Good catch

Farmer Magnus brought this by. He knows we like these kind of weeds.

Burdock makes a very good soup!

Or sauteed.

Nettle soup

Nettles are an early springtime favorite, but while picking vegetables for the market, I noticed my nettles had grown bushy again.

So once again nettle soup.


Here’s what you need:


– fresh nettles
– onions
– tofu
– miso
– oil and water

Do like this:
– saute sliced onions
– add water and chopped nettles
– bring to boil
– add cubed tofu
– boil a few minutes
– turn off heat
– add miso to taste

Very good for you!

Uchiki kuri

Uchiki kuri pumpkins

I’ve never been able to understand the difference between pumpkins and winter squash. Whatever they are, these are excellent for storage and cooking. They are also called red kuri and are considered a baby hubbard with a sweet nutty flavor.

These, along with the rest of the pumpkins, are mainly stored in the cool food storage room in the basement.

Others are stored with the rest of the stuff where ever there is extra space in the house. Here they make a colorful addition to the ‘interior design’ and are available to the kitchen.

We use uchiki kuri pumpkins in many ways. The easiest is baking. Just cut into slices, brush with oil and bake until soft (the skin is delicious too). They also make great sauces, pure’e, casseroles, soups and pumpkin pie. Deep frying cubes in a japanese tempura batter is my favorite. These cooking ideas go for all the different kinds of pumpkins we grow.

The most frequent favorite is pumpkin miso soup.

Ingredients:
– pumpkin
– onion
– roasted sesame oil (or other oil)
– water
– miso

Do it:
– clean pumpkin and cut off skin
– cut into cubes
– cut onion into slices
– warm oil in soup pot
– saute’ onions first
– add cubes and saute’ slightly
– add water
– boil until cubes soft
– take off burner
– add miso

Serve with chopped greens like parsley and sourdough bread.

I like it thick and creamy.