State of the Garden


I think during World War II, backyard gardens supplied something on the order of 40 percent (don’t quote me on this) of the nation’s produce. Were we to do that, how much it might contribute to alleviating any shortages–with so much of our food from beyond closing borders.
How might it help shift our growing climate imbalance and social inequality and the hideous chaos it unleashes? Wouldn’t growing some of your own food be a healthy strategy?
The generous harvest from today’s garden all came up from prior year plantings. I may joke about how many variations of greens and grains and pulses I can come up with, but the greens are from my back garden, bursting with nutrients, and everything else is a long storage pantry item (including in recent years, dried beans, for having grown enough of them). Most anything else is a luxury. I can go a long time between trips to the grocery store and still have well-flavored, healthy, and inexpensive meals.

This is dense, moist, sweet, and fairly healthy as Thanksgiving type treats go:
1. Beat together:
1/4 cup walnut oil (or safflower or canola if you are avoiding nuts)
1/2 cup sucanat
1/2 cup maple syrup
dash of salt
2. cream 2 cups of pureed pumpkin into oil/sweetener mixture
3. mix together:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
dried powdered ginger, allspice, and cinnamon to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp each)
4. incorporate dry ingredients into wet until just blended
5. stir in chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)
The batter will be thick. Spoon into two oiled loaf pans and smooth the top with a large spoon or spatula. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 325F until a skewer or knife comes out clean. The bread will not rise much, but will have more of the appearance of a coffee cake. If you like, you could make a strudel topping. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then cool further on wire racks.