Circumstances have intervened. We are not much of a gardening family at the moment.We are a dog poop family.
But certain robust departments of the garden don't know that, and continue to pour out comestibles.
We have a huge bowl of green tomatoes in the kitchen, ready for roasting and freezing. (The plants themselves came out of the ground today.)
Oddly enough, there is a new eggplant developing on the vine outside. A few jalapeños lurch into adulthood. And we even have three or four pattypan squashes doing their best to mature; if they make it past adolescence I'll be amazed, but I'll still eat 'em.
The most reliable harvest has been a couple of plots we've been saving. Leeks and potatoes. The leeks never reached any kind of admirable girth, but... there they are. The potatoes — well, they've been underground so we had no idea if the crop would come a cropper. (It didn't!)
Anyway, you can guess what kind of soup we had for lunch.
I will brag (yet again) that blended vegetable soups are wonderful with some silken tofu in there. Didn't need any dairy fixin's.
Chopped chives on top, though. Oh, yeah.
Puppy didn't get any.
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15 comments:
The leeks, if they are thin enough, you can eat just like asparagus. Poor puppy, no soup bones for her.
I'm going to have to give the silken tofu a try. Over this past week I have been lowering my caloric intake. This means no cream laden soups. I also want protein as well. Think I'm going to play with that potato leek soup I've been making for years. Thanks.
Yum. I made the same soup with the school garden's output with my kid's class: they're studying Europe so I said "hey this is French."
Tipster: leeks take almost a year to get to full girth. They'd keep growing throughout the winter, and start to make seeds in March: so, hope you have more out there!
almost makes me want a puppy
Leek and potato soup is the best - and you're right, it doesn't need any dairy anything - just salt, spuds and leeks = heavenly soup. I'm in a soup mood, too - might make some bean soup this weekend.
I love silken tofu and have been using it for ages. It does work best in flavorful soups and is really not a "stand alone" ingredient like cream. New leeks can be eaten raw in a salad. Just marinate them a bit in a touch of vinegar and olive oil and serve. Or, as part of a meza plate with a variety of raw vegs, humus, tahini, olives, the works.
The puppy adds the touch of an adorable challenge. Plus LOVE! How can you go wrong with puppy love?
Mouse: You just reminded me of something wonderful. (Aren't leeks called "poor man's asparagus" in France?)
No soup bones for puppy, but she's doing some good work on the chew sticks.
Kailyn: This is perfect for you. I hope you turn out something yummy.
Fast: When I was a kid, no adult would "waste" potato and leek soup on children! Did they like it?
Hey, I didn't know leeks take so long to grow to size. I appreciate the tip; there must be 60 or more leeks left in the garden, so there's something to look forward to.
Zoomie: Even though the weather is gorgeous, we are in such a soup mood. We had white bean soup with ham for lunch today. I'm still full. Good luck with yours.
Nancy: Years ago, I tried blending firm tofu into soup. Just got grit! Now I know.
Hey, raw leeks? I would not have thought of it. I believe I'll try.
I can almost literally smell the good earth on those tatties and leeks. The gardening advice is right: leeks take a loooong time to get really big and in our climate we can just "leave them be".
Leeks vinaigrette was one of my always-orders at a favorite cheap French restaurant in NY. Think they were lightly braised in a bit of chicken broth with herbs before they were marinated.
poor puppy!
Kudzu: The smell of earth permeates the vegetables, so we ate Dirt Soup, and loved it.
I'm so thrilled to know I can just let the leeks keep growing. They will love our winter.
Leeks vinaigrette. Thanks for the nudge and the how-to. I'm making that really soon.
Alice: The wish is that the puppy will never lust for human food. Then as we ate bean soup with ham the next day, I almost slipped her little tastes of meat. Oops.
Our leeks are also skinny, but taste great. The potatoes did pretty well. Everything we still have growing is highly likely to get itself puréed in the near future.
A word to the wise: Ham gives dogs gas. And I mean _really_ gives dogs gas. Major smelly, green gas! I'll bring her a real bone that will keep her busy for a week.
Peter: I loved your post whining about the shabby summer garden, then suddenly boasting about all the autumn produce. Good onya.
I think at my house, all soups, with the exception of bean soups, are going to be whirled with silken tofu this winter.
Zoomie: Thanks for an invaluable tip. She is already so gassy at times, we call her Fartlett.
Ha! Fartlett! Perfect! Giggling over here.
Can you imagine being in love with your dog's butt smells?
Oh, totally, I bet you can.
xxxx
Cookiecrumb, well, maybe not in love with but completely tolerant, yeah.
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