Sandy's Yummy Rhubarb Ginger Juice

Now that rhubarb is up, I thought I'd share my bff, Sandy's rhubarb-ginger juice recipe.  It is the best in the entire universe!

• Pick a whole bunch of rhubard and leave the leaves in the garden for compost.
• Cut the bottom end of stalk off and discard.
• Chop in approx. 2 inch lengths.
• Wash and rinse in a collandar
• Put rhubard in large pot and just cover with water
• Add chopped unpeeled ginger.  The more ginger you add, the more flavourful the juice will be.
• Bring to a boil and boil until the rhubarb is mushy. 7 - 10 minutes.
• Put collander in large bowl.  Carefully pour the hot mixture into the collander.  It may take 20 minutes to get all the juice out of the "mush."
• Wash out pot and put a sieve across the pot.
• Put the juice you've collected from the bowl and pour into the sieve.
• Taste juice for tartness because rhubard can vary in tartness.  Some rhubarb is so sweet, you will not need to add sugar.
• Bring juice to boil.  Add sugar a little at a time until desired sweetness.
• Boil for 1 minute.
• If you want to store, pour juice in sterlized mason jars.  The juice will keep for one year in a dark place.  The colour may change but this does not impact it's yumminess.
• Serve over ice or mix juice with soda water.  Also excellent for rhubarb martinis. Enjoy with family and friends!

What am I going to do with all these cukes, beans, jalapenos . . .?

You are going to have too many fresh veggies to eat.   You can give some away (to the local food bank, friends and family), store them and can or pickle them. 

Hopefully, you will have enough cucumbers to make dill pickles (love them). If we have a big harvest, a group of us will get together and pickle. If it’s a small harvest, I do it myself.  Don’t wait to pickle.  Do it as soon as possible after you’ve picked the cucumbers, beans (great for Bloody Ceasars), beets, jalapenos or whatever you want to pickle.  Last year I pickled carrots with jalapeno peppers and they were delicious!

Store, pickle, can or freeze as much as possible.  Come winter when vegetable prices go up, you will be thankful you have taken the extra time to store your produce.

Here is a website to help you get started: http://www.howtopickle.com/

Hallelujah Harvest

Whoot!  Whoot! Stuff is growing and now you can start harvesting and eating the delicious veggies you have grown with your own hands.  What a great feeling! It is so exciting when you pull up the first carrot of the season, brush it off and take a bite.  It tastes like sunshine!

Check out the “Days to Maturity” on your seed package.  Harvest your veggies early and often. Some veggies will grow quicker than others and you may be able to plant two crops over a growing season (radishes, peas, lettuce, and carrots).  Last year we planted lettuce and radishes from seed in the second week of August.  Harvest the veggies before the plant has produced seeds.

As individuals, we take what we need when we are at the garden looking after our plants (pull up a potato as needed, but do not dig up the potato plant yet), but Sunday (throughout the season, not just for harvesting) is the day everyone meets at the farm and works as a group. On warm Sundays, we picnic after the work is done.  We harvest everything we can for the day and divide it up amongst ourselves.  Harvesting is best done on a cloudy day.  If it is sunny, try and harvest mid morning after the dew has dried and before it gets too hot. Carrots and potatoes do not like to be exposed to the sun.  Whenever you can, eat what you have picked the same day.  Refrigerate lettuce, beets and carrots as soon as possible.  Tomatoes ripen best at room temperature while potatoes and onions require a curing period before you store them for the winter.  If the snap peas even make it to your kitchen (I eat a ton while I am picking them), shell and freeze them (there are many websites that instruct how to freeze veggies).  Cut the tops of the lettuce plant (for Romaine, pull out the whole plant) and it will keep growing. 
You will be so grateful for the wonderful, nutritious food you have grown!