Here's what came out of the garden in the past week. Grapes! I managed to harvest some in spite of generally neglecting the vine. It gets hit hard every year with powdery mildew, but I managed to treat some of the young grape clusters with neem in time to prevent total crop failure. Then I managed to beat the birds to some of the clusters when they finally got sweet enough to eat. I'm not sure what variety this is, the vine was here when I moved in, but it may be Red Flame.
Next up, Pimento de Padron peppers, Piracicaba broccoli shoots, zucchini, carrots (Atomic Red, Daghestan White, Afghani Purple, and St. Valery), and fennel pollen from the Red Florence Fennel. The zucchini plants are pooping out, one of them hit the compost pile yesterday, but the most productive one is still producing a few small zukes. The carrots were used in a spicy Thai style salad, yummy but HOT.
Amaranth leaves. I used these as a spinach substitute in a Spanish dish of stewed chickpeas. It was a hit with my husband.
A bit of basil, splitting Plaza Latina Giant tomatillos, fallen purple tomatillos, the first Caspian Pink tomato (yeah!) and a couple of Black Sea Man tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes (Black, Galinas, and Isis Candy).
More tomatoes, finally! More cherries, Black Sea Man, Caspian Pink, and Giantesque. The cherries topped a pizza last night.
Marconi Purple sweet peppers. The plants set a whole bunch of cherry sized peppers, most of which didn't have seeds. I chopped those up, stewed them with some garlic, oregano, and capers and put them on another pizza. The larger peppers will probably be roasted and stuffed with something later this week.
The first Diamond eggplant, more Pimento de Padrons, and one Christmas Bell. The eggplant was sliced, roasted and used in the third pizza last night.
Not shown this week, more basil, a few more zucchini, another bunch of Piracicaba Broccoli, a couple more carrots, and two pounds of Pimento de Padrons. The carrots were cut into sticks and used to scoop up homemade hummus. Yesterday I worked on blanching and freezing the broccoli. I also roasted all but the last picking of Padrons and froze them in portions for future consumption. This is the first time that I've tried freezing Padrons, I know that roasted sweet peppers freeze beautifully so I thought I'd try it with the Padrons.
Those purple peppers are beautiful. The grapes make a bit nostalgic. I used to have a couple of grapes, but I pulled them out to make more room for blueberries. I tended to freak out when I harvested them because the spiders liked to take up residence inside the clusters. I'm a real arachnophobe. Spiders don't bother me so much in the garden, but when they get inside I freak out a bit. :/
ReplyDeleteI always get so hungry while reading your blog! When do you start writing the cookbook?
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I need to find a spot for some blueberries. I planted some in my last garden and they were just getting going when we moved. Good thing you don't live here, the spiders always find a way indoors, they're in the house all year long.
ReplyDeleteDaffodil, Aww, you're so nice. Don't hold your breath waiting for the book!
Have you ever bitten into one of the really hot Pimientos de Padron? The folklore is that one out of every dozen is ultra hot. I've never found one like that, although one or two have definitely had a strong "buzz." I've only been growing them a couple of years. We really like them a lot and they are our most prolific pepper by a long shot.
ReplyDeleteBB, I do get an occasional one that is hot, but not ultra hot, at least to my taste. But everyone has a different sensitivity to chile heat, what I consider mild is hot to some of my friends. And they certainly are prolific. I love them and have been growing them for 5 or 6 years now.
ReplyDeleteThat mess of tomatoes looks good enough to eat right off my computer screen...
ReplyDeleteWhat do you use the fennel pollen for? I understand the rest of the harvest lol, but that's got me intruiged.
ReplyDeleteSusan, put down that fork, I wouldn't want you to mangle your screen ;)
ReplyDeleteJan, I've read about fennel pollen in some of my cookbooks and decided to give it a try. It is harvested from the blooming fennel umbels, but to my eye it is actually mostly fennel blossom petals, not just pollen. It has an intense fennel flavor and is supposed to be good for seasoning fish, poultry, and pork.
The pizzas sound great. Really great. And I'm as always stunned by your variety and abundance. Yum.
ReplyDeleteA most prodigious harvest. So much to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog, although I seem to forget to visit very often. These pix are especially nice.
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