Garden thoughts, plans, and daydreams are captured here while sipping a cup of coffee and enjoying some type of food that is probably not good for me.
My List Of Successes
Every growing season is different. One year you may have a bumper crop of one item and the next it fails miserably. And every season, we learn from both successes and failures. As usual, I’ve included a food indulgence in this But First, Coffee blog. Today I’m introducing Crazy Crust Pizza which I enjoy about twice each month. IIt is a success for me particularly when I add garden vegetables. Check out the recipe at the bottom of this blog.
Okra – Texas Hill Country
I grew five plants in a raised bed. I had not previously grown the Texas Hill Country variety but glad I did. First, let me say, the plant is a beautiful plant and the okra pods are unique. Most of them will have both green and reddish pink coloring on them. They grow fatter than the Clemson Spineless Ii’ve grown in the past. They have great flavor. However, they have to be cut short or they toughen quickly. I had expected to wait until a pod had grown 4 inches before cutting but sometimes this was too late.
I have several zip loc bags of sliced okra currently in my freezer. I have also given okra to neighbors, family and friends. I’m not sure whether I will grow Texas Hill Country next year. I prefer a smaller pod. The Clemson Spineless grew skinny pods for me and the Texas Hill Country grew fat pods for me. I want one in the middle. You know, one that is “just right.”
Yellow Pear Tomatoes
I’ll be honest, I do not like fresh tomatoes. It has been that way since I was a kid. Both my parents could slice up a tomato and eat it like I would an apple. But something happened with me and my siblings. None of us like fresh tomatoes. I do love cooked tomatoes…in sauces, soups, salsa, etc. But if any tomato has changed my opinion, it would have to be the Yellow Pear tomato. Part of what I do not like about some fresh tomatoes is the texture and the juice and seed gel. The Yellow Pear is solid with little of that. And to me it is like eating a piece of fruit. During this past summer, I looked forward to eating at least one yellow pear tomato every day when I went out to work in the garden. I will definitely grow these again next year I plan to add one or two more plants because there were days that I had to wait for the Yellow Pear tomatoes to ripen.
Peppers
Peppers are easy to grow in our area. Each year I receive an abundant harvest of both sweet and hot peppers. The varieties of sweet peppers that I grow are Yolo Bell Peppers, and a variety of colorful peppers that I grew from seeds I saved from store bought peppers. The hot peppers have been very prolific as well. I have grown Jalapeño, Serrano, and Cayenne. This year I grew Poblano for the first time. I will always grow peppers. I use them in many of the things that I cook. And since they grow well in our climate, it only makes sense that a gardener in this area of Zone 6B would grow many different varieties of peppers.
Kale – Purple Russian
I grow Kale in the Fall and it survives all through the winter. Last winter was one of coldest we have ever had. Our temperature dipped to -20 Fahrenheit/ -28 Celsius. The Kale came through just fine and I harvested leaves from it for several months. It succumbed to the hot summer temps in June and bolted. This coming Fall/Winter, I am growing three different types of Kale. I’ll update you on how they all perform.
Herbs
I have enjoyed fresh herbs in my cooking this past summer more than ever before. I had much success with Sage, Lemon Thyme, English Thyme, Basil, Purple Basil, Oregano, Marjoram, Rosemary, and even Cilantro which quickly bolts in our heat. I succession planted Cilantro three times to get a harvest before they went to seed.
Pineapple tomato variety
I bought this heirloom tomato plant in the Spring at the local Farmer’s Market. I try to grow something new every year. I was pleasantly surprised when I cut into this tomato the first time. It was solid on the inside with very little gel and small areas with seeds. I will grow it again. The orange yellow and red coloration makes a beautiful fruit and I enjoyed it on burgers, sandwiches and in a salad or two. And yes, on Crazy Crust Pizza as well.
Amish Paste Tomato
This tomato was recommended by Jess on the Roots & Refuge Farm You Tube channel. She grows multiple varieties of heirloom tomatoes. This was another new plant to grow for 2021. This will be my true red tomato going forward. The tomatoes were of a consistent size, shape and color. My family, neighbors, and friends liked the flavor. And of course, it worked well sliced up on the crazy crust pizza. See video below for recipe.
Turnips
I grew up eating turnips and turnip greens. I love greens of any kind – spinach, mustard, collards, kale, etc., but my favorite has always been turnip greens. Several years ago I went on a trip to Europe. Part of the trip was in Switzerland. I found a package of turnip seeds at a shop on one of our stops and bought them. I brought them back as a gift to my grandfather who was one of my gardening mentors. He was delighted and grew them that Fall. He had never been out of the U.S., so to him it was something special to grow turnips from seeds that came from Switzerland. Of course, I ate several ‘messes’ of those turnips and greens that year. I currently have purple top and yellow turnips planted for this Fall. I’m waiting for them to germinate which should be any day. I’ll update this information with results and pics when available.
Crazy Crust Pizza Recipe
In the past I would take a frozen cheese pizza from the supermarket and doctor it up with tomatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, fresh basil, etc., basically whatever I had on hand from the garden. Then I’d add extra pizza sauce and shredded mozzarella. I did this until I discovered this Crazy Crust recipe on You Tube. Now it is my go to pizza recipe. It is easy. I can make a thin crust with it, which is the way I prefer my pizza. I also added Turkey sausage to the one shown above. Check it out and see if it its something you would like. I’ve found several other recipes that I like and have tried on their YouTube channel. I love their down-to-earth attitudes and lifestyle.