Everything and Cheese

Swiss Chard / Mac and Cheese

I tried something new with some Macaroni and Cheese the other day: I added Ground Beef, Onions, Carrots and Asparagus to the mix, then wrapped it all up in some Swiss Chard. It actually tasted pretty good, and I’m sure it adds to the vitamin content of the mac and cheese. So here is how I made it:

Cook the noodles as directed on the packaging. While the noodles are boiling, throw in some frozen onions and carrots.

Place a pound of ground beef in a frying pan with butter, then stir in a half a can of Asparagus, and some minced garlic.

When the noodles are nearly cooked and the beef is thoroughly fried, mix the beef into the pot of water. This is an unusual step, but it makes stirring in the cheese easier. When the noodles are cooked strain, then add the cheese packet.

Everything and Cheese

The mac and cheese is very good with or without the Chard. Now I’m wondering how the whole thing would taste if placed in a deep fryer…. Maybe next time I’ll give it a try.

Preparing for Frost

Beets, Turnips, Carrots, Kohlrabi & String Beans

The garden has begun it’s slow transformation from a land of plenty, with rapidly growing plants to a shadow of it’s height in summer. Most of the plants are showing their fatigue for the year, and many have withered completely. Few plants flourish this time of year, and it seemed prudent to pick these root crops before the first frost. I picked a bag each of Turnips and Beets, a few nice size kohlrabies and some carrots. My niece picked the string beans, as she seems to be the only one who is not yet sick of them for the year.

String Bean Kid

As I was pulling up the turnips, I kept hearing comments about the beans. Some where shaped like funny letters, a J here, an I there. I’m surprised she didn’t lay them out in the soil and spell funny words.

Large Pepper Plant

Last year I took a pepper plant out of the greenhouse, and planted it in a small pot in my kitchen. The plant grew enough in the winter to set one pepper. This year, I’m trying a different approach. I found the largest Chablis Pepper plant in the garden, and planted it in a 5 gallon bucket. The stem on this giant plant was about an inch in width, and is starting to get a hardened bark on the stem, just like a tree. The plant is at least three feet tall, bucket and all, and looked pretty cool when it was moved indoors. There are at least ten small peppers on this plant, so I’m hopeful for fresh peppers after the frost descends on the garden.

Root Crops

Purple Globe Top Turnip

Turnips are very easy to grow, and I’ve always had great success with them, sometimes even more success then I planned. I imagine the word turnip was derived from or caused the use of the expression “whatever turns up”; because they grow all over the place, turning up all over the garden as volunteers.  I’m not a big fan of this vegetable cooked, but raw it is quite good. I like to shred this veggy with carrots, and radishes and mix it up in a salad.

Kohlrabi

The kohlrabi is a bit small for this time of year, and I’ve been watering it every few days with the fall planted cucumbers. Kohlrabi has exceptional health benefits, and it’s taste is pretty good. I’ve also found out that it is sometimes referred to as “Space Cabbage”, seems fitting to me.

Carrots

I’ve also dug up some of the carrots to see how they are progressing. I’ve tried simply pulling a few out of the ground by their leaves, but they always seemed to snap off at the base of the stem, so I used a pitch fork to prod the dirt. When snapping the photo, I found a water bottle sitting on the produce stand, and added it to show size.