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Spring Gardening Tips for a Flourishing Garden
As the vibrant colors of spring burst forth and the air fills with the sweet scent of blossoms, it's the perfect time to roll up your sleeves and tend to your garden. Whether you're a seasoned gar...
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Recipe: P.A.T. Chutney combines plums (or pluots), apricots and tomatoes
Summer brings a mixed bag of fruit as plums, apricots and pluots pile up in my refrigerator drawer. Meanwhile, tomatoes are taking over the counter space.
This easy chutney makes use of them all in a sweet-savory combination. I call it P.A.T. – plum-apricot-tomato – but pluots (which are a cross of plums and apricots) work, too.
No peeling necessary. Roughly chop the fruit and let it cook down slowly. The longer it simmers, the thicker it becomes.
P.A.T. Chutney
Makes 6 cups or half-pint jars
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups onions, finely chopped
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
¼ cup red wine
¼ cup fig balsamic vinegar
½ cup sugar
4 pounds plums, pluots and/or apricots, pitted and roughly chopped
1 pound tomatoes, hulled and roughly chopped
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon lemon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions:
In a large, heavy pot, melt butter or margarine. Sauté chopped onions until soft.
Add broth, wine, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil.
Add fruit and tomatoes. Return to boil, then reduce to simmer and cover.
After tomatoes and fruit start to break down, remove cover and add raisins.
Simmer uncovered, stirring often, until chutney is desired thickness. For thick, jamlike consistency, simmer chutney at least 1 hour, stirring often to prevent scorching.
Add pepper, salt and paprika. Adjust seasoning.
Refrigerate or freeze in half-pint containers. This chutney will keep at least a month in a covered jar in the refrigerator.
Or process jars 10 minutes in a hot-water bath.
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A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 19
Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
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