[Edie Moro]

I’m suggesting that we remove all the plants from each bed, dig down until we get all the grass out, then spread something to keep it from coming back at the bottom, and building raised beds – maybe only a foot??? – then replanting the plants. It would probably be a good idea to dig out a little ways away from each bed (?? 6″?) and lay down gravel or chips to make getting grass out easier, so we have a protective edging.

[Edie Moro]

I suggest we replant after setting aside the perennials, digging out the grass, smothering with cardboard & building a raised bed Then, fill with new dirt and replant the perennials. We may also want to have some sort of edging along the outside of the new raised bed that would allow us to weed out any encroaching grass.

[Edie Moro]

Refrigerator Pickled Cucumbers
My friend Frankie swears these pickles taste just like the ones he ate in the Army.

2 to 3 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 medium white onion, sliced
½ cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon each salt and pepper

Layer the cucumber and onion slices in a 2-quart jar. Simmer together the rest of the ingredients until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour over the veggies, cover, and refrigerate overnight before using.

[Edie Moro]

Supplies needed: scrap pieces of 2×2 and 1×2 lumber, saw, nails or screws, and 4 caster wheels. TIP: get the larger size of caster wheels that are attached by screws.

Cut 2 pieces of 2×2 the width of the pot saucer. Using the pot saucer as a guide, cut 5 pieces of 1×1 wood the width of the pot saucer plus extra width for the two pieces of 2×2. The pot dolly should be wide enough for the pot saucer to easily be slid under it or removed for draining.

Nail or screw the 1×1 pieces on the 2×2’a. Turn the dolly over so that the 2×2’s are on top, and fasten a caster at each corner. Your pot dolly is ready to go.

[Edie Moro]

Edie’s Lavender Cookies

Makes 3 dozen small cookies

• Pre-heat oven to 350° F

1/3 cup unsalted butter or butter substitute such as Smart Balance
½ cup white sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

• Cream the butter in a mixer. Add sugar, stirring until well blended. Add egg and extract, mix well.

1¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 ½ rounded teaspoons dried lavender flowers*, finely chopped
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

• In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, mixing well.
• Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing until just well blended (do not over-mix).
• Pinch off small balls of cookie batter, place on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with your thumb.
• Bake until just brown on the bottom and firm to the touch, about 10 minutes, or more.
• Cook on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.
_______
*Other herb suggestions (adjust amount to taste): dried leaves of lemon verbena, lemon balm, mints, pineapple sage.

Note: my niece, Christina, blends lavender flowers with the sugar in her shortbread recipe, using a blender or spice grinder. This is an easy way to incorporate lavender flowers in the recipe.

[Edie Moro]

Burdock Kinpira
Here is a much simpler recipe for Gobo (burdock root) that is very tasty:

Ingredients:
2 burdock roots (gobo), approximately one foot in length
1 tablespoon cooking oil or fat
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
1. Wash and peel the burdock root (gobo) by scraping the skin off with the back of a knife. Cut the root into 4 inch length segments, then quarter each root lengthwise, or cut into matchstick-size pieces. Place the prepped root in an ice water bath with a splash of vinegar as you go along. Let the cut root soak for at least 5 minutes before draining and proceeding with the recipe.
2. Place a sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. Sauté the burdock root for 4 to 6 minutes, until the roots is lightly browned.
3. Add the sake, soy sauce and sugar. Simmer the mixture for another 5 minutes, until the burdock is cooked through but still crispy. Serve at room temperature or cold. Store any left-overs in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Edie Moro.

[Edie Moro]

Kinpira Gobo

Burdock root is known as “gobo” in Japan. Properly prepared, it is crunchy, sweet, and earthy.

Ingredients:
1 burdock root (approx. 400 g)
2 large carrot (200 g)
1 dry chili pepper (optional)

For the Kinpira Sauce:
1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
1 tablespoon tsuyu sauce/soup base*
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
* Recipe follows at the end

Instructions:
1. Wash the burdock root (gobo) thoroughly and gently scrape off the skin using the back of a knife.
2. Cut the gobo into thin diagonal slices and then each slice into thin strips (julienne). They should be about 2-3 inches long. Or, using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, shave off thin pieces of the root, working up the root as you shave.
3. Soak the cut gobo in a bowl of cold water with a tablespoon of vinegar for 5 minutes.
4. Peel and julienne the carrot; the pieces should be the same size as the gobo.
5. Deseed the dried chili and thinly slice.

Make Kimpira sauce:
6. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, 1 tablespoon tsuyu sauce, 1 tablespoon sake and 1 tablespoon light brown sugar.
7. Heat a pan on medium high and drizzle in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.
8. Add the dry chili to the pan and sauté until fragrant.
9. Add the carrot and gobo and sauté for a few minutes until slightly softened.
10. Pour in the bowl of sauce from step 6 and turn the heat up to high. Sauté, stirring, until the liquid is reduced.
11. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce and sauté until reduced.
12. Finally add 1 tablespoon mirin and stir fry everything together until all the sauce is reduced completely.
13. Turn off the heat, add 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and mix well.
14. Serve alongside a Japanese set meal or in a bento box, or just enjoy as a side vegetable.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 1 week.

Tsuyu Sauce/Soup Base:
NOTE: the tsuyu sauce may be omitted but the recipe will be more flavorful with its addition. The sauce makes a good soup base for miso or other Japanese soups.

Ingredients:
1 cup soy sauce (dark soy sauce will provide a richer flavor than light soy sauce)
1 cup mirin
½ cup sake
1 piece kombu kelp
⅓ cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (substitute shiitake mushrooms to make this recipe vegan)

Directions:
1. Combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, kombu, and katsuobushi in a large saucepan. Adjust the stove to medium-high heat and bring the stock to a boil.
2. Once it has reached a boil, reduce the heat to low and let the tsuyu simmer for 5–7 minutes. The soup base should thicken slightly.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and strain the sauce using a fine mesh strainer to remove the kombu and katsuobushi.
4. Let the tsuyu sauce cool before using it in other recipes or storing it in the refrigerator. The tsuyu will stay fresh for a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

[Edie Moro]

Daikon Radish Pickled Japanese Style

Ingredients:
1 daikon radish about 1 pound, peeled and cut into thin rounds or half-rounds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Instructions:
1. Place the sliced daikon in a colander and add the salt. Toss to mix and then let stand in the sink or over a large bowl for about 1 hour. Transfer the daikon to a glass jar.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, and water; heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the turmeric.
3. Pour the vinegar mixture over the daikon slices in the jar. Cap the jar, shake to make sure all of the daikon is in the brine. Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours before serving. Refrigerated, these pickles will keep for .p to a week.

[Edie Moro]

Vietnamese Pickled Daikon Radishes and Carrots

Ingredients:
2 carrots peeled
1 small daikon radish or ½ large daikon, peeled
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions:
1. Shred, slice, or julienne the carrots and daikon.
2. Combine the carrots and daikon in a medium bowl and add the sugar, salt, and vinegar. Toss to mix well.
3. Let stand for about 30 minutes (or more) to soften the vegetables and infuse them with flavor before serving.

NOTES:
Use a mandolin to thinly slice the carrots and daikon. Alternatively, shred them using the large holes of a box grater, or cut them into matchstick pieces with a sharp knife.
2. These pickles are ready to eat after 30 minutes, but they are even better after they’ve sat for several hours or overnight.
3. Store the pickled vegetables in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

[Edie Moro]

Spiced Pears
From “Joy of Cooking, 1972 edition

For 3 pounds of fruit:

• Wash, peel and core 3 pounds of firm, ripe Seckel pears
• Cook, covered until they begin to soften in 1 ½ cups water.

Prepare pickling syrup:
• Tie in a cloth bag
6 cinnamon sticks, 3” long
2 tablespoons whole cloves
2 teaspoons whole ginger
Add to:
2 cups sugar
1 cup white wine vinegar or white distilled vinegar

Simmer pickling syrup for 5 minutes, then add the partially cooked pears and the liquid they were cooked in. Simmer all together for 5 more minutes, then remove and discard the cloth spice bag. From this point, the fruit and syrup may be divided into freezer bags and frozen.

To can pickled spiced pears, follow the recipe and canning instructions from OSU Extension, https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/fruit-pickles-chutney-sp-50-757

[Edie Moro]

Pear Cobbler
– very similar to the Apple Crisp recipe, but with different spices that enhance the pears.
Serves 6

6 fresh ripe pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup quick-cooking oats
½ cup melted butter or butter substitute
¼ cup whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger)

¼ teaspoon nutmeg to dust on top

Pare, cut in half, core, and then dice pears. Place in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread over pears.
Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes or until pears are tender and the top is lightly browned. Serve warm plain, or with ice cream.

[Edie Moro]

Apple Crisp
Serves 8

Filling:
8 medium tart green apples
¾ cup raisins (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
Juice of 1 lemon
Water or apple juice

Topping:
1 ½ cups regular rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
½ cup whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour also works)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter (or butter substitute)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9” x 13” baking dish.
• Slice the apples, mix with lemon juice, cinnamon, flour, and raisins. Put them in the baking dish and add enough water or juice to cover the bottom of the pan.
• Mix the topping in a bowl; press on top of the apples. Bake for 25 minutes or until the apples are soft. Serve plain, or with ice cream or whipped cream.

[Edie Moro]

Pickled Carrots

Ingredients:
2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced into roughly equal spears
¾ cup vinegar
¼ cup water (see Instruction #2)
3 whole cloves
1 (1”) stick cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice*
6 Tablespoons white sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions:
1. Steam carrots until cooked through, but still firm. (I process them for zero minutes in an Instant Pot).
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients, using water from steaming for the ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil. Add cooked carrots and boil 1 minute. (Note: if carrots get too soft in this step, add them AFTER boiling pickling juice for 1 minute, the next time using the recipe).
3. Remove from heat, cool, and chill. Make sure the pickling sauce covers the carrots in their container, and store in the refrigerator. Makes 1 pint.

This recipe is a ‘Pickled Beet’ recipe printed in “America’s Best Vegetable Recipes” by the Food Editors of ‘Farm Journal,’ 1970, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York.

*The original recipe calls for 1 slice lemon and 1 slice onion. This recipe is how I make my pickled carrots.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Edie Moro.

[Edie Moro]

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients:
1 2-lb head red cabbage, shredded into coarse bite-sized slices
½ cup onion, finely diced
1-2 apples, thinly sliced
1/4 cup light brown sugar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup water

Directions:
Combine everything together and stir until well-mixed.
If using an Instant Pot® or other automatic pressure cooker, lock on the lid and process under pressure for 12 minutes. Use a quick release after the time is up.
If cooking on the stove top: simmer over low heat until cooked, about an hour, checking now and then to make sure the water has not boiled away.
Serve hot or cold as a side dish to roasts or sandwiches. Or, use as a topping for sandwiches.

[Edie Moro]

Winter Squash Pie
From “Farm Journal’s Complete Pie Cookbook,” 1965.

Ingredients:
1 unbaked 9” pie shell
1 ¾ cup mashed, cooked winter squash
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
3 eggs1 ½ cup milk
1 tablespoon butter (or margarine), melted

• Combine squash, sugar, salt and spices. Blend in eggs, milk and melted butter, pour into pie shell.
• Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400°F for 50 minutes or until a silver knife inserted one inch from the edge of the pie comes out clean.
• Cool and serve slightly warm or cold.

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