Garden Supper (with recipes)

Note:  This is traditional southern comfort country cooking and does not necessarily fall into the modern-day healthy category.  For a healthier look at Garden Supper, try Sassy Gal's latest post here


Some nights Mama just needs to fix an easy meal.  Fortunately at this time of year, that is Mr. Marvelous' favorite kind of meal.  Around here in the summer time, easy meal means garden meal!

Here's what dinner was Tuesday evening, with recipes.  The starred ingredients mean things that we grew ourselves.

Country Squash:
*4-6 Fresh picked zephyr squash
*2 smallish onions
1-2 Tablespoons butter
sprinkling of seasoned salt or powdered chicken bouillon.  Note:  if you add too much seasoning, run out to the garden, grab a couple more squash, slice 'em up and toss 'em in with 1/2-1 cup of water.

Wash the squash and slice of the ends.  Slice about 1/2 inch thick.  If you slice them thinner they will cook more quickly, in case you are in a hurry.  Melt butter in cast iron pan.  It won't work in any other kind of pan.  Throw in squash and sprinkle with seasoning.  I cook mine for an hour or two on low.  Unless I add too much seasoning, I don't add water.  Mr. Marvelous prefers that it get nice and brown.

  
*Green Beans with *potatoes:
Pick your beans; Mr. Marvelous picked about two quarts and I grabbed an extra handful when I was ready to cook.  String them, snap them and wash them.  Toss them in a heavy pot (I used my old copper-bottom pan).  If you  don't worry about cholesterol, add either some ham fat, some salt pork, or a slice or two of bacon.  Cover the beans with water and bring to a boil on high heat.  Reduce heat to lowest setting on your stove, cover and let them simmer for at least an hour (two is better).  An hour before the meal, toss in as many small potatoes as your family will eat and cook until soft.  You may season with salt and pepper, seasoned salt, bouillon or nothing.  Mr. Marvelous likes to add a small teaspoon of sugar.

Sliced Tomatoes

Watermelon-Rind Pickles
I use the recipe from the University of Georgia Extension Service.
These people are my go-to for anything canning and/or preserving.  They wrote the must-have canning book, So Easy To Preserve.  Here is the link to order it.  If you don't have it, you need it!  The only thing I do differently from the recipe is to leave my spices floating in the liquid.  When I am in the middle of pickling I never can find a square of cloth for a spice bag.

So there you have our dinner menu.  It's nice being older.  Twenty years ago if I had tried to serve this meal to Mr. Marvelous, I would have been asked in no uncertain terms, "Where is the rest of supper?  There is no meat here!"
Now he rubs his hands in delight and says, "Garden supper?!  Thank you!"

And yes, we do cook our vegetables to death.  We like them that way!