gleaning to make a pie

A huge percentage of the food grown in the world goes to waste.  Some is rejected because it is imperfect, and some spoils in transit, in the store, or in our refrigerators.  And some perfectly good food never makes it out of the farm field.  Gleaning is an age-old way to make use of the food that is left behind.  After the main crop is harvested, others go in and collect what remains.  Traditionally, one-third goes to the farmer, one-third goes to charity, and the remainder goes to the picker.

Behind my house is a big field of pumpkins.  When I looked closer, there were many dark green squash nestled in amongst the orange.













Most are imperfect, with a superficial cut, or warts, or extra small.  But those imperfections are not important when making pie.  Just cut out the bad bits.

So out I went yesterday with my red wheelbarrow to collect some booty.  I gathered about 65 fruit of varying size and beauty, and headed back home.

I scrubbed them in water to take off the soil, and let them dry overnight.  Then I washed them in a mild bleach solution, which kills bacteria and mould and keeps the squash from rotting in storage.

They can be left outside for a while, but before it goes down to freezing at night, wrap the squash in newspaper and store in a cardboard box in a cool dark place.  If stored properly, they will keep for the whole winter.

Using orange pumpkins to make pie isn't always successful, because the flesh is quite watery.  Squash is much drier, and just as delicious.To make two big pies, use two medium squashes.  Zap in microwave 2 minutes to soften enough to cut them open, scoop out the seeds, and place cut side down on a cookie sheet.  Put in 350 degree oven, add water to cover bottom, and bake 45 minutes.

When cool, peel and put through a food mill.

For two pies:
1.  Mix together 2 cups brown sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp. cloves, 1 tsp. salt.
2.  Add in 4 eggs, 2 cups milk, cream, or plant-based milk, and 5-6 cups of pureed squash. An immersion blender is a great help to make a smooth, lump-free mixture
3.  Spray 2 large pie plates with PAM.  Pour in mixture.  Bake each one separately 45 minutes.

Since my husband and I both have to stay away from gluten, this is great.  It does not need a crust.

garbage

On this week of global climate change protests, I should be proud of the fact that people are finally waking up and realizing that our natural world is in trouble.  But it is easy to march in a parade and wave a sign.  What are people actually doing to make the world a cleaner place?  Do they walk the walk, or just talk the talk?

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a walk on the shore.  I went to my favourite spot, a wooden bench with steps down to the shore in Stanhope, PEI.  I planned to sit for a while and look out at the lovely sea view, the blue herons and seagulls. 

But at the top of the stairs near the road I found a blue bag half full of dirty beer bottles and cans.  Who would do that?  I saw more cans glinting in the sun, so I walked down the steps and collected more beer cans and pop cans filled with seaweed.  I also found shiny foil candy wrappers, styrofoam from broken buoys, a piece of rope and netting from fishing gear, a Purina feed bag, plastic strapping, and half a for sale sign.

Humans are not good stewards of our beautiful planet, and I don't think that will ever change.  People do not want to be inconvenienced if it means doing the right thing.  They don't want to take that extra step of putting garbage in a place where it won't end up damaging our world.

This is the view I want to keep pristine - eelgrass protecting a sensitive sandy shoreline from erosion.

This wild rose gives me a bit of hope.  It has pushed its way through an opening in the wood.  It shows that nature is resilient and can repair human damage if given a chance..
The earth has survived multiple extinctions and has brought forth new life over and over again.  I hope it can do so again.

carrots

In spite of the cold spring and the lack of rain for six weeks, I harvested a lovely variety of carrots this year.
I was surprised to find that although they were all planted at the same time, the different varieties produced a huge range of sizes and resistance to bugs and disease.

I found that carrot top size is no indication of how long the roots will be.  the longest tops didn't translate to the longest roots.
But what did make a difference was distance between each plant.  Those varieties that had poor germination and therefore had lots of room between them (thinning is backbreaking work that I always put off until never) were much much bigger.

I found the purple carrots had the fewest disease problems.  The white carrots had a bit of damage from carrot rust fly larvae.  My theory is that the darker carrots are harder for the larvae to find in the soil.  The white ones must shine like beacons.

One variety, a red carrot, had more disease problems than the others.  The one at left had rot right in the middle of the root.

That weird yellow bunch of nodules is probably the result of root knot nematodes. These plant parasitic roundworms attack the roots of many vegetables.  The recommendation I found is to treat the soil before planting the seeds with a different type of nematode:  Steinernema feltiae.
Because only one variety seems susceptible, I will instead just avoid that variety in future!

sick grapes

Every year I look forward to a feast of grapes.  I planted a sickly valiant grape vine about 15 years ago.  It was just 2 feet tall and half dead, and then when my husband mistakenly took a weed whacker to it, I thought it was over.  But it came back better than ever, and it looks much older and gnarlier than it should.
Valiant produces big numerous clusters of dark blue grapes, which taste amazingly grapey.  They are only the size of big blueberries, and they each have at least two seeds, but they sure are good!

This is what they are supposed to look like in early September - still green, but plump and starting to turn dark.
However, this year, just a very few clusters look this good.

Most of the clusters look like this.  The grapes are wrinkled and sunken and covered with grey mould.

Many of the leaves are also covered with tiny dark dots and look faded and mouldy.

My internet research has come up with two likely  culprits:  Botritis cineria |(grey mould) or black rot.  Either way, there seems to be no cure.  Advice includes pruning excess branches to improve air circulation, cutting off and burning infected leaves and fruit, and even destroying the whole plant and not planting another grape vine in the same spot for at least 10 years, because the fungus pathogen can live in the soil that long.

So I will have to hang on to good memories of tasting the grapeyest grapes, and enjoy the vines as a privacy cover, not as a source of a delicious snack.

Wernigerode Castle, Germany

Wernigerode is a town located in the Harz mountains in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its lovely old town has winding cobbled streets and lots of fun touristy stores celebrating the local Hexen (witches) and serving Currywurst (delicious).  

 On a hill above the town is a castle (Schloss), one of the many we saw on our trip through east Germany. The present-day building was rebuilt many times in different styles, and was finished in the late 19th century.

as we climbed up the hill to the Schloss, I noticed the maple leaves look different than the ones at home in Canada.

At the top in the castle grounds, a walkway with lawns, fountains, and flowers overlooks a sheer drop and the town below.

the magificent flower beds

a tower framed by a walkway of metal arches supporting roses.  I want one of those!

This corner was constantly monopolized by other tourists, but Wayne was determined to wait them out and get his turn to check out the view.

The many tiers leading up to the castle held gems like this:  a private garden filled with flowers and fountains and secret hiding places.

 

Inside the castle's chapel were tall stained glass windows. 

Quedlinburg, Germany

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Quedlinburg, in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt, was a capital of the East Franconian German Empire from 919 to 1024, and has been a prosperous trading town since the Middle Ages. The number and high quality of the timber-framed buildings make Quedlinburg an exceptional example of a medieval European town.

A quirky wooden container filled with perennials and annuals

In the old town, the Collegiate Church dedicated to St. Servatius was one of the most highly esteemed churches of the Empire during the Middle Ages.  The impressive church, which was built between  1070  and 1129, is perched high on a rocky hill and is surrounded by gardens and distant views of the surrounding town and countryside.

The splendour of Quedlinburg from the 10th to the 12th century can be seen in the buildings on the castle hill. The ground plan and very likely some original pieces inside the house have survived from the surrounding residential town of that time.

This beautiful structure was completely abandoned.  It must be so expensive to maintain buildings that are 500 to 1,000 years old.

 

Many of the buildings, especially the timber-framed residential structures, have undergone little or no modification over the course of the centuries.

As we walked the narrow winding streets, we were amazed that people still live there today.  More than 1,000 years of recorded history makes their home a living museum piece that is still providing shelter today.

The church is build atop solid rock

 

This ancient trumpet vine has a small rocky niche to grow in, yet produces huge orange flowers.

Sansoucci Park, Potsdam, Germany

This summer, my husband and I visited England, Prague, and Germany.  Wayne, as a non-gardener, was very patient as I dragged him from one stunning garden site to the next.  I was so impressed by the size of the public spaces in Europe.  For all the huge population, they make it a priority to offer the public huge squares, beautifully designed and maintained gardens, and vast forests.

One of those spaces was Sansoucci Park, in Potsdam, eastern Germany.  Friedrich the Great's amazing 18th-century palace, reminiscent of the grandeur of Versailles, is surrounded by a magnificent 600-acre park.  The gardens were so big, the pictures I took just can't capture the full effect. 

The annual borders, which snaked around and through the lawns, were a mix of colours and heights.  Seems like a confusing combination, but as a whole they painted a whimsical, joyful picture. The lesson:  don't worry so much about coordinating and matching colours.  Flowers are happy to party together. 

Notice the razor sharp lines of the white gravel borders

Another mixed border, this time with sunflowers.

The centre of the sunflowers were cut out to keep the plants small.

Gomphrena adds hot pink to the mix

A tall fountain splashes in a huge reflecting pond at the bottom of tiers of grapevines.  At the top is Friederich's palace.

Intense blue annual delphinium is much smaller than its perennial cousin

a fat bumble bee on a sunflower