Garden Happenings: Extraterrestrial Zinnias & Triple Spiced Apple Cake
#31: Fall Happenings @ Featherstone Garden
Welcome to Vol. #5 of Featherstone’s Fall Happenings Newsletter. Each week we will share a rotating variety of garden updates: from heirloom seasonal produce features, to veg-ed(ucation) content, farm stand news, plant-centered recipes, community partners, and more. As a subscriber, you will be the first to know all about our Garden Happenings. If you’re not a newsletter subscriber but would like to be, click below to sign up.
Extraterrestrial Zinnias
By Annie Hakim
In 2016 astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted a picture of the first flower grown in space, a zinnia! Prior to zinnias astronauts successfully grew lettuce in the International Space Station, and since then in the ISS’s vegetable production system known as ‘Veggie’ has grown mizuna, chinese cabbage, pac choi and kale!
Zinnias, edible flowers + a favorite of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, did particularly well in our garden this year. They’re a close relative to daisies- part of the asteraceae family. Although typically direct-seeded in the garden and grown as annuals, they drop a prolific number of seeds that often pop up the following year. They produce warm-toned, vibrant blooms after only 60 days. Many varieties have bushy, tall growing habits that make for great cut-flowers and don’t require deadheading.
This was our first year growing zinnias. As an attractive, long-blooming, low maintenance, border/companion plant, we certainly will include them in our crop rotation next year. We planted them near our tomatoes, so that they could attract the predatory wasps that are the natural enemies of the dreaded hornworm (no offense to the flubby wubby 3” hawk-moth caterpillar that millennials adored in Disney’s A Bug’s Life)! We suffered very little hornworm damage to our 100+ heirloom tomato plants this year (and never sprayed any natural pesticides on the tomatoes) perhaps the zinnias helped?!?
Triple Spiced Apple Cake
By Renee Sandoval
The early signs of fall are upon us—when the temperature is just crisp enough to cozy up in an over-sized sweater, but not so chilly that you need to unpack your puffer jacket. I’m not much of a dessert person, but the simplicity of this cake makes it a perfect candidate for a intimate gathering at home, or to pair with your morning coffee. And if you had the chance to swing by the Cider Mill for Michigan apples last week, per our suggestion, then this cake is for you! If not, the single apple this recipe calls for is worth the trip to your local market.
I adapted this recipe into a less-sweet-extra-spiced version from Jenny Rosenstrach’s Apple-stuffed Apple Cake recipe, which she shared in her latest newsletter. When I claim to “not be a dessert person”, it’s mainly because I’m not interested in sickeningly sweet desserts, and more often than not, that’s a defining characteristic of store-bought desserts. This apple cake has been on my mind throughout the last couple of days, so without further adieu, I present you with a slightly sweet, triple spiced apple cake, accompanied by a cup of hot cider.
Recipe: Triple Spiced Apple Cake
Yields: one 9-inch cake
Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut sugar or granulated sugar (or 3/4 cup if you like a sweeter cake)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 medium-large apple, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground all-spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
squeeze of lemon (preferably meyer lemon)
Notes on spice substitutes: If you don’t have all three of the spices this recipe calls for, suggested substitutes include: ground coriander, ground ginger, or nutmeg. If you only have cinnamon, you can alternatively add 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon.
Directions:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a 9-inch round baking pan with butter, or line with parchment paper.
Step 2
In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the sugar and butter until creamy, (using a hand mixer will make this step easier). Add the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and egg. Beat well, until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter. Fold in the peeled and diced apples.
Step 3
Scrape the batter (it will be thick!) into your prepared pan, and smooth out the top with your spatula. Squeeze lemon juice on top (about 1 tsp or so), and sprinkle with a pinch of salt (flaky or course ground). Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, then serve with a pat of butter, whipped cream, or a scoop of your favorite ice cream for added decadence.
Enjoy with a hot cup of cider, coffee, or tea. ☕️
Stir Fry / Microgreens / Bread & Spread Subscribers:
This week, our Culinary Subscribers will be receiving one (or all) of the yummy goods below. Signup for the final week of our subscription kits—details below!
Signup for our Culinary Subscriptions
It’s not too late! If you would like to sign up for the final week of any of our subscriptions (Stir Fry / Bread & Spread / Microgreens), follow the link below.
*STIR FRY KIT SUBSCRIBERS: Just in case you need it, we’re sharing a digital (print-friendly) version of our Stir Fry Kit assembly instructions. Click here to download!
Worthwhile reads
For your reading pleasure, the team members at Featherstone will occasionally share an article or link we found to be a worthwhile read. We hope you enjoy our pick of the week.
Annie’s Pick: The Might of Cory Bush, via Harper’s Bazaar
I appreciated this profile of a woman I admire and respect, first term Congresswoman Cory Bush. She represents St. Louis and some of its metropolitan area. As an esteemed child-care worker, and later a nurse turned politician, she is a member of The Squad and a compelling and decisive voice advocating for particularly the homeless, reproductive rights, improved healthcare, and Black Lives Matter.
Renee’s Pick: Power of the Press Fest, presented by Signal Return
Rather than sharing an article, I’m sharing a local event taking place this weekend in Detroit’s Historic Eastern Market. The ‘Power of the Press Fest’ is a celebration of printmaking featuring over 50 local Detroit artists. The event itself is free, and includes artist demos, entertainment, and a quarantine public library. The event takes place this upcoming Sunday, October 10, 2021, from 10 am to 4 pm in Eastern Market’s Shed 5. You can check out more details & rsvp by clicking here.
Thanks for reading!
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Have a great week,
Annie, Aaron, Renee, Jessi, Phoebe + Chili, Pepper & Bean (our farm cats)
