Avocadoes are Delicious and Fun

 Avocados are delicious to eat and are fun to grow indoors.

Avocadoes are fruits that grow on tropical trees and are very pretty plants. They have glossy, oblong, pointed leaves. I’ve seen them growing in Southern Florida, California, and in Ecuador.

 Several years ago, on a business trip to San Diego, I visited an avocado orchard. It was very fascinating. The trees grew on steep slopes where migrant laborers climbed the trees to pick the fruit. The trees are only about 20 to 30 feet tall. In California, a tree should produce about three bushels per year under good growing conditions. Trees are not as productive in Florida.

 Avocado is a highly nutritious fruit and has long been a staple food in many parts of tropical America. Besides being rich in carbohydrates and vitamins, it also has more protein than any other fruit.

 I eat avocado toast routinely for breakfast or lunch. I also enjoy avocados made into homemade guacamole. See my recipes below.

 Most avocadoes sold here are Hass types. They are typically shipped when bright green and turn dark when ripe. A ripe avocado should give slightly when gently squeezed.

Avocadoes are very easy to grow from seed and make a nice houseplant. Kids particularly enjoy this plant project.

Start by washing any pulp off the seed. Avocado seeds (pits) are quite large (at least 1 ½ inches across). I put three toothpicks into the pit so that it sits on the rim of a drinking glass, with the broad end of the pit down. Add water until ½ inch covers the pit’s base and replenish any water that evaporates. That’s it. Now wait for it to sprout in 2-3 weeks. When it splits, it is ready to sprout.

 After several leaves and a mass of roots have formed, remove the toothpicks, and bury the lower half of the pit in potting soil in an 8- to 10-inch pot. Place the potted avocado where it will get several hours of sunlight or artificial light each day.

 Typically, avocado trees will grow a few feet tall indoors, depending on the pot size, amount of light, and other factors. Shape the plant by pruning the branches. An avocado tree will grow for many years in the home, but it is unlikely to bear fruit indoors.

Avocado Toast

• Toast 2 slices of bread (I use homemade sourdough bread)
• Cut a ripe avocado in half. Save half for the next day or for guacamole. I use an avocado hugger to keep it fresh.
• Cut the avocado  half into quarter and scoop each onto the toasted bread. Smash with a fork.
• Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.
• I usually also add fresh herbs, usually dill, chives, or basil I grow indoors in my aerogarden.

Guacamole

• Cut a ripe avocado in half and place in a bowl. Smash with a fork (or use a food processor for smoother texture).
• Add juice of half a fresh lime and ½ teaspoon chopped garlic clove
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Optional: Add chopped jalapenos, cilantro, tomatoes, or onions/chives
• Stir and serve immediately. It will darken quickly, so plan to eat it all!

Share your favorite avocado recipe in the comments below.

Originally published in Canton Daily Ledger on 11-3-2001

It’s Grape Pie Time!

I love the taste of Concord grapes. As a child, I remember eating grapes directly from the vines. To me, there is no flavor comparison between concord grapes and store-bought grapes. I especially like concord wine and concord grape pie!

Concord grapes grown in central Illinois are quite different from most store-bought grapes. Our native Concord and Niagara grapes are slip-skin types, which means that the skin easily slips away from the fruit pulp. Most store grapes are native to Europe and are called fixed skin varieties because the skin and pulp are all in one.

Here are some tips for harvesting the best grape. First, make sure your grapes are ripe before you harvest to assure that the grape is fully sweet.

A grape’s color change is not always the best indication of ripeness. Most berries change from green to blue, red or white (depending on the cultivar) as they approach maturity. Many grape cultivars turn a ripe color before their flavor fully sweetens. When fully ripe, the natural bloom or whitish coating on the berries will become more noticeable. The color of the seeds changes from green to brown.

Second, consider the size and firmness of the berry before harvest. It's helpful to be familiar with your cultivar's characteristics, but most grapes should become slightly less firm to the touch.

Finally, the best way to tell if a grape is ripe is to taste it. Unlike some other fruits, grapes do not ripen further once cut from the vine. So, be sure the grapes are ready before you harvest.

Grapes don't require direct sunlight on the fruits to ripen and develop good color. Rather, it is the amount of light that reaches the plant's leaves that determines the quality of the fruit. The leaves create the sugars that move into the fruit.

Once you've decided to harvest, you can store the grapes for about eight weeks. Refrigerators are a good place to store grapes. A crisper with a damp towel over the top of the fruit is ideal.

If you have an abundance of grapes, try making them into jellies, jams, juice, or wine. My family especially likes grape pie. Grape pie is time-consuming to make, but worth every bite! 

Here is my recipe from our Kinsel Family Favorites 2009 cookbook. 

My son Tyler helping make grape pie in 2000. 

My son Derek helping make grape pie in 2000.

The Incredible Edible Elderberry

I have always loved elderberries. As a kid there was an elderberry bush outside my bedroom window. I waited patiently each summer for the first berry clusters to ripen. I’d eat them right off the plant whenever I walked or mowed past the delicious, though tart, fruit.

Our native American elder (Sambucus canadensis) is commonly found along roadways, in ditches, and along woodlands. It grows very well in our dry, hot summers. This plant grows 8 to 10 feet tall and wide, and can be a bit scraggly unless kept under control. The 5 to 12 inch creamy white flowers in June and July are followed by tasty ¼ inch purple-black fruit in August and September.

Elderberries sucker and spread and therefore work best when used in naturalized landscapes. This versatile plant also works well in in shrub borders, roadside plantings, as a screen, in edible landscapes, to attract wildlife, or as part of a native plant garden.

Elderberry fruit is used in preserves, jellies, pies, and syrup. My mom made a delicious elderberry jam, which was amazing on her homemade biscuits. It also makes delightful drinks, including immunity tea, sparkling water, kombucha, wine, craft beer, and cordials. Elton John, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Rolling Stones, and even Prince referred to elderberry wine in their songs.

Last weekend I harvested elderberries that grow on our property. A 5-gallon bucket of picked berries with stems yielded about 10 cups of berries. I made 4 cups into syrup and I dried 6 cups for use later in teas. The recipes are below. I only picked half the berries on my shrub, so next year I plan to pick elder-flowers too.

Finally, a word of caution that you might find this plant on some poisonous plant lists. Stick with eating only elder flowers and fruit because other parts, especially the roots, can be quite poisonous.  

Dried elderberries

Dry fresh elderberries in a dehydrator, oven, or in the sun. I used a dehydrator on medium-high setting for 10-12 hours, then placed them in a glass jar. (6 cups fresh berries produced 5 ounces dry berries. I’ve paid up to $20/pound for dry berries in the past.).

For tea, infuse (steep) 1 teaspoon of dried berries for 5 minutes. Add honey to taste. This is a great immunity builder.

Elderberry syrup (tonic)

4 cups berries (1:1 water to berry ratio for fresh and 2:1 for dried)

4 cups water

4 tablespoons fresh grated ginger

1 ½ cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon whole cloves

1 cup honey (more if like it sweeter)

10 cups fresh elderberries produced
3 cups syrup and 1 pint dry berries. 

1.      Bring berries, water, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes (longer if you want thicker syrup). Let cool.

2.      Strain the liquid from the berries using a sieve, colander, food mill, or other straining device. Press to get all the liquid out. If still not all liquid, do a final strain through cheese cloth.

3.      Add sweetener (raw honey, real maple syrup, sugar, or other).

Use as a pancake syrup or as a winter tonic to build immunity against flu, colds, and upper respiratory infections. I take 1-tablespoon 3 times a day, or alternate with an elderberry-echinacea tea.

Disclaimer: always discuss herbal supplements, including teas and tonics, with your doctor before using them. Research is inconclusive in the scientific community about many herbal supplements.

Rhubarb...delicious though sometimes poisonous

We have a freeze warning tonight so it seems like a good time to discuss rhubarb. 

I love rhubarb, but it can be toxic. The leaves of rhubarb are extremely poisonous. They contain large amounts of oxalic acid and should not be eaten. Also, do not feed rhubarb leaves to animals. Rhubarb stalks (stems) are safe to eat, unless the plants are severely frozen. If rhubarb leaves freeze and leafstalks are “mushy” the oxalic acid may have migrated from the leaf blades to the stems. Additionally, frozen leafstalks have poor texture and flavor and should not be eaten.

Also known as the pie plant, rhubarb is a very hardy perennial garden vegetable that grows extremely well here. Rhubarb is available in either red or green stalk varieties. A popular green stalk one is Victoria. More types are available in red including Canada Red with long, thick, extra sweet stalks, Cherry Red with red inside and out, Crimson Red that is tall and plump, and MacDonald with tender skin and brilliant red color.

If you want to start rhubarb, here are some tips. Plant enough for your family. A half-dozen plants should provide enough rhubarb for most families. Plant or divide rhubarb roots in early spring when the plants are still dormant for best results. You can move small plants now, but don’t wait much longer.

Place roots with the crown bud 2 inches below the surface of the soil. Space the roots 36 to 48 inches apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. Good drainage is essential. Water new plants properly and keep weeded. Rhubarb doesn’t need much additional care once established. If you want to fertilize, use a complete garden fertilizer such as 12-12-12 granules before growth begins in the spring.

Harvest requires a few rules of thumb. Never harvest rhubarb during the first year of planting or too late in the fall. The plants need upper growth to build up healthy and vigorous to make it through the winter. Stalks may be harvested for 1 or 2 weeks during the second year. By the third year, you should get a full harvest of 8 to 10 weeks.

If seedstalks and flowers develop during the spring and summer, cut them from the base of the plant. This will assure the plants put energy into more stalks and not flowers. Leafstalks are the highest quality in early spring, but can be harvested through mid-summer.

Although considered a vegetable, rhubarb is used as a fruit in pies, tarts, cakes, and sauces. Here are two of my favorite rhubarb dessert recipes. 

Rhubarb Cobbler Dessert

Crust

Blend the following, then press into a square (9x9) pan and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. 

- 1 cup flour 

- 5 Tablespoons powdered sugar

- 1/2 cup melted butter

Filling,

Mix the following well. Spread on crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. 

- 1 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/4 cup flour

- 3/4 teaspoon salt

- 2 beaten eggs

- 2 cups chopped rhubarb

Easy Rhubarb Cobbler

Fill a 9 x 13 baking dish 1/2 - 3/4 full with chopped rhubarb, add sugar if you prefer sweeter cobbler 

Sprinkle dry white cake mix over the top

Dot with butter every 1-2" across top of dry cake mix

Bake at 350 degrees until butter melts, cake mix is brown, and rhubarb is bubbly (~30 minutes)