Happy Thanksgiving, Digit!

I'll be having dinner with friends at their house this year. Pretty sure none of it will be "out of the garden!" Only things I'm taking are cranberry-orange sauce and some wine, so no major logistics involved here! (Taking a freshly dug Eremurus root and some Allium christophii bulbs too--no logistics with those either--and, no, they won't be on the menu!!!)

On a side note, I'm still picking tomatoes in my garage! We've had some really warm days since I hung them so they're not lasting as long as they do when they stay cold, but I should still have some pretty much thru December!

Happy Thanksgiving to all you RMG'ers,

Skybird

You know, a bacon wrapped turkey breast sure sounds gooood!

I hand tomato plants over the fence each year and the neighbor sets them out in her garden. The beefsteak variety is kinda a big plant but the neighbor putting them on the north side means that she has them in the shady part of her garden. I don't think any variety I had in 2018 was later than 80 days but she barely has beefsteaks that ripen for her. I have regularly suggested that she hang the plants in her garage, as Skybird does. She's happy with counter ripened but she tried it and liked doing the "hang," also.

I don't think anything out of the kitchen yesterday compared with having 100 year-old Dad with us for Thanksgiving.

However, my pumpkin pie filling made with Kabocha squash was probably the best ever! I've grown Cha Cha squash before but don't remember using it in a pie. Cha Cha grows well for me (David52 recommended it) and there were several other Kabochas that didn't mature properly. Nearly always, in recent years, I've used Buttercup in the Libby's recipe.

There are Autumn Crown squash on the shelves downstairs with some Buttercup. I'm not saving the Autumn Crown for pie but I really want to see how well they do on those shelves through winter. I'm optimistic!

Steve

https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2017/11/a-brief-history-of-pumpkin-pie-in-america/

The advantage to "hanging" them, from my experience, is that they ripen more slowly so you don't wind up with all of them ripe at the same time and can enjoy them a few at a time over two or three months--depending on what the temps are in wherever you hang them. The moisture in the stems helps keep them "hydrated" until they--the stems--completely dry out and I think that's what helps keep them from ripening "too fast." The cherries I have left are starting to dehydrate now--earlier than normal because of the very warm weather we've had since I hung them, but almost always the dehydration just gives them a more "concentrated" flavor, so they're definitely still good even when they start to dehydrate some. The "regular size" ones have more moisture and don't get to the the "dehydrating" stage before they're ripe enough to eat. Some varieties, I have discovered, definitely "hang" better--a/k/a last longer after the plants are cut and hung.

I'm glad she was happy with the result when she tried hanging them.

Glad your "squash pie" turned out well for you! I envy you for all the space you have for growing things like squash!

Skybird

Had some of that pie ..

. for breakfast.

ヅ

Steve

So several days later ...

the extremely dishonest family likes to report that I get up early to eat the last piece of pie ..

. based on phony sounds and shirt stains. FAKE NEWS!

digit of Steve