September 17, 2023- the equinox cometh

 The equinox is coming. Daytime, particularly in the morning, is  already much diminished.

The first tree in the neighborhood has started to change color.

It did rain last Monday. It was a good rain. All 2/3 of an inch went directly into the ground. That was followed by the rest of an inch over the next two days.

The cooler weather persists, with temperatures into the 40's in the low lying areas.

Mostly it is pleasant to be outside. The cooler weather means certain plants grow better. The ornamental kale in the ground are spreading out, reaching out to touch the next plant. This was planted the last week in July. Next year...there is always a next year...we should plant the seed in late June.

And the lettuce. All the lettuce has come to the garden from the greenhouse. It was planted on August 13. One flat of green and one flat of dark.

Some really should be ready to eat in another 2-3 weeks. Now we will just see whether it sells on the sale table (which is really the back driveway.)

In last week's voting you liked the toad lily.

The toad lilies are just getting started.

Here are the best pictures from September 10-16. 

It is worth noting that some of the same flowers get repeated this time of year. I really must have more annuals in the future. Of course I have a number of buds coming, including one orchid.

#1 Colchicum

Colchicum are a different genus from other fall crocuses, which are actually related to the spring blooming crucus. I did just dig up one of the clumps in with the anemones. There were about 8 bulbs in that one clump.

#2 Double Double Pink Anemone

#3 White Anemone

#4 Red Zinnia

#5 Lantana

Other pictures

If there were a leaf competition this would certainly be a favorite.

I did spray the toad lilies with the deer repellant this week. The deer can just eat the tops of the plants.

Speaking of deer the mother and twins has picked up another adult for company. I watched as all four walked down the front sidewalk. They stayed on the path and did not eat anything. What caught my eye was the number of them. 

There are orchids that bloom in the fall. This one should open in the next week or two.

This was a white anemone flower. I liked the green ball with petals.

Several cactus buds should also open soon. In this picture you can see the large bud which should bloom this week. You can also see the tiny white bud that is just starting.

Here is a video of the ornamental kale we planted on July 23. That was 7 weeks ago. You can see how it is doing. Next year we will start the plants by July 4.

Here is the video of the Japanese anemones. These have been blooming nicely for weeks.

Julia's recipe

Peach dessert 

It has been a good year for peaches. At least here. We have bought organic peaches from Colorado, not organic peaches from Colorado and local peaches at the farmer's market. The local peaches are significantly smaller than the ones in the store, but sweet and tasty. Who knew? I decided to make a peach dessert a few weeks ago, and I turned to the oldest (and I think the first, actually) Betty Crocker cookbook. It came from my grandmother's house, but I don't remember ever seeing her open a cookbook of any kind. It's a mystery. 

The ingredients for the shortcake layer:

1 cup flour;

2 tablespoons sugar;

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder;

1/4 teaspoon salt (if using salted butter; otherwise, 1/2 teaspoon);

3 tablespoons butter; and

1/3-1/2 cup milk. 

For the filling:

3-4 cups peeled, sliced, ripe peaches;

1/2 cup sugar;

1/2 teaspoon salt;

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; and

another 1 tablespoon butter.

First I made the dough. It's shortcake, which is a sweeter version of biscuits. So, I started by measuring the dry ingredients (and the sugar) into a bowl. I cut the butter into little cubes and used a pastry cutter (partially shown at the right side of the photo, next to the measuring sppons) to work the butter into the dry stuff until the mixture looked kind of mixed. No lumps of butter. Then I added 1/3 cup of milk and mixed with a wooden spoon. The mixture was still unacceptably dry at that point so I added the extra milk. Results may vary. You are looking for a mixture like the one above - kind of like biscuit dough. 

You can make shortcake in a food processor. I think I would move the mixture into a bowl after the butter addition and mix in the milk by hand.  

Next I turned my attention to the peaches. I put some water in a suacepan and brought it to a simmer. I put the peaches in the water in two batches. Don't use too much water or you will, after adding the peaches, have a messy illustration of Archimedes' principle of displacement. 

After I few minutes, I could see that the skins were loosened so I fished them out and peeled them. 

Somtimes there are bits of skin that stick. Either peel it off with a peeler. Or ignore it. Both are good choices. 

Somewhere in here, I turned the oven on to 425 degrees.

While the peaches cooled, I rolled out the shortcake. I rolled it out between two pieces of waxed paper (or you could use parchment). The dough was a little sticky.

The recipe said to make the dish in an 8" castiron skillet. I don't have one. So I used a small regular (do not use non-stick) skillet. On further reflection, I do not believe there is any magic in baking in a vessel with a handle. An 8" or 9" pie plate would work just fine. 

I peeled the top piece of waxed paper off the disk, flipped it over and  ooched the shortcake into the skillet. Then I peeled the other piece of waxed paper off. There were a few holes which I patched with material from the edges. 

The idea is to have the bottom covered with some additional shortcake up the sides. 

Back to the peaches. An out of sequence picture of peach peeling. 

After peeling, I cut the peaches in half lenthwise (through the stem end). The peaches were freestone, which means what it says. The pits came right out. 

As an aside, I like nectarines too. Always clingstone. Where are the plant geneticists when you need them?

I sliced the peaches into thin wedges and put them in the bowl that had once held the shortcake mixture. No need to dirty another bowl. 

I added the sugar, salt, and cinnamon and gave everything a gentle stir. 

Then I dumped the peaches into the skillet, cubed up the last tablespoon of butter and sprinkled it around and folded the overhang of shortcake over the peaches. 

Into the oven it went for about 25 minutes, until the peaches had given up and the shortcake was nicely browned. 

The finished product. You will note a bit of juice seeped out and is pooled around the edge. This is not a problem. 

The dessert was scooped, not sliced. 

This is sort of like a galette, except a galette crust is pie dough and this is shortcake. I like shortcake better - it is more tender and I think more flavorful. 

I do not remember having my picture taken. I look a little goofy, but it is what it is. 

This dessert, like so many fruit desserts, goes nicely with vanilla ice cream. 

Enjoy peach desserts while they are available! 

Odds and Ends

We have reached $5800 for the plant sale. In a down garden year that is not so bad. Year 4 will continue until a killing frost.

Plant migration is coming. The Chadek garden plot closes on October 13. We will have to harvest the amaryllis before that.

Our trip east starts October 5. I understand how that date relates to plant migration. Sometimes I do rely on a late frost, and some friends.

Here are pictures from Maine this last week.

I loose track of the names at this point. But the release happened a day or two before the hurrucane that wasn't much, arrived. There apparently is some disagreement as to the remaining chrysalis' name. 

This is Starry Starry Night in Katie's garden in Maine. It is about a month behind when ours bloomed.

We saw an add on TV for one of the republicans. It is going to be a long 3-4 months leading up to the caucuses.

Pray for peace, and for some more rain.

Philip