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.

 

Exchange Sunday March 21st at 12 noon

 

Many thanks to all that participated in our last exchange. The cache of citrus
was exciting.... lemons, oranges, meyer lemons, tangerines and limes along with fresh rosemary, dried thai basil, eggs, chard, avocados, geraniums, green onions, rosemary bread and black jade plants.

For some heirloom tomatoes, visit Tomato Mania April 9-10 in Filmore at Otto & sons Nursery

www.tomatomania.com 

Thanks to one and all for a great first exchange of 2010

What fun to have a sun-filled day and share the fruits of the garden. Sunday was indeed sunny, a nice change from the much needed rain earlier in the week. The group gathered to exchange lemons, pumpkins from Dave McGrath's patch, lots of herbs - Rosemary, thyme, lemon thyme, sage, columnar oregano, parsley, dill, tangerines, oranges, succulants, new starts of tomatoes and broccoli, spicy radish sprouts, arugula, collard greens, avocados, Doggie treats, and meyer lemons. Welcome to our new participants - both young and older ! 

Next Exchange on the THIRD Sunday of the Month - February 21st !

It's a GO for Sunday Exchange 1/24

With all this thunder and lightening and rain oh my, Ventura is really experiencing some weather.
High surf, strong winds and possible tornados ? Hope this finds you happy and dry.

Our first exchange of 2010 will be this Sunday 1/24 at 12 noon

at 9572 El Cajon Street

Hope to see you there !

Happy New Year ... Next Exhange Jan 24th, 2010 !

Hope all of you have a very Happy New Year full of prosperity, good health and happiness. May your gardens be green and loaded with veggies and fruit !  Our Next Exchange will be Sunday, January 24th at 12 noon .                     Hope to see you there !                                                      

Next Exchange Sunday 12/13 ..... Weather Permitting

Time for our last exchange of 2009.
Just in time for the Holidays !

This Sunday  December 13th
at 12 noon 
at 9572 El Cajon St

and the following will be on January 24th !

Fruit of the gods at the 7th Wonderful Exchange

The Ancient Greeks considered Persimmons "fruit of the gods" and I can see why. The beautiful orange color and luscious creamy interior..... yummmm! We were fortunate enough to have 2 kinds of Persimmons at our exchange on Sunday.. the flat bottomed "ready to eat like an apple" Fuyu variety and the pointed bottomed "needs to be very soft" Hachiya variety which is great in puddings, cakes and cookies.

Our bounty this exchange also included Rosemary, grapefruit, apples, sage, basil, 3 different types of pumpkins, watermelon, pineapple guava, eureka and meyer lemons, preserved lemons, avocados, roses, dried sage, flower and herb seeds, dried chilies, galangal, lemongrass,Killer-hot Habanero sauce, Kaffir lime leaves and thyme.  Oh and those  tail-waggin' dog treats !

Thank you one and all ! Happy Thanksgiving and
we'll see you on December 13th !



Persimmon Cookies compliments of June
2 ripe persimmons - pureed
1 tsp baking soda
2 Cups flour
1/2  tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C butter
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 C raisins
1 C nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Dissolve baking soda in persimmon puree and set aside.
In medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, cinnamon,cloves and nutmeg.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar till fluffy, then add egg
and persimmon.
Stir in dry ingredients, then nuts and raisins.
Drop by teaspoonful onto greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.