I’ve got baby corn!!! I’m so psyched!! Lol
On a bizarre side note none of our tomato plants are developing any fruit. Obviously hard to tell from the pics but I can’t spot one tomato coming in on any of the 6-8 plants and varieties we planted. Odd to say the least.
Corn seems a bigger challenge so yay! I should know this by now, but where is your garden? Those plants seem young to have babies.
ETA Found it! Jersey!
Same here, so please contribute! Your recipes add a lot to my knowledge base.
Thank you
Well, recently aside from Hon mirin from Japan Store that is aged 4 years ( Issi Souden) produced by Ogasawara,( https://thejapanstore.jp/products/sake_008?variant=13212790194241), I also came to love Colatura di Alici;s Sapore di Mari.
.Incidientlaly, those Hon mirin cost $12 USD based on exchange when I purchased it, but Fed EX express shipping cost a lot more so, buying two bottles with S/H came to $49. The store is very user friendly and communicates well, even tracking shipment and reminding me it arrived. They are correct. It took only 4 days to arrive, faster than it would have arrived from west to east coast. I was relieved bec these days of covid, shipping is a concern.
Sapore di Mari is a liquid obtained from the maturation and seasoning process of anchovies pressed in salt , following an ancient process handed down from father to son by the fishermen of Cetara. The anchovies are placed in a container, arranged with the classic ‘head-tail’ technique in alternating layers of salt and anchovies. Once the layers are completed, the container is covered with a disk, on which weights are placed. The liquid, due to the pressing and ripening of the anchovies, begins to emerge on the surface; it is a clear amber-colored distillate with a strong and full-bodied flavor.
It is typically accompanied by spaghetti with anchovy sauce.( I still add a tin of anchovy in EVOO when I make this dish) In addition, Colatura is used instead of salt to flavor fresh or boiled vegetables (potatoes, broccoli, etc.) and some fish dishes.
I stumbled into this when googling , saw review by Lydia Bastianich and purchased one bottle from Amazon. It was amazing!
Anyway, at $21.oo and change, that was pricey for me ,so I googled and found it at Bella italianfood store.com for just around $11.00 plus shipping. I ended up buying 7 bottles from them . Would have purchased more but their stock expires Dec 2021.
Although the shelf life is for more than a year, Bella Italia advised me not to buy more till new stock came in. However, I have been using it a lot specially on roasted vegetables, Aglio y Olio and of course, have given away a few bottles to friends who came to visit and loved it as well.
Another great buy is wild caught wood smoked sardines in EVOO from Polar. They are hand packed individually and is great with Carr’s cheese melt biscuit. Unfortunately, Costco stopped carrying this cheese melt. Can be found on internet thru Walmart. It may be under Carr’s brand but Carr told me they are made for them by a company in Amsterdam. Any time I am lazy cooking, my Pomeranians and I enjoy this immensely!
Thank you, ccj, for the recipes! Though the first one is similar to the stuffed version I make, there was good info on choosing older fruits for less bitterness; that is not true for many Cucurbits and somewhat contrary to expectation.
A quick, salt water blanch helps quite a bit. I suspect that when the Chinese white and Japanese white Bitter Melon come in, it’ll be hard to give away around here.
That’s a very extensive set of things you cook and eat!
I rarely eat red meat myself - I’m surprised when I crave steak or lamb 
Re uploading - I sometimes write a post on my laptop (easier to type), then edit and add pictures from my phone (easier to upload).
Here’s the current What’s For Dinner thread if you want to stop by.
Either way, glad you are well.
you can always toss it over here.
Hard to find them in local storesunless I travel to va to Asian supermarket
it is a fact that it helps with diabetic person to consume it.
Mother always advised me to eat it as a child to prevent cancer but that is not really8 documented.
Well, someone just put me out of my misery now. An insane squall came rolling through last evening that literally tore down branches and uprooted trees in my neighborhood. Naturally, my garden didn’t like that too much. Lots of knocked over plants, that thankfully i was able to duck out and bring many into a garage. My taller plants really didn’t escape. My biggest tomato plant that has the dozens of green tomatoes was hit very hard - the main stalk was just about shorn. The plant was essentially almost folded over. 
Primary stem/stalk is quite literally hanging on by like 2mm of stem. a big chunk from the middle was gone and torn off so I don’t know if that top part of the stalk is even able to get any food and nutrients from the root? I’ve poorly bandaged up a few other stalks that started splitting, but the cursed abundance of tomatoes is leading to quite a bit of weight for those weakened stalks. I’m trying to prop, tape, and do what I can to salvage any tomatoes left. Is this a lost cause for me? Anyone have this happen before? Should I just take off all the green tomatoes and find a way to use them up?
Oh no! I don’t have advice to offer bet tomatoes can be resilient! A picture might help.
I’d certainly take some of the green ones, especially if they have even the slightest blush.
I’ve had tomatoes survive that. If the leaves don’t start drying out in the next couple of days, there may be hope. If the green tomatoes are nearing their full size, you can pickle or fry them. (If they’re still really small, they’ll probably be too bitter to eat.) So perhaps all is not lost, even if the plant does not survive.
Signed,
Someone who grows stuff on her 5th floor balcony and has subjected her poor plants to storms both thunder and tropical.
This happened to me a couple of times last summer.
Too a little care, but they came back.
Sorry you have to deal with it though!
Here we have many varieties of bitter gourd.
Here’s one way we prefer to eat it
Thinly slice the bitter gourd
wash in salt water
deep fry with green chillies split in half
mix the green chillies, bitter gourd, and sliced onions.
add salt and a little bit of vinegar and lime.
serve.
It’s also good when you deep fry only the bitter gourd, and add fresh green chilles (and onions) thinly sliced
To remove bitterness, cooking it with some dried brindleberry( Garcinia gummi-gutta) is also a practice here.
Nice selection of heirlooms! I’ve been picking a little early as well to stay ahead of the critters. I think I will keep our heirlooms for eating now and freezing and I’ll buy half a bushel of tomato seconds for canning salsa. (If I can ever find the damn lids!)
That is not out of the question! Especially if you’re not far from VA. Best contact is rob.botanique and it’s a gmail.com account. The 60 foot trellis where the Japanese White Bitter Melon grows is shared by:
Then come the Marvel of Kelvedon Scarlet Runner beans, in flower:
The Python Snake "Bean’/ gourd is starting to produce!
Meanwhile, the Marina di Cioggia continues its rampage, after swallowing a brush pile!
Kobuta, that’s awful! Violent storms are predicted here this evening/night. Gardening is always a gamble.
You should be able to locate Tattler, reusable canning lids. I use them a lot. Like all two-part lids, you just have to get a feel for how tight to screw down the rings, lightly “finger tight”, so they can vent. The advantage of Tattlers is they do not corrode and can be reused, replacing the rubber gasket as needed.
What a great product! Thanks!
Kidding ! I hardly drive nowadays
I am an avid gardener but not veggie gardening., mostly ornamentals ( J maple, rare boxwoods , rare conifers, tropicals etc)
My son started 2. years ago, first tomatoes, ( I run out fo space in my freezer), then fruit trees , and last year, he drove to Pennsylvania for 5 year old berries ( strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberries ) Nothing much last year but this year, they are really abundant esp the blackberries, which plans to make wine with. Other vegetables ate the long beans , Cucuzza etc. But, the weeds are killing me !!!
thanks.
Looks sort of like a ladybug but I’m used to seeing red with black spots.
I found this.
And this
https://plunketts.net/blog/ladybugs-vs-asian-lady-beetles
