The Beet that Ate Ventura .... At Another Great Exchange on Sunday

Thank you all for another great Produce Exchange, our 11th so far, but who's counting?

The harvest this week included various plant starts and succulents, ginger roots, artichokes, avocados, arugula, lemons, oranges, rosemary, lavender, sage, lemon thyme, sweet peas, calla lillies, green onions, swiss chard, limes, meyer lemons and Three-Citrus Marmalade. The marmalade was made from last month's extra fruit and the recipe follows.

Then there was the ginormous beet...... a picture is worth a thousand words. It was divided up and shared.

Next Month's Exchange - April 18th- A Change of Venue - More info to follow

An omission from last month...Oops

A big shout out and Thank You to Betsy & Gunter of Betsy's Tempeh. They explained the process of making tempeh and provided grilled samples of their delicious Tempeh marinated with tamari and brushed with Hot Pepper Sesame Oil . If you're interested in making it yourself  or for a group, please refer to   www.maketempeh.org

TomatoMania is coming to Filmore (April 9-10) and Ojai (April 23-25) ! It's just the place to get your favorite heirloom variety of tomato for your summer garden.  www.Tomatomania.com

More classes - The Mastering Your Home Garden Seasonal Workshop Series event (Summer in the Garden) is scheduled for Saturday, May 22, 2010
   Leah Haynes, Master Gardener Program Coodinator mgventura@ucdavis.edu
   805 645-1455 http://groups.ucanr.org/VCMG

 
Want to try Composting? There are still some 50% off coupons for Composting Bins at Green Thumb, both the Garden Gourmet and Wriggly Wranch stackable worm bin.

When life gives you lemons and oranges.... make Marmalade

Three-Citrus Marmalade

4 navel oranges

1 lemon

½ pink grapefruit

2 ½ C water

1/8 t baking soda

5 ½ C sugar

1 box (1.75 oz) Sure-Jell fruit pectin

·        Using a vegetable peeler, remove the colored zest from the fruit and discard the white pith. Chop the zest coarsely.

·        Chop the fruit, discarding any seeds and reserving the juice.

·        Place the zests, water, and baking soda into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat;  cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

·        Add fruit and juice; simmer another 10 minutes.

·        Measure the sugar and set aside. Do not reduce the sugar, or marmalade may not set properly.

·        Sir the box of fruit pectin into the fruit mixture. Bring to a full, rolling boil.

·        Stir in the sugar quickly, return to full rolling boil, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.

·        Pour the hot marmalade into clean canning jars. Process according to the canning instructions, 10 minutes or refrigerate and use within 2 month. The marmalade also can be frozen, without canning, for up to 1 year.