A Garden Hodge Podge

My idea of gardening is to discover something wild in my wood and weed around it with the utmost care until it has a chance to grow and spread. ~Margaret Bourke-White

I have a special garden themed post today with garden tips from Old Fashioned Living visitors. I love learning new things from our readers!

You can freeze your excess of tomatoes very simply by taking the core out of the ripe tomatoes, placing in freezer bags and putting them in the freezer. When you need them put into a sink full of very cold water, give them a few seconds and the skins will come right off. Place in a pot on the stove and let thaw on low heat and you are ready for whatever tomato dish you wish to make. I grow a lot of tomatoes so I can freeze them and they last through the winter. I have been doing this for years without a problem. Just don't forget to core them. ~Joyce

If your broccoli does bolt (goes to flower), you've still got a crop to harvest! The small bright-yellow flowers have a very mild broccoli flavor, and while you may balk at serving them as a crudités at your next party, they make a great TV time treat. Cut the flower clusters off the plant, leaving 2"-3" of the thin stem (you want them bite-sized, with a "handle"). Don't worry if some of the buds haven't opened; it's all good. From here, treat them as you would the raw green florets: give them a quick rinse and serve them with a side of salad dressing (I like ranch or bleu cheese) or chip dip thinned with a bit of milk (the flower clusters are too delicate for thick dips -- they come apart and you're left fishing little yellow flowers out of the onion dip). Couldn't be easier!

The cabbage moth larvae which are found on broccoli are also edible. My husband and I are interested in wild edibles and alternative food sources from cultures around the world, and during our last broccoli harvest, we came up with a handful of the tiny white segmented grubs. We fished them out of the blanching water and threw them in a skillet with a bit of olive oil and some Cajun seasoning. The flavor was quite good and the consistency was that of tiny little Cheetos. However, as open-minded as I am, I still couldn't get past the fact that I was eating bugs. It was fun to try...once. ~Susan (I might just take your word on it as far as the grubs are concerned! Brenda)

My mother always soaks her eggplant slices in buttermilk for about an hour before frying them. She says she soaks them to take out the bitter taste and it must work because they taste wonderful. She takes them straight out of the buttermilk and flours them using the buttermilk to make the flour stick. ~Laura

I grind my basil with half lemon juice and half olive oil to make my pesto. I add garlic and Parmesan, but no nuts at this time. Then I freeze it in ice cube trays. When it is frozen, I pop the cubes out and put them into a Ziploc bag. When I want pesto on veggies or pasta or bread, I take out a cube or two and thaw it. I have also put cubes in pasta sauce in place of dried basil. The lemon juice adds an extra kick in place of salt. ~Cheryl

On OFL we have tips bringing your plants indoors for the cold weather:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/plantcare.html

~Brenda