Welcoming a Simpler Summer

 

Summer is a time to for us to rejuvenate, refresh and re-focus our energies-- if only for a few short months. This summer, one  of our goals was to simplify the beds and plantings in our vegetable garden. Despite our enthusiasm and interest in growing a lot of different vegetables, we focused on planting fewer items to avoid overcrowding. Yes, I know, we should have been doing this all along! I see those seed packets and plant starters in the nursery and suddenly, I am filling every bit of free space.

With simplifying in mind, we looked at what we have grown in the past, and whether or not it made sense to continue nurturing it. We love asparagus, but after diminishing returns over the past two years and unrelenting, pesky red beetles, we decided to remove the asparagus beds and create a patch of cheerful sunflowers. The majority of the seedlings that we planted are growing and ironically, a few asparagus crowns that were left behind finally emerged! We have a patch of strawberry plants that we're still trying to figure out. Does anyone have any advice for non-fruiting plants? For some reason, I thought that strawberries would be easier to grow.

Simplifying our spaces has led to more time to nurture our herb garden, which is an ongoing source of inspiration for learning about the culinary and medicinal uses for the herbs and flowers. There is something very satisfying about making our own teas and even salves before heading to the store. Lemon grass, ginger, and lemon balm teas are just a few that we have in our cupboard along with capsaicin muscle rub that really soothes sore, aching muscles.

Another area that we are working on simplifying is our chicken coops. If all goes well, our flock will soon have automatic doors that will open every morning and close every night. Now, if I could just figure out a rodent-resistant feeder, I may be able to sleep in! on the topic of chickens, we added four Buff Orpington pullets to our existing flock. Aren't they beauties? Love those fluffy butts!

During the summer, we work on keeping meals more simple and incorporating more salads. It's also an opportunity to fire up the grill and griddle. Our area is rich with orchards and it would be next to impossible to not do some baking. This year, our red currant bush yield was an impressive 6 quarts! In past years, we've made jelly. Though jelly is a great way to preserve fruit, we can't possibly eat all of it. I've started to incorporate jellies and preserves from our pantry into my baked goods. This fruit bar  was a real hit. It uses 3 cups of berries and a jar of jelly (or two!) to make for an extra fruity bar. Good luck keeping these around! They will disappear quickly. 

Summer Fruit Bars

Filling
24-ounces of currants or mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (more depending on tartness of your fruit)
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
juice of one lemon

Crumble Layer

3 cups rolled oats
3 cups flour ( I substituted half of our chestnut flour)
2 cups brown sugar (loosely packed)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups melted butter (I prefer salted)
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounce jar of fruit jelly or preserves

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Instructions

Prep fruit: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix fruit with sugar, flour, cornstarch, lemon juice and one jar of jelly or preserves.

Crust: Mix the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, and salt together into a crumble-like mixture. Press two thirds of the crumble into the bottom of a 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes.

Bake: Arrange the fruit layer on top of the baked bottom layer. If you feel like you want to kick up the amount of fruit, spread the contents of one more jar of preserves on top. Then, sprinkle with remaining crumble. Bake for another 25-30 minutes.

Finish: Remove from oven. Chill for a few hours prior to cutting if you want fruit bars. If you want to dig in right away, enjoy as a crisp!

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