Nayeema Eusuf's Page

Eggplants have started trickling in - 6/7 Ichibans a week

I did a little experiment with the starts (from A&P Nursery) by transplanting two eggplant seedlings in a regular bed and adding compost later, and transplanting two seedlings from same pack directly on a +/-8" compost heap. The compost heap material was mostly grass cuttings and kitchen scrap, first half broken down in my compost pile and then transported to a bed to 'age' in place in mid-March.

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Early this summer I experimented with putting a mix of kitchen scrap, leaf fall & grass cutting compost directly into a bed for gourds. I heard that gourds grow well on compost heap. Gourd seedlings grew well enough but I didn’t thin them, so they suffered for lack of water. I cleared out the gourds this weekend and checked the soil. The compost has completely decomposed and the gourd root system broke down clumps into fine friable soil. Water is crucial though to this process though - small… Continue

For adventurous cooks:
Ever since the temperature went over 100, my bottle gourd vines stopped producing fruit. The female flowers don’t even appear. Male flowers also dropped in number. However, the leaves and shoots make tasty dish, cooked with shrimp for flavor.
Leaves, chopped and shoots whole – 1 large bowl, use only young soft leaves
Shrimp – 4-8 oz, shelled uncooked deveined (cooked shrimp will kill it)
Onion – 1 medium size
Garlic – 3 medium cloves
Olive oil – 2-3 tbsp
Water – 1/3 cup
Sa… Continue

I was getting frustrated with my tomatoes getting attacked from all sides – voracious birds, killer sunburn and the last straw, blossom end rot – and not being allowed to ripen. I had to throw away many a nearly ripe tomato to the compost heap. Finally I decided I was just going to have to cook them green. That was a yummy inspiration – adds a wonderful tart flavor to a meal of rice and fish. Take that you grackles!

Recipe:
2 lb mid to large size tomatoes thinly sliced
3 tbsp oil
1/3 cup of sli… Continue

Never tried it before but looking Amy’s post “Early Harvest Dinner” – they looked so good, I wanted to try it out. I have patty pan and crookneck squash. Here is my take:
Fried squash blossoms with flatbread
6-7 blossoms
1 egg beaten
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 minced onion + the green
1-2 cherry tomatoes
Mix egg, salt, pepper, onion and tomatoes. I also put in a chopped okra or 2 as available. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in non-stick pan. Stuff blossom with mixture and gently lay on side to fry. Turn… Continue