Re: New England July 2014

Marc Iverson 7/30/2014, 10:21 pm

cpl100 wrote:I also have a fantastic recipe for sausage and rapini soup.

It can be bitter if just sauteed.

Can you share the recipe please?

Good tip about the blanching helping with bitterness.

mollyhespra 7/30/2014, 10:49 pm

RJARPCGP wrote:Just poured dish detergent near the base of my hibiscus plant, because of tiny ants.

Something's been munching on the leaves!

Do you think it's the ants that are munching on your leaves? Do we have leafcutter ants in New England?

RJARPCGP 7/30/2014, 11:07 pm

mollyhespra wrote:
RJARPCGP wrote:Just poured dish detergent near the base of my hibiscus plant, because of tiny ants.

Something's been munching on the leaves!

Do you think it's the ants that are munching on your leaves? Do we have leafcutter ants in New England?

Earlier today, the one I was with said that they were leaf cutter ants.

**sanderson** 7/31/2014, 1:01 am

Do you have leaf cutter bees?

RJARPCGP 7/31/2014, 2:50 am

sanderson wrote:Do you have leaf cutter bees?

Dunno.

**camprn** 7/31/2014, 9:30 am

NO 'leaf cutter' ant in New England.
Ants of New England Field Guide

**sanderson** 7/31/2014, 12:56 pm

I read last night that there is a leaf cutter bee in New England. I have them in California, which is why I thought of them. I also read an article of a local well known farmer that imported the pupae from Canada for the alfalfa fields.

RJARPCGP 7/31/2014, 5:07 pm

July of 2014's ending with a soggy note!

Likely the wettest since July of 2009.
Even though according to wunderground.com, it's not gonna beat or tie July of 2009.

In 2009, it appeared that it was rare to get higher than 77 F. thinking

I think that's wacko, even for places north of me in zone 4! LQTMS.

NHGardener 7/31/2014, 6:24 pm

I remember that summer! I don't think we used our pool once that year. Cold & rainy.

We got some rain here today but not a lot. (edit: scratch that, it's pouring out now)

It's that time of year when we're squash pushers. I made the umpteenth loaf of squash blueberry bread today, put twice as much shredded squash that it called for. (Did you know you can use squash OR zucchini in zucchini bread?) Made green beans and deviled eggs for dinner, and cut up cucumber. Finally a sweet cucumber after a few bitter ones.

One of the remedies for calcium depleted soil is to boil eggs (as with making deviled eggs) and then pouring that water on the bed.

Since Market Basket is unavailable, I'm just trying to make do with garden vegetables. Smile

Maybe tomorrow I'll pull garlic. It's time. I'm worried about the potato crop - I dug around for a few potatoes the other day and they're not quite ready yet, but I did feel a squishy spot under there, might be bacterial rot. I also didn't feel a ton of potatoes, but it's a month yet till official digging begins. (Several have their stems chewed off at ground level. I still think it's voles.)

Volunteer tomatoes haven't been as productive this summer, so scratch the idea of relying on volunteers, I think next summer I'll just yank the volunteers. Hard to do.

**camprn** 7/31/2014, 10:57 pm

It's the last day of July. Molly how are your spacemasters?

mollyhespra 8/1/2014, 7:56 am

Thanks for asking, Camp. They're getting bigger, but I don't have grabbage yet. I don't know if it's because I plated somewhat late or they're not liking these cool nights, but they seem somewhat pokey. How are yours growing?

cpl100 8/1/2014, 1:26 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:
cpl100 wrote:I also have a fantastic recipe for sausage and rapini soup.

It can be bitter if just sauteed.

Can you share the recipe please?

Good tip about the blanching helping with bitterness.

Sausage, Bean, and Rapini Soup

Ingredients
·         2 Tbsp Olive Oil
·         1 Onion, chopped
·         1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
·         1.5 pound Spicy Italian Sausage, removed from casings (I use sweet sausage)
·         1 1-pound bunch Rapini/Rappi
·         2 15-ounce cans Cannellini Beans
·         1 quart Chicken Broth
·         1 tsp Salt NOTE: Use less salt if your sausage has salt.
·         Crushed Red Pepper
·         Parmesan Cheese
·         (I added diced tomatoes and was delicious)
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the sausage meat. Cook for 7-8 minutes, until the sausage is fully cooked, using a spoon to break up the pieces as it cooks. Pour in the liquid from the cans of beans. Cut off the tough ends of the rapini, then chop the stalks and leaves into small chunks. Add the chopped rapini and chicken broth to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, until the rapini leaves are wilted and the stalks are slightly tender. Add the beans to the soup and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and crushed red pepper, as desired.
Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a hunk of doughy French bread.
New England July 2014 - Page 12 Clip_image001

New England July 2014 - Page 12 Clip_image001

cpl100 8/1/2014, 1:29 pm

Well, I don't know what happened with that recipe post or how to fix it but you get the drift.....

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