Doorstep Harvest Newsletter 8-31-13
As always, try new foods with caution, and in small amounts.  Also, please note that some herbs-foods may interact with pharmaceuticals so, if you use meds, please go to http://www.drugs.com/ to check them out.
News from the garden:  Cucumber and summer squash are petering out but tomatillo are filling in.  Had to water the garden a lot this week.  Chard has too many bugs this week so no greens this week.  My favorite fruit is included this week:  Autumn olives.  They will produce through October and sweeten with frost.  Tart – Sweet, they are supposed to be good for men to eat.  Some people make jam with them but I eat them fresh & frozen for winter snacks. Those stubborn potato vines still won’t die (we can’t harvest roots until they die).  Crensha melons continue to thrive in the heat!!!!! They may be ripe next week or the week after.  Bugs have eaten kale and broccoli down to the stem but the roots and plant base are gaining strength and these plants will make gorgeous large leaves in the cold frame hoop house this winter after bugs die from the cold.
This week, in your Doorstep Harvest, you will find:
J Tomatoes (regular, heirloom & cherry mix):  4 pounds this week per person.  Just made a gazpacho for lunch today with my garden tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh basil & parsley, and it was fabulous! We’re giving you almost all the ingredients to make some, and I highly recommend it.  You should still have your recipe from earlier this year but I didn’t use a recipe…
J/JJCucumbers:  2 of you have the red Edmonson.  Next time there are more, we’ll get them to the rest of you.
JJ Green Beans: Heirloom mix.  Same as last week.   
JJ Zucchini:  nearing the end of the season
JJ Triple Crown Blackberries:  didn’t think there would be any this week but we were wrong… a few were nestled low to the ground under cane/leaf cover.  Possible flush again  later in the fall…
J Autumn Olive:  otherwise known as Gumi or Auki-gumi… Higher in lycopene than tomatoes and pomegranate (prostate health).
J Asian Pear:  crunchy juicy sweet… one more harvest of these at most, so enjoy them because they are very special this year (some how they made it through the late frosts… 
J Carrot:  A couple to add to soup or grate into salad or stir fry.
J/JJ Okra:  coming on stronger each week.  Okra loves the heat.  Mom says:  When the other plants pause in the heat, Okra sprints!
J Elderberry:  wild crafted from my great aunt’s pasture, and from side of country roads.  Please stem them, then wash before using, and don’t eat stems, as they contain toxic alkaloids.  See recipe below.  They can also be made into jelly/jam/juice/syrup.  I like the recipe below, it’s very strong and thick.  I also like it when mom make’s syrup.                                                                              
JJHerb bag : J Jalapeño peppers, JJParsley (Japanese & Italian), JJOregano (Keep in paper bag on counter to dry for future use or keep in fridge sealed for use this week),  JJComfrey, JJBasil, JJLavender, JJLemon Balm
J  Flower Bouquet:  Goldenrod, straw flower, spider plant, butterfly bush, hyacinth bean flowers, Russian sage.
J  = grown in my garden in the country at Grandma (organic as much as possible)   or wild crafted
JJ = 100% organically grown in my 4-H Garden in my Cedar Street home.
Elderberry cordial
Elderberries 1 ½ lb (3 cups)                                                       Juice of 1 lemon (1 Tblsp Vinegar)
Sugar 4 oz (½ cup)
Strip elderberries from stalks and wash. Put the fruit in a pan with sugar and lemon juice over a very low heat. Simmer, mashing occasionally with a wooden spoon. Put through a liquidizer or rub through a nylon sieve. To serve, pour about ½ wineglass of cordial in a tumbler, add cold water, an ice cube and a twist of lemon peel.
Decorating with Wild Flowers, Westland, Pamela. 1976.