In the Garden: More Fall Tips & Recipes

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive-to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. ~Marcus Aurelius

It's 81 again here, but the nights are cool now which is really nice. I harvested greens beans and a cucumber this morning. My basil is ready to harvest again, and the dill. Around here it's kind of the last hurrah for the garden because the weather can change so quickly. I have a question on Morning Glories to answer today and then a few recipes to share.

A reader wants to know what to do with the Morning Glory vine now that the season is over. She's in Ohio, so her Zone is about the same as mine in Michigan. Morning Glories are an annual, so the vine can just be ripped out and composted or disposed of. First though, a couple of things about the plants. Morning Glories form little round seed pods after blooming, and inside the little pod are small black seeds. IF you don't want it to reseed where you planted it this year then CAREFULLY cut the vine and gently remove it. Those seeds will pop all over the place if you yank it out of the ground. If you leave it, then it will reseed heavily next season. This is fine if you have the plants in an area that you want this to happen.

This said, Morning Glory seedlings are very easy to pluck out of the ground. It's just that there are LOADS of them, so it can be time consuming. The perfect situation for Morning Glories is in front or back of a fence where you can just let them reseed until their hearts content and guide them on the fence so they can ramble along it.

Linda Lou, a member of our OFL Forum, shared a recipe with us for Crock Pot Apple Butter. The apple season has already started so go out and grab a peck or two! Apple Butter is awesome on pancakes, waffles or French Toast.

CROCK POT APPLE BUTTER

Apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
4 cups. sugar or less
4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt

Fill crock pot heaping full of chopped apples. The lid may not fit at first, but it will as the apples shrink while cooking. Drizzle sugar (sweet apples require less sugar), cinnamon, cloves and salt over apples. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Turn heat to LOW and cook all day until thick and dark in color. Stir occasionally. Pour into small jars, leaving plenty of room for expansion while freezing. Cool and freeze.

Even if you didn't grow your own green beans, you'll find them in bulk in the grocery store right now, or better yet, visit a Farmer's Market or look around your area for homegrown produce.

Green Beans With Onions

Ingredients:
1 3/4 pound fresh green beans
1 large sweet onion
2 tbsp. butter
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
salt and black pepper
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Trim the ends of the beans, and string if necessary. Wash and drain. Peel the onions and cut them into very thin slices. Saute onion in a heavy saucepan with the butter over medium-low heat, stirring until the onions begin to turn golden. Add the beans, salt, pepper, and the rosemary, then add 1/4 cup of water. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the liquid is gone, but don't brown. Taste and season again if necessary. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Learn what herbs work well in soups on OFL:
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/herbs8.html

~Brenda