Edamame - Fresh Shell Soy Beans

Anyone who drives through Ontario in the summer has seen the endless fields of soybeans interspersed with the equally endless fields of corn. Neither of those are for direct consumption by people, but are either components of much more processed foods or, more likely, animal feed. It's actually rather hard to find soy beans being grown in Ontario to be eaten as soy beans. They are, however, very popular as a vegetable ( and snack food) in Japan, and they can be ordered in any of the many sushi restaurants that have popped up here in the last decade or two under the name edamame. They are all imported I am sure; I have to wonder why. We can certainly grow them here, although the varieties to be used as edamame are not the same as the field soy beans. Actually, interest in growing them is increasing and research is being done on the best varieties to grow here.

We tried growing our own this year (and last year, when we had even less success). For something that grows all over southern Ontario, we had a bit of a hard time getting them to germinate. I don't think they love our sandy, acidic soil. However, the ones that germinated grew well enough, and produced a good bunch of hairy little pods each. Like most beans, they abhor cold soil and so we did not plant ours until the beginning of June. They are determinate plants, so it's best to plant both early and later varieties, or to do several plantings of a week or two apart. They freeze very well, so you may also wish to harvest your crop all at once for processing.

It's important to pick them just at the right time. If you pick them too soon, the beans will not have filled out properly. However, if they sit long enough for the pods to start turning yellow, they will be tough and overmature. You probably have less than a week to get them at their peak, so watch them carefully once they are close. The plants will only reach about 18" to 24" in height, much like other bush beans. A few sticks in the bed may help keep them upright, but they are not twiners. The ripe beans look like a cross between a lima bean and a pea, and they taste a bit like they could a cross between them as well. The texture is firmer than either, and the flavour has a nutty hint.

The simplest way to serve them - and the one found in all those sushi restaurants - is to boil them in their pods. The boiled pods are pulled through the teeth, so that the beans stay in the mouth and the tough pods are then discarded. They can be served hot or cold, but are generally sprinkled with a little coarse salt. They can also be shelled and used in soups, salads, casseroles, etc. We boiled ours for 5 minutes, then froze them. When we want to serve them, we will drop the pods into boiling water again for 5 minutes. If you are going to eat them fresh, you should boil them for the full 10 minutes, or even for 15.

We grew the varieties "Envy" and "Beer Friend"; two of the more common of the handful of varieties presently sold in Canada as seed. I can't say we noticed much difference between them.

Canning Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)

I haven't made this salsa for a few years, and I had been planning to make it this year with my own tomatillos, but alas! We had a crop failure. Yes, I know! Tomatillos! How embarrassing. They have a well-deserved reputation of being pretty nearly weeds. However, they did not take to our soil or our drought, and then they caught whatever virus has been romping through our chile plants, and in the end we got a handful or two of tomatillos before we gave up and pulled them out to make way for garlic.

However, there was a request for this recipe on the Canning Salsa comments, so here it is. I haven't made the other salsa with tomatillos, but a little research suggests that so far as acidity goes, they are interchangeable and so could be used in the other recipe in place of the tomatoes. How it would turn out, I don't know. Maybe I'll find out next year, when my tomatillos are going to grow, dammit.

Jalapenos are not the traditional pepper to use in green salsa - a serrano, Anaheim or New Mexico chile would be more traditional, but I've never seen anyone growing those commercially in Ontario. Tomatillos are also next to impossible to find, but unlike the chiles of the southwest, they grow here readily (hem, hem) and the seed is easy to find for home gardeners.

7 x 500-ml jars
1 hour 15 minutes - 1 hour prep time


2 kilos (4.5 pounds) tomatillos
4 cups chopped onions
2 heads garlic
450 grams (1 pound) Jalapeño (or other) peppers
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1 cup minced cilantro
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons lime juice PER JAR

Put the jars into a canner with water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil them for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the husks from the tomatillos and wash them. Cut any large ones in half. Peel the garlic. Remove the stems and seeds from the jalapenos. Chop all the ingredients except the water and lime juice in a food processor, 1/2 at a time, but leave some texture to them. Remove them to a large pot or canning kettle. Rinse the food processor out with the water, and add it to the salsa.

Heat the salsa to boiling in a large pot or canning kettle. Put the lime juice into the sterilized jars. Fill them with the salsa and seal. Return the jars to the boiling water for 20 minutes. Let cool, check the seals and label.

Bellestar Tomatoes

Bellestar, so far as I can see, is the correct name for this tomato, although it is more often spelled "Bellstar". It was bred in Ontario, at the Smithfield Experimental Farm in 1981, by Jack Metcalf. It's an open-pollinated variety that was bred to provide an early, determinate processing tomato. I just ran across it last year for the first time, and I have to say I'm impressed.

I normally prefer heirloom tomatoes - I'm a sucker for the romance and variety of them, I admit - but as someone who cans a lot of tomatoes these have some real advantages. We acquired them last year from a farmer who let us go out and pick them ourselves, as he had had no time to deal with his tomatoes. It was also a terrible, terrible year for tomatoes, having been cool and wet throughout the season. We were thus surprised to squelch out to his field and find it absolutely stuffed with good, ripe tomatoes. Nice!

The plants had produced so many tomatoes that they had collapsed, but that didn't seem to slow them down noticeably. We had the same experience this year with our Bellestar plants grown from seed we saved from last year. The plants are quite short and didn't grow high enough to be supported by our modified Florida weave system. A regular tomato cage would actually have worked well to support these. It had better be a sturdy one though; as noted, these are just loaded with tomatoes. They didn't quite ripen all at once for us, but we did get them off in 2 waves a week or two apart. They are now finished for the season and pulled out, leaving the space free to plant our garlic. Nice!

A number of descriptions of Bellestar regard them as good enough to eat fresh. We didn't think so; not compared to Amish Paste or Opalka paste tomatoes and certainly not when compared to our favourite tomatoes for fresh use. We also didn't think their cooked flavour was quite as good as those first two either, but on the other hand we rated the flavour higher than any of the Italian style paste tomatoes we grew this year, whether hybrid or heirloom. Nice!

Bellestar tomatoes are about 4 to 6 ounces each, a little rounder or more heart-shaped than most paste tomates; a good size. They are listed as taking 72 days to maturity. Bellestar is described as resistant to verticillium wilt, but it is probably not otherwise too disease resistant. However, we have had no problems. It's also described as resistant to cracking and easy to pick cleanly (neither stems or holes left when pulled off) and we found both those things to be true. Because the plants are so compact, this is a great tomato for people with limited garden space or even for growing in containers. They did equally well, as far as I can see, in a cold wet summer and in a hot dry summer.

In short, I'm impressed... very impressed... and we will definitely be growing these again next year in larger quantities.

Monster Zucchini Slaw

Did you think you had gotten away from the monster zucchini? Not a chance.

Actually, we have about 8 of them sitting in the laundry room at the moment. During last weeks' sidewalk/foundation pouring melée, I forgot to check the zucchini patch for 4 whole days!

Yeah; regatta day at the yacht club.

Anyway, the usual caveats apply: as long as you can pierce your zucchini easily with a thumbnail, it should be reasonably edible. This has a softer texture than cole slaw made in the usual way with cabbage, but is otherwise very similar.

4 to 6 servings
1 hour - 15 minutes prep time


Prepare the Vegetables:
5 to 6 cups grated zucchini (1 very large)
salt
1 large carrot
4 to 6 radishes
1 green onion OR equivalent amount of chives

Wash the zucchini, and cut off the blossom end. Holding the stem end, grate it down to the stub. Put the grated zucchini into a colander in layers, sprinkling salt generously over each layer. Set it over a tray or bowl, and put in a cool spot for about 45 minutes to drain. Rinse the zucchini, and taking it up by handfuls, squeeze it as dry as you can. Put it in a mixing bowl as you go.

Peel and grate the carrot. Wash and trim the radishes, and cut them into fairly fine dice. Wash and trim the onion or chives, and chop finely. Toss all the vegetables together.

Make the Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon celery seed, ground
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all the dressing ingredients until well blended and smooth. Toss into the salad.

Chile-Garlic Sauce

This was experimental, and I'm a little worried that it may be a weapon of mass tastebud destruction, but for those who don't mind playing chicken with their sinuses and have a lot of cayenne or other hot chiles, it may be worth a try.

I don't know what will happen to the heat level in this stuff as it sits. I can tell you that right now, this is probably about 20 years supply because it will need to be doled out by the 1/4 teaspoonful. Yes, this stuff is HOT. You have been warned.

I have to say that I think my recent plan of washing my hands with toothpaste when I have been handling hot chiles really works. I had only one latex glove (must buy more) so I used it on my left hand and held the knife with my right hand. Still, these chiles were hot as hades and I didn't have so much as a twinge afterwards. I can't believe I didn't get so much as a speck of capsaicin on my hands, so I'm going to suggest that you wash your hands with toothpaste right after handling hot chiles - but for pity's sake, wear gloves too. Leave the toothpaste on your hands for a minute or two before rinsing it off, and really work it in.

6 125-ml jars
1 hour prep time


1 1/2 cups diced carrot (1 large)
1/4 cup water
200 grams (2 cups chopped) fresh red cayenne chiles
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
3 heads garlic

Put the jars into a canner with water to cover, and bring them to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Peel and dice the carrot, and cook it in the water, covered, until tender. While that happens, cut the stems from the cayennes and cut them into 1 cm slices. (Wear gloves!) Add them, with their seeds, to the carrots. Add the salt, sugar and vinegar.

Separate the heads of garlic and peel the cloves, and add them to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes. Put the lids and rings in a pot covered with water on to boil for 5 minutes.

Remove the contents of the pan to a blender, and blend until smooth. Pack into the prepared jars and seal with the prepared lids and rings. Return the sealed jars to the boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool. Test for seals, and label.

Vegetable Pie with Cornbread Topping

For some reason I haven't made this for a while, but it used to be a very popular dish in our household. It's funny how things come and go like that. I think I should get back into making this... it's a tiny bit time consuming but it's really quite easy, and it's healthy, delicious and attractive. It's kind of like a shepherd's pie, if the shepherd was a vegetarian from New Mexico.

I didn't have any kidney beans so I had to use chick peas, which were fine, but I do think that kidney or black beans would be better. They would help give it a bit more of that southwestern quality. You can also use whatever seasonings for the vegetables that you like, but I do think you want cumin and a little bit of heat.

4 to 6 servings
1 1/2 hours - 45 minutes prep time


Start the Topping:
1/2 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup buttermilk or milk
1 extra-large egg
3 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
2/3 cup soft unbleached or whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Put the cornmeal, buttermilk, egg and oil into a mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Set aside.

Measure the flour and mix in the salt and baking powder. Set aside.

Prepare the Vegetables:
2 cups cooked kidney or other beans
2 large tomatoes
3 cobs of corn
1 medium zucchini
1 medium red pepper
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, ground
Louisiana-style hot sauce, chile powder or chile-garlic sauce to taste
salt to taste

Drain the beans and put them in the bottom of a small lasagne pan (8" x 11"). Peel and dice the tomatoes, and sprinkle them over the beans. Husk the corn, and cut off the kernels. Sprinkle them over the beans and tomatoes.

Wash and trim the zucchini and pepper (discard stem and seeds), and cut them in dice. Peel and dice the onion.

Heat the oil in a large skillet, and sauté the zucchini, onion and pepper until soft and slightly browned. Sprinkle over the seasonings and mix in well. Mix the sautéed vegetables in with the beans etcetera in the pan, and spread them out evenly.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Finish the Pie:

Mix the flour into the wet ingredients for the cornbread topping. Spread the batter evenly over the prepared vegetables.

Bake the pie for 40 to 45 minutes, until the topping is set and golden.




Last year at this time I made Lentil & Eggplant Salad.

The "CLT" Sandwich - Cheese, Lettuce & Tomato

Recipe? You don't need no stinkin' recipe. Two slices good whole wheat sandwich bread, smeared with mayo. Slices of ripe, juicy fresh-off-the-vine tomato sprinkled with a little salt and pepper. Crisp lettuce. All topped with a slice of Guernsey Girl cheese fried in a lightly-oiled pan over medium heat until brown and bubbly on both sides. Oh man, I want another and my cheese is all gone. *sniff* These things were exquisite; no other word.

Guernsey Girl is one of the cheeses we picked up at Upper Canada Cheese when we were there. It's a halloumi-inspired cheese, meaning it holds together and gets brown, buttery and delicately squeaky when fried in a pan as above instead of becoming a molten mess. If you can't get Guernsey Girl, you could use halloumi cheese. I'll be scouting around to see what I can get here, for as long as the tomatoes hold out.




Last year at this time it was Tomato & Garlic Soup with Vegetables.

Why We've Been So Busy

Our house, it is not big enough. Actually, it has a "granny flat" that has been used as a summer cottage by Mr. Ferdzy's mom and her housemate. They have decided they like it so much, they want to move here permanently. And that means an addition. To help save some money, Mr. Ferdzy is supplying some grunt work.

Oh, and by the way, THIS is what a person has to do to get it to rain around here. Leaving the laundry out on the line overnight just doesn't do it. You have to call up and order a truckload of cement.


Well, it wasn't really a truckload. It was just a bit more than the minimum order. Since the minimum order was way more than we needed for the footings, we decided we would put a better sidewalk out in front of the house. That meant a week to dig, line with boards, and half-fill with gravel.


Did you know cement trucks come with a "remote"? I didn't. Kind of cool, really... but you have to supply your own navvies.


Flattening the cement.


Row, row, row your boat, gently down the Ankh...


Ah! Perfecto! Although it is to be noted that every time we do construction my gardening tools, not to mention some of my household tools, are never the same again.


The almost-finished sidewalk. We just have to remove the wooden forms, and cut some lines to prevent cracking and frost heaving. And plant some shrubs and things. But almost done, har.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I find I have some laundry to do.

Collective Farm Woman (Kolkhoznitsa) Melon

Kolkhoznitsa melons were brought to North America in 1993 by a member of Seed Savers Exchange, who acquired seeds in Krim, in the Ukraine. They were released under the translated name Collective Farm Woman. Since then, they have been gaining recognition and popularity as a very good early-ripening melon that's happiest growing in a season that's warm, but not wildly hot, and which is quite tolerant of cooler weather. Canadians, take note; this one's for us.

I have to say that unlike other melons I have tried to grow, these were a pleasure. Stuck the seeds in little peat pots in the spring, kept them warm, and they actually germinated. Planted them out (in the peat pots) at the beginning of June, and they did not sulk, pine or get eaten by pests. They just grew, steadily and modestly, putting out 2 or 3 melons per nice, compact little plant. It helps that this has been a hot summer perfect for growing melons; all they have needed is some extra watering as it's been so dry for us. The soil, of course, was well enriched with compost before we planted them.

You could grow these on a trellis, if you were prepared to support the individual melons. I'm told that cucumber beetles will attack them when they are young, and we protected them from cut-worms by wrapping the base of the stems with aluminum foil when we planted them out. They are supposed to be very vulnerable to powdery mildew, but we had no problems whatever, even though our zucchini have been stricken with it.

The melon pictured could have been a tad riper - they are ripe when they turn from green to golden, or at least golden with just a few green spots. This one slipped right off the vine as I was checking it, and it was certainly pretty close. They are supposed to be ready in 85 days from planting out, and our first one was ready at about that point, although most of them will be ready in closer to 90 to 100 days. Still, that's quite do-able.


We have not always been big melon fans in this house but we may change our minds. I've been swooning over how good these are. The flesh was the typical light green of a honeydew type melon, but particularly rich, floral and sweet in flavour. The flesh is also rather crisp and watery; more like a dense watermelon in texture than a typical musk melon. Unusual, and really appealling and refreshing.

I'm told - but I am not at all sure that we will have the self-discipline to make the test - that these store for several weeks if kept in a cool, dark spot once picked. (One person reported storing them successfully for at least 2 months!)

Ildi & Black Cherry Tomatoes

More tomatoes! Here's another pair of tomatoes from our garden this year. The little yellow ones are Ildi, and the brownish-red ones are Black Cherry. This is the first year we have grown both of these, and I can defnitely see growing them again.

The Black Cherry, as with most "black" tomatoes are nowhere near it. Their colour is their least attractive feature; dark red skin over green seeds and gel combine to give a muddy, brownish effect. They look more attractive when mixed with other cherry tomatoes in a range of colours. The tomatoes - large for cherry tomatoes - grow in cordons of about 8, and they are prolific, starting to produce after about 75 days in the garden. The plants are indeterminate, and the tomatoes just keep coming and coming. I've picked close to 200 tomatoes per plant - so far. The plants get pretty big too; ours have tipped over the tomato cages they were in and are still just rolling along.

Like a lot of black tomatoes they are rather soft and juicy, and I have found them prone to splitting, although others have described them as split-resistant. They have a rich, sweet classic tomato flavour well balanced with tartness and a hint of that smoky quality that so many black tomatoes have, and a lot of people really, really like these very much. We've been drying them, and they are fabulous, having a lovely scent and a rich, fruity flavour with hints of anise and apricot. They hold okay on the vine, but not nearly as well as Ildi.


Ildi is what is called a multiflora tomato - tomatoes are formed in large bunches, rather like grapes. They are advertised as forming 50, 80 or even 100 tomatoes in a bunch. Mine didn't get anywhere near that - more like 15 to 20 per bunch - but the bunches were plentiful, and since Ildi is also indeterminate, they are still coming. The tomatoes are small, about the size of a gooseberry and a similar elongated lemon shape, with a strong golden colour. At 60 to 65 days to maturity, they are quite early. The plants are reasonably bushy, but not nearly so rangy as the Black Cherries.

They often get confused with Yellow Pear tomatoes, which are another old variety of yellow cherry tomatoes, which have a neat pear shape but are not nearly so prolific and are milder (blander) in flavour; I wouldn't grow them if I could get Ildi.

Ildi are sweet and rich, with a lighter, fruitier flavour than the Black Cherries. We've been drying them too, and while they don't have the amazing scent of the Black cherries they are so sweet and fruity they could be taken for dried apricots. So far our crop is heading for over 250 tomatoes per plant, and I'm pretty sure they aren't nearly done yet. One seed supplier suggested that "trusses (of Ildi) can be picked, hung in a cool garage, and kept for weeks without fruit dropping." I haven't tried that, but I have noted that they hold on the vine (or off of it too) very well indeed.

Marmande Tomatoes

It's been busy as hell around here lately, I'm afraid, so there isn't going to be much besides varietal reports for a while. Mind you when it's also hot as hell and the produce is piling up there doesn't tend to be much cooking at the best of times. Simple salads, sandwiches, fruits (tomatoes! peaches!) and some corn on the cob dunked in boiling water just can't be beat at this time of year.

So anyway, this is a Marmande tomato. Apparently they are big in France, and the British like them too. People rave about the flavour. I'm afraid I'm not so impressed. They are semi-determinate (although mine wrapped up production no later than any of the determinates we were growing, and sooner than some) beefsteak-type tomato that should be ready in 65 to 75 days. However I did not find it particularly early. Flavour is okay, a standard tomato flavour neither intense nor interesting, and finally each and every tomato with exception of the one pictured above was a member of the Judean People's Front. (SPLITTERS!)

On the positive side, it is supposed to have reasonable disease resistance, but until that's an issure that's not an issue. It did produce a reasonable amount of tomatoes. But since we just didn't love them, it's safe to say this is one tomato we won't be growing again next year.

Viva Italia, Martino's Roma, & Romeo Tomatoes

What do these three tomatoes have in common? They are all Italian style paste tomatoes. They all grew in our garden this year. And probably, they will not be grown in our garden next year.

First of all, Viva Italia, which is a classic Italian paste tomato, producing 3 ounce fruits on a determinate plant; about 75 days to maturity from setting them out. This is one of the very few hybrid tomatoes we grew this year and I can't say it's any better than the open-pollinated ones; in fact we don't like it nearly as well as Amish Paste, Opalka or even Bellestar. It isn't nice at all when raw, and even cooked we found the flavour adequate, but kind of dull and lacking in depth. It's supposed to be a disease-resistant tomato which it may very well be, but since we had no troubles with any diseases in our garden this year, it didn't matter. And finally, it did not produce particularly large amounts of tomatoes compared to the others already mentioned. In short, there isn't particularly anything wrong with this tomato, but there are enough better ones out there that I think it's going to be dropped.

Martino's Roma - the little tomatoes on the right, in the above picture - did not wow us either, although I can see growing it again for canning whole. It's an open-pollinated heritage variety, also determinate and ready in about 75 days. The tomatoes are very cute, being fairly small (perhaps 2 ounces each) and very plentiful. The plants were absolutely loaded with tomatoes. We used them in sauce, and they were a pain to work with because they were so small - larger tomatoes are definitely easier. The skins were also remarkably thick and tough. Again, we didn't like them at all raw, finding them bland and dry, and did not think they had a particularly notable flavour cooked either, although they were a lot better cooked than raw, having a fairly standard classic tomato flavour. I think if I were to grow these again, it would be because I wanted to can whole tomatoes to be served as a vegetable. They are just the perfect size for that. Again, there are better tomatoes for sauce or crushed tomatoes; both in terms of flavour and a better size to work with.



And finally, these are Romeo. I thought they were relatively common - I remember growing them back when I had an allotment garden, as well as buying them as started plants last year (from which we saved the seeds for this years crop) but there is remarkably little information about them out there. Apparently they were introduced by Peters Seed & Research, an American based company that is now out of business. No one in Canada seems to be selling them this year.

They are a large, paste tomato produce on indeterminate vines and like the others they are ready in about 75 days. Again, they don't taste nice at all when raw, but we thought they had good flavour once cooked - perhaps not the best, but better than Viva Italia or Martino's Roma. They had a classic tomato flavour with a touch of sweetness to them. Some people report tomatoes of over a pound each from Romeo. Ours were considerably smaller than that, but still a good large size and produced reasonably plentifully on the plants. I would grow these again in a pinch, but I do think I like Amish Paste and Opalka better.