I cut back my summer savory plant in summer and put it to dry in a paper bag. When it was properly dry I rubbed the stems and refilled the herb bottle. Now I am re-stocked with summer savory for another year.
Seed Saving
I remembered to leave some of the sweet pea seed pods to mature and dry on the vines this year. I collected the seed and stored them in the feezer for next year.
Herb Harvesting
I have had an unfulfilled desire since moving from the Caribbean. There is wonderful flavour pepper we grow back home which we refer to as a seasoning pepper or flavour pepper. I did a little research recently and it seems that it is only grown in that part of the world. The beauty of this pepper is it is very flavourful and mildly hot.
I have always missed having that pepper available and have tried acquiring the seeds unsuccessfully. This summer I did get some seed from my sister-in-law who lives in Florida from a plant in her garden which originally came from West Indian seed, however these peppers have reverted to being flavourful but very hot.
Traditionally, we make a special Trinidadian Christmas dish called "pastels", a cornmeal envelope of seasoned meat wrapped and steamed in banana leaf. I made my yearly pilgramige to the Caribbean store in New Westminster to buy the ingredients and discovered that they import flavour peppers and freeze them, so I stocked up. They are all gone now, incorporated into the pastels, but I saved, washed, dried and froze the seeds and will try growing them next year. I look forward to seeing what happens. My theory is that West Coast summers are neither long enough or hot enough to generate the flavour in the peppers that I so fondly remember. I hope I am wrong.
Delicato Squash
My daughter, recently introduced me to the delights of the Delicato squash! Yummy! She prepared it coated in a freshly roasted Indian spice mix, cut into small pieces, skin and all and roasted in the oven. I also saved the very generous supply of seeds from that Delicato squash as well.
However, I also discovered that the genetic purity of the squash family is easily corruped. If other varieties are growing nearby they easity cross pollinate and offspring end up as hybrids, rather than replicas of the parent. We will find out whether this particular Delicato was involved in any dalliances over summer!
Roasted Veggie season
How pretty a combination fall veggies look chopped up and ready for the roasting.
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