Harvest Moon Recipes

 

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."

Audrey Hepburn

The harvest moon is often connected to abundance, appreciation, and the completion of a cycle. For me, it's a reminder to express gratitude for all we have and all we are, celebrating the end of a journey and the beginning of another. On this full harvest moon, I'm grateful for garden abundance. My passion for gardening began with my grandmother, who lived next door to me while I was growing up. She had an amazing farmhouse with a big, beautiful garden that I wrote about in a past post. In addition to sowing the gifts of growing herbs and vegetables, my grandmother taught me how to play the piano and encouraged my love for reading. One of the first books I remember reading by myself in her barn library was 'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgsen Burnett. It is still one of my favorite stories. 

Having a garden is to delight in the senses and to hold onto hope. To greet each day with a walk through the garden to see what is sprouting, what is blooming, what needs watering, and what needs tending is a routine I will miss as fall and winter arrives. 

Now is the time to enjoy the bounty of the season, however small the harvest. 

Here are two favorite late summer recipes from my home to yours. 

Heart{y} Garden Tomato Soup

This homemade tomato soup recipe roasts all the veggies enhancing the delicious flavor that each vegetable brings. My kids love it as it balances perfectly with a yummy hunk of sourdough bread, grilled sandwich, or a salad. 

Fill a large roasting pan with cut up garden tomato. I planted a few Roma tomato vines this year and they roast up nicely. I also added 2 small cut up zucchini, 1 medium sized farmer's market vidalia onion, 1 large yellow, orange, or red pepper, and a whole garlic bulb. I added in 2 jalepeno peppers sliced lengthwise for kick. Drizzle everything with a good amount of olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flake, then add in 1 cup of water. Lastly, add in any fresh herbs for roasting; I used thyme and rosemary. Roast at 375 for an hour or until all the veggies are soft. Allow 5-10 minutes of cooling, remove the garlic and spoon out the soft garlic cloves, throw away the papery skin before using an immersion blender to puree the veggies into soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. 

Buon Appetito!

In our home, no meal is complete without a little sweet:-) 

Easy Peasy Pumpkin Bread 

I bake something sweet for my kids every week. We play around with different combinations of ingredients and flavors. The recipe below has been gifted to friends, neighbors, and teachers, we call them 'love loaves'. I carry on the tradition as my mom made them for me and the smell of baked goodies filling the kitchen brings in a warm, welcome feeling. 

In a large bowl, add 2 cups of flour (your choice), 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, and 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Mix the dry ingredients together and make a small well in the middle of the bowl. In the well, add 2 eggs, 1 cup of pureed pumpkin, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1 cup your choice of milk. Mix all the ingredients together to form a batter, then add 1 stick of melted butter or 1/2 cup avocado oil and mix again until blended.

Pumpkin is delicious on its own, but tasty add-ins are great, I used raisins for 2 of my loaves and a combination of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips for the other 2 loaves. My mom adds chopped walnuts and raisins to her pumpkin bread, I think chocolate and pumpkin make a perfect match.

Add the batter to a lined muffin pan or use parchment paper to line 4 mini loaf pans. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top, then bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes for the muffins or 30-40 minutes for the mini loaves, use a toothpick to make sure they are thoroughly baked.

Enjoy the delicious bounty and beauty of the season!

Late Summer Joy

 

These days I love being in my garden. I have herbs and veggies that are thriving with all the rain we have had. I'm enjoying the sun gold cherry tomatoes and have been eating them like candy. Even though my garden is small, it is jam packed with as much as I can grow inside a few raised beds. I check on my garden every morning and spend a few minutes weeding out any decayed leaves or half eaten cucumbers from the squirrels and chipmunks. My favorite time is to go out in the early evening and pluck whatever has ripened from the day and add it to dinner. You could say my garden is my happy place. 

My excitement for gardening came from my grandmother. I can remember warm, sunny days digging in the dirt with her as she shared her green thumb tips and tricks. I was lucky to grow up with her living next door to me in a gorgeous, historical home from 1859. The house was full of sweeping rooms with fireplaces and balconies, libraries filled with old books, a music room with an upright piano and a large 3 story barn with secret rooms. My sister and I loved sleeping over on the weekends, staying up late, and getting one on one attention from our grandmother. It felt like luxury having our own private bedrooms and an evening soak in the claw foot bathtub. She made us feel so special, sharing recipes, music, and stories while creating the sweetest memories. 

On the south side of the house, my grandmother had a beautiful flower, herb, and vegetable garden. Her rhubarb was the size of me and she always had the most fragrant marjoram, rosemary and mint. She showed me how to cut anise, kale and Swiss chard, we pulled up carrots, picked green beans, and ripe tomatoes. After loading up our basket, we would go into her old kitchen to make tea and treats. She would show me how to carefully wash herbs, lettuce leaves and veggies, then gently wrap them in a towel to dry on the counter. We would make homemade pizza and our own personal salad for dinner. As I grew older, I always wanted my own garden but it wasn't until a few years ago that it actually happened. I'm still learning and my garden is nothing like my grandmothers, but whenever I'm in the garden it feels like we are together again.

As the beauty of summer fades into the last few weeks before fall, I'm holding onto the season preserving, freezing and cooking the veggies I was able to grow this year. My basil plants are abundant and I'm making the most delicious homemade pesto and putting it on everything from pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads, and grilled vegetables. Most pestos are filled with nuts and my son is highly allergic to them, so I make a special nut free pesto that we can enjoy as a family. Here is the recipe! Let me know if you try it.

Dream Weaver Pesto (nut-free)

Freshly picked basil leaves, washed and drained (3-4 cups)

2-3 small cloves of peeled garlic

1-2 Tablespoons of tahini (substitute for pine nuts or walnuts)

1/8 cup (or more) EVOO

salt/pepper/lemon squeeze

Combine all the ingredients and blend it up!