Summery thoughts

This summer has been quite different from the earlier ones. Usually we have planted lots of different plants and grown much of our own vegetables and greens generally. Currants and rhubarb have grown a lot this summer. And looks like we are getting some raspberries too.

Earlier this summer, just around the midsummer,  we had very unexpected guest. Snow. It covered our vegetable garden and my poor little courgettes looked like they were lost. No sun shine to warm them or gentle summer breeze to fondle them - just cold wind and wet and even colder snow.

But my courgettes made it through all the hardship. They did cry a little and grew very slowly until one week when the heat wave came and they really came alive! Suddenly they started to spread their little leaves and in a short time those poor little leaves had all grown up and now my courgettes are not poor at all! So, after a month of very very warm weather, looks like we are getting some delicious courgette pies!

Since this  summer started so badly, I am happy that we also use wild vegetables. Dandelions and chickweed are part of our salad plates. They taste great and what's best: they grow all by themselves and they are not afraid of a little frost!

Even though the summer has not been a great one to grow vegetables we are still getting bush beans, peas, carrots, hopefully a couple of pumpkins, courgettes, spinach, dill, parsley, beetroots, tomatoes and maybe even some bell peppers.

Herbs are great too since they grow without so much care. Oregano, lemon balm, different sorts of mints have pretty much conquered our yard. They also attract  bees and butterflies which hopefully pollinate our apple trees. And this year we will get 3 apples! That is three more than last year! Maybe next summer we will have six apples so that every family member will get one!

It's great to have own yard, own garden and plants and flowers to work with. Gardening is just as great as baking. :)

Swede Sourdough Bread

Swedes are terrible to dry. I mean the smell that fills the house is simply ghastly. But I have dried vegetables in every autumn and I guess this year is no exception. Must admit though that I am seriously thinking about quitting swede drying. Beetroots, carrot, onions and numerous wild vegetables are totally different thing.

Most people say that you must dry your wild veggies before midsummer. I think that is sort of short sighted. It can't be that the wild vegetables would be totally useless after that day. Bigger plants don't usually taste that nice but even in late summer there are still small plants too. And you can always cut down the plants and they will grow back in a week or two and you'll get small ones again! That's how I do it anyway and so far I have dried a big jar of nettles so during the winter we will have nettle bread and get all that green in a good use! Nettles are great in dough, soups, pancakes, pies...almost every where! And bigger wild veggies can be easily used once dried and grounded into a green powder, they are nor bad at all once used like that.

Today I made swede sourdough bread - just because I still have dried grated swedes in my pantry and no one wants to use them. But I can't throw them away. I simply hate throwing away food so I needed to use it some where. Breads and buns are usually always a solution for that and  root vegetables are very commonly used in Finnish baking. So here comes my altered sourdough recipe for swedes! And surprisingly enough it tasted well, really well actually! But be aware that the swedes give taste quite easily. The amount I used is not huge but it gave enough taste for the bread. Of course if you are mad about swedes you can put a lot more!

300 grams (10.6 oz) sourdough starter (I have starter with rye flour)

600 g (1.323 lb) lukewarm water

900-1000 grams (1.984 - 2.205 lb) all purpose flour

3 tsp salt

appr. 20 grams  (0.7055 oz) dried, grated swedes 

some olive oil ( I never measure this)

Mix the ingredients except the oil. Knead the dough for a while and then add the oil. Knead some more and let the dough rest about 15-30 minutes and then knead again. Shape into bread and let it leaven about 6 hours under a baking towel. Bake in the 200 °C (400°F) for about an hour or so.