strugglingwth maybe 10% germination.

Slow Braised Lamb Shanks

2 lamb shanks - cut to bone at base of shank
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion
4 celery stalks , rough chopped
4 carrots - unpeeled, rough chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste ( i used one peeled, seeded garden tomato)
3-4 sprigs rosemary
1 head garlic, top cut off
3-4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup red wine or sweet wine ( I used sherry)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In either a roasting pan or dutch oven, heat oil until hot. Mix flout, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and dredge shanks to coat well. Braise shanks in pot/pan on all sides for 3-4 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside. Add onions, celery and carrots. Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring to ensure they don't brown or burn. Add back the shanks settling them in one layer ( if possible). Add chicken stock, wine, garlic, rosemary and tomato paste to cover 3/4 of the lamb. Bring to a boil, stir, cover and place in the oven for 4 hours. Every hour, turn the lamb and ensure there is enough liquid, if needed, add more stock.

Once done, remove lamb to plate and cover with foil to keep hot. strain liquid to remove all veggies, and heat liquid thickening to coat spoon for the gravy. Thickening can be done by blending some veggies or using flour whisking briskly as the liquid is returned to a boil.

I also pick through the veggies to pull out the carrots to serve as the vegetable. They are "stewed" and full of flavor. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes (garlic reserved from the pot).

Food Harvested:
Wilson's Sweet Watermelon
Radishes (red globe and white icicle)
Tomatoes (all types)

Things Planted:
None

Seeds Saved:
Wilson's Sweet Watermelon

Preserved/Cooked:
Canned Apple Sauce
Braised Lamb Shanks (from local farmers market)

Things to Remember:
1. Build new fence and gate into garden area
2. Ready cucmber area for SSE garlic planting
3. Devise way to walk in upper bed
4. Find organic solution to powdery mildew