Frosty Morning

There was a pretty thick fog last night that our 26 degree night turned into a blanket of frost. Everything is certainly hunkered down.

Non-Purple broccoli. It is an experiment.
I don't know if it will last the winter.

Up close with a frosty broccoli.

Purple Broccoli.

Leeks, beets and chard. There are carrots
tucked down  beneath the autumn leaves.

Blustery Harvests

It is fall, the first leek came out of the ground the other night. It was a beauty, a good omen for the coming winter. This leek found its way into the wok. There it met some green onion, garlic and chard. Leeks are one of the many vegetables that I didn't know what to do with a few years. I could think of nothing aside from Potato & Leek soup. That always seemed too hard, too involved, too heavy. Then Alicia Silverstone told us, through her book The Kind Diet, to steam it with a bit of vinegar and pepper. It is terribly simple and terribly tasty. Now I can incorporate a leek or two into any dinner in a matter of minutes.

The first of many leeks to come

It was also a week to pick the last of the peppers and tear down the couple remaining tomatoes that were still outside the greenhouse. We are down to less than a 5 gallon bucket of green San Marzano.  I'm not sure what to do with them, aside from trying to let them ripen. I've read that they are easily canned, but that still doesn't tell me what to do with them. It would be fine to let them go to compost, but I'll look around a bit more before that happens.

Shades of green -- Tomatillos, the last of the peppers
and a handful of San Marzano Romas.

A squash per week

Squash is a super-food, packed with vitamins and 'good stuff' according to nutrition writers. I don't doubt this at all, but I don't think that one vegetable thrown into an unhealthy diet is going to save a person. Everyone should throw in handfuls, gobs, mounds and mountains of greens, reds, and oranges. That'll lead to profound changes.

As for us, we need to eat at least a squash a week if a have any hope of making it through our stores by the time spring is upon us. It is a good 'problem' to have. Last year we lost several to freezing temperatures. Without a cellar, it is a challenge to find storage. I will try to insulate them better this year.

Pictured is a sunshine kabocha. The meat is dry and sweet. They are supposed to be good keepers. I can tell you, so far, that they are good eaters. A simple steaming was all that was required for this one to be super tasty.

Also pictured is my other sunshine, in front of a mound of chard that is awaiting the wok.

This post was added to Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday entry. Go take a gander and see what's growing around the world.

Harvest monday, night

The last eggplant, super tasty.

The last eggplant is on the left of the board, snuggled up with the broccoli. A handful of chard are on top, their stems below. The eggplant was sauteed with the chard stems, tomato and some green onion. It was then tossed with a red sauce and some penne. The chard leaves were lightly steamed. The broccoli was for Luke. I was inspired by Diary of a Tomato. While not following it exactly, I ended up with a very tasty dinner last night and lunch today.

Harvest Monday

Relegated to hang out with the recycling and garbage cans.
Thankfully, this isn't from this year. This technique (or is
it a trick?) did work. Most of these tomatoes found
their way into canning jars. 

Back to the present, here's an interesting mix of summer
and winter pickings. There are still a few eggplant
after this one. This butternut was on the small side, but
went very well with the potatoes, broccoli and beets
that shared my dinner plate.

Each of these beets was a pound. I was afraid
that the may have turned tough, but
was happily disappointed. They were excellent.

The last of the beans were tasty, along with mounds of
broccoli, chard, and tomatoes and jalapenos in last night's stir fry for
today's lunch.

The chard is plentiful and sweet all the
way to the end of the stalk.

Head over to Daphne's Dandelions for more Harvest Monday folks.