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Monday, January 6, 2014

Savory soup from the neglected garden



Nothing like a good savory soup. At the end of summer I dehydrated some sliced up sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes). The soup made from them was very savory and filling. It was simple: dehydrated sunchokes, dehydrated mushrooms, and a few spices. That's about it.

The soup was good, but it was also good news for me. Last year my garden did not get as much attention as it needed. Fortunately, sunchokes appear to thrive on poor soil, bad weather, and neglect. They produced really well with little effort.

The problem is what does one do with them? Some were used when fresh, but unlike potatoes, they can't just be stored in a cool dry place. They last for days instead of months. Dehydration appears to be a good solution. That's great, as the garden will most likely produce even more sunchokes next summer. The thing with sunchokes is that once you plant them, it seems you'll always have them. The year before I dug up all the ones I could fine, and they bounced back stronger than ever.

I've a number of food producers that don't require much effort besides the sunchokes: filberts, chives, assorted berry plants, pin cherries, herbs and a bunch of wild plants. One of my gardening goals for next season is to find more plants that produce well with little effort. Some people love to garden. That's great for them, but I just like to eat.

-Sixbears

8 comments:

  1. They are called fartshokes in other countries.Besause you guessed it.The Inulin is the bad guy. Never it it raw.Depends on the time of harvest and preparation. It is very starchy.The dehydration helps out.Reply about cooking methods.

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    1. Slow cooked on a low low heat for a long time takes care of the gas problem. Easy to do on my woodstove.

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  2. I have raised them and love them. My wife will not eat them, she does not like them. So, I got them all to myself. Poor me (grin).

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    1. Somehow you cope, right?

      They can be grown over a very wide area.

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  3. Squash and zuchini grow like gangbusters without much tending, at least they do down here. Love me some sauteed squash with onions! The soil where the Terrorist Farmer and I planted a couple years ago is pretty thin, with caliche just a foot or two below. But those two veggies grew like gangbusters! Tomatoes, carrots, onions, melons, cucumber, corn... not so much.

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    1. Squash is a bit more work back home. Growing season is short. The key is to know what works in your area and go with that.

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