Recipes Collection

Here are two very unusual vegetables, and an advertisement for growing your own. You are very unlikely to find these for sale!



Grandma Nellies Yellow Mushroom Beans:



Grandma Nellies Yellow Mushroom Beans (hereinafter refered to as "Grandma Nellies") were brought to Saskatchewan from Russia in the early 20th century. In 1952, seeds were given to Nellie Chernoff, who grew them until 1988, when her granddaughter took over growing them. (information is from Heritage Harvest). Ive been seeing them listed around a few places in the last couple of years and they sounded intriguing enough to try.



These are a pole bean, and like all our other pole beans they have grown long and tall, and produced like billy-o. They are the only pole bean where we are NOT crying, "Hold! Enough!", but that is only because we didnt get a lot of seeds to plant. They are just as prolific as any of our pole beans. They are also very popular around here, and why wouldnt they be? They remain tender until they are quite large, they are an attractive shade of yellow with green spots glowing through, even more so when cooked, and finally they really and truly have a flavour reminiscent of both beans and mushrooms! Theyre delicious!



Like all pole beans, Grandma Nellies must be planted once the soil warms up towards the end of May or early June and they need good support. They begin to produce in about 75 days. After that you just pick, and pick and pick... until frost, probably, although they do seem to produce beans in waves every few days.



Theyve been pretty tolerant of the yellow bean mosaic virus weve had in the garden this year, although they are starting to show a few signs of being stressed by it. They arent the best for resistance to it, but they are not the worst either. We cant complain. Theyve produced a lot of truly unique and wonderful beans. We will grow them again next year for sure.



Woods Early (Prolific) Pattypan or Scallop Squash:



There are a fair number of pattypan squash around, but many of the ones for sale now are hybrids. I dont know why; none have been quite as good as this one, in my opinion. Woods Early, or Prolific, as Ive also seen it listed, was introduced in 1899 by T. W. Woods & Sons of Richmond, Virginia.



This has been a great squash for us. Ive seen this one listed as both Woods Early and Woods Prolific, but whatever you want to call it, its as easy and trouble-free as any other summer squash and starts producing in about 50 days.



These squash are best fairly young and tender, but weve been letting them get up to 4" or 5" across, and theyve still been delicate and not seedy. They have a lovely mild flavour, and excellent texture. They are very attractive, with their space-ship shape and light greeny-white colour. Keep them picked, and they should keep going until frost.



They do need to be cut with scissors. The bushes are a little prickly, and the shape makes them not too easy to get at. Mind you, the same can be said about zucchini in general.

Mushroom and peas masala is a simple gravy I make to go as a side dish for chapathis or idlis and dosas. The flavor builds up slowly as the ingredients are added by one slowly and gets cooked. To add some thickness to the gravy I usually add some ground small onions along with a few spices. A very spicy and tasty gravy ideal for weekend meals.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Onion, medium size, 1.
2. Roma tomatoes, 2.
3. Button mushrooms, 1 small packet.
4. Fresh or frozen peas, ½ cup.
5. Curry leaves, a few.
6. Cilantro, for garnishing.
7. Salt, as per taste.
8. Garam masala, ½ teaspoon.
9. Turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon.
10. Chili powder, 1-1/2 teaspoons.
11. Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
12. Fennel seeds, ¼ teaspoon.

To grind:
1. Small onions, 2.
2. Ginger, a small piece.
3. Garlic 3 cloves.

PREPARATION:
Grind the required ingredients into a smooth paste and keep aside. Dice the onion and tomatoes into small pieces. The mushrooms can be thinly sliced or quartered. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil. Add the fennel seeds and fry for a few seconds. Then add the diced onions and curry leaves and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the turmeric powder and diced tomatoes and keep sautéing until everything is blended. Add the ground paste now and keep frying until oil oozes out from the mixture. (Note that the ground paste must completely lose its raw flavor at this point). At this stage, add the chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala along with the salt and keep frying everything under medium flame for 2 minutes until the spices lose their raw smell. Another teaspoon of oil can be added to fry the spices more quickly. Add the sliced mushrooms and peas and add enough water to cover everything, and let it simmer for 10 minutes until the mushrooms and peas are cooked. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice, chapathis, idlis, or dosas.


Dear friends, please check out my cookie recipe, which has also been published at the Xagave website, here .