Friday, July 23, 2010

Thursday's harvest

Yesterday I noticed two normal sized courgettes (zucchini) in the garden so I picked them before they had a chance to get out of control. I also noticed two of the patisson (patty-pan) squash were ready, so I picked those as well. Now I'll have to look up some recipes for them.

These are the first patissons that I've ever grown.

The plants are full of blossoms and small fruit, so it promises to be a banner year for squash. I also picked a branch from some radishes that I let go to seed. The pods are maturing, but they're not ready yet. I need to let them get brown and a bit dried before I can harvest the seeds.

Radish seed pods that need to dry out more.

I'll either save them for next year or use them in cooking; I've read that radish seeds are good in salads and other dishes where you might use mustard seeds. I'd like to give that a try.

As for the neighbor mystery, I checked Thursday morning and his car was there. That means it wasn't him leaving his house at four in the morning the past three nights. I also know that whatever guests they had those days had left before I went to bed. I always check to see if there are cars parked at his place when I close up at bedtime.

So my new theory is that somebody was turning around using his driveway. It's a shaky theory because his driveway is difficult to spot at night; it's a simple opening in a hedge and it's not paved or otherwise marked. Most people that are lost turn around at the end of the road beyond our house where the road becomes a dirt path through the vineyard.

This morning I was not awakened by any noises. I did see the clock around four-fifteen, but there were no sounds of a car.

The mystery remains a mystery. I'll have to ask the neighbors one day if they heard the car, too.

9 comments:

  1. The squash look wierd. I will be interested to know what you do with them.

    I wonder if your neighbour is slightly deaf, in which case he may not know what is happening in his driveway at 4am.

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  2. The cars buzzing around my neighborhood at 4AM are delivering newspapers. Could this be it?

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  3. Well, now, what would be the chance that exactly at the same time, virtually in the middle of the night, three nights in a row, random cars would happen upon your out-of-the-way hamlet, need to turn around, and choose the same darkly-lit, hard-to-see driveway to turn around in? :)))

    Amy H. should step in and write you a better scenario *R*R*.

    Seriously, I hope your neighbor is okay. It's nice to check on elderly neighbors.

    Those patissons are cool looking. I'm curious to see how you'll prepare them.

    Judy

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  4. I've never seen squash like that, what kind is it?

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  5. vtt, yup!

    jean, the first one I just steamed. It has an artichokey flavor. I think they would be good stuffed.

    bill, we don't get papers delivered. You have to go to the café/newstand to get one. Along with your cigarettes and your morning cuppa and your daily baguette.

    judy, the neighbor is fine. It's Bernard and he lives with his wife, Maryvonne. It's not the other neighbor who lives alone.

    starman, patty-pan squash, sometimes called scalloped squash.

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  6. also wondering what you are going to do with the pattypan squash.. just steamed, eh? what will you stuff the others with? mine got huge so they are going to the livestock.

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  7. The latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens said you can slice the patty pans really thin and serve in a salad. Another suggestion was to roast them, but I can't remember what you added to them after roasting.

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  8. ohiofarmgirl, some will be stuffed with meat, I'm sure. Yesterday we had some stuffed with themselves, mixed with rice and tomato and cheese. Yum!

    georgie, all good ideas!

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