Changes
Friday, September 26, 2008 @ 12:20 PM
September's issue of The Sierras
CHANGES BY THE DESPERATE GARDENER
Last night I was chatting to my neighbour Maria, while trying to locate Otis (8) who had disappeared somewhere up the mountain and as it was getting dark I was a little worried - one of the positives I suppose to living here, the fact that my kids can go off and play and I don’t have to be too concerned.
As always the worries of the world were discussed, her sons’ many of them builders (she has 9 kids in total) work at the coast and are feeling the current situation - with very little future work in sight. For Maria, whose life has probably been the same for the last 70 years or so, nothing much changes. She still spends, pretty much, every minute of everyday working either on her land, feeding her animals or caring for her very poorly husband. If she was to stop working I think her body would give in just from the shock.
Possibly one of her biggest changes was when we moved in with 4 kids creating havoc all over the place, after years of no neighbours. We have had our ups and downs, issues with access and boundaries (there’s a surprise!) etc.
But I always enjoy chatting to her (ok I probably only understand a 10th of our conversations but with words and actions we get by) and I was amused to hear her enthusiasm in the size of her pumpkin. My husband had bought some giant pumpkin seeds in the hope that by October we would have a pumpkin for Halloween, not that we celebrate it particularly but it would be fun for the kids. Many of our surplus plants got passed onto Maria which she took on with much enthusiasm and success it seems. She couldn’t stop chuckling at the wonder of this huge pumpkin, showing me with wide spread arms how big it was getting - I just hope it lives up to its size in taste! And certainly makes a change to the bog standard calabacin she normally grows.
It made me think about the little changes that we unknowingly bring with us. I can almost guarantee that Maria will save some seeds and next year will be growing more huge pumpkins. It also made me realise how much knowledge she has through her experiences, my successes are few and far we get tons of flowers and the odd pumpkin starts to form but the lack of water (and probably shade) makes them shrivel up and die. And I think any hope of a Halloween pumpkin is unlikely. Maybe Maria will give us one of hers!
No two years seem the same, this year there seem to be an abundance of potatoes, Maria has 26 sacks and my other neighbour has convinced me to buy a couple of theirs. I kind of got railroaded into it and my claims (genuine) of being skint fell on deaf ears, no pasa nada, pay when you can. I have been ensured they will last until May with a little sprinkle of something called conservapatatas - I suppose you can never have enough potatoes, mine will probably only last until November and I will be wishing I had bought more.
We have cherry tomatoes coming out of our ears (the other varieties we shall wait and see), everyday I get a handful which is great as the kids eat them like sweets. Great with pasta but if you have a glut of tomatoes try this oven-dried tomato recipe. I know you can sun dry them but having seen the Spanish dry their tomatoes there seems to be a little problem in the shape of a fly! On that note although we had a huge number of flies at the beginning of the summer, spraying AGITA has made a massive difference - I put some in a small spray bottle with water and if I see them increasing give the area a spray and it seems to work for weeks - the only evidence is the odd fly, break dancing to its death minutes later. I don’t see myself as cruel but it is a very satisfying sight!
OVEN DRIED TOMATOES
Cherry tomatoes
1 to 2 tablespoons salt
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. (93 degrees C.)
Line a large baking sheet with foil. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and arrange them cut side up on the baking sheet, touching each other. Sprinkle well with salt and bake in the over for 2 to 3 hours. They will shrink a bit. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold. They become a deep red in colour with an intense flavour. Great on pizza or in salad. Store in the fridge and to re- hydrate soak in boiling water for 1/2 an hour.
I love mixing fresh tomatoes sprinkled with salt, basil, chunks of mozzarella, sun or oven dried tomatoes (re-hydrated) and olive oil. Delicious!