The harvests were surprisingly colorful last week. The overwintered Peppermint Stick chard gave the bulk of it's production just as it is starting to bolt.
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| Peppermint Stick chard |
The stripes on the chard stems are most pronounced on the back side. You can see in the photo above that the inner stalks start to get a bit orange when the plant starts to send up its flower stalk. I used a large portion of these to make a simple but rich chard gratin made with cream and creme fraiche, spring onions, and whole grain mustard, topped with some grated Parmesan. Another recipe that I need to write up and post on my recipe blog. BTW, I did post the recipe for the
Green Quinoa Pilaf that I mentioned last week.
The radishes are back in the harvest basket now that the succession that I sowed on March 3 is producing.
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| Pink Punch, Helios, Malaga, Petit Dejeuner Radishes |
I finished thinning out the onion patch and now I'm wishing I had devoted some space just to spring onions since I've been enjoying these so much and it will be months before I (hopefully) enjoy them as mature bulbing onions. I guess I'll just have to sneak a few from the patch now and then.
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| Rossa Lunga di Firenze |
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| Rossa Piatta D'Italia |
The Rossa Piatta D'Italias are especially pretty.
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| Rossa Piatta D'Italia |
My first harvest of baby Apollo Arugula. Dave at Our Happy Acres likes this variety of arugula and he has written a
spotlight post about it. It is a tender and mild tasting variety and quick to produce, I sowed seeds for this bunch on March 2. It's going to be a regular in the garden.
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| Apollo Arugula |
One other harvest that I didn't bother to photograph because they are so ugly is the first of the green garlic. The garlic leaves are just nasty with rust but the white stems are good so I'm going to be pulling all the garlic over the next week or so. The bulk of it will be made into a
Garlic Cream that I devised last year when I was faced with the same problem. The cream from last year has kept really well in the freezer so I'll stock up again this year. The first harvest though went into another quinoa dish (I bought a big bag) that featured the green garlic that was minced and sauteed in butter plus some peeled favas from the freezer and chicken stock.
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| Spinach and Ricotta Gratin |
Another dish that I made last week used up some of the spinach harvested the week before and more of the spring onions. The recipe was based on a spinach and ricotta pie but I baked it in a gratin dish instead of in a crust. It was a great main course type of dish that we enjoyed with a green salad. Dave has been raving about this dish so I guess I'll have to write up the recipe for this as well.
So, here's the details of the harvests for the past week:
Apollo arugula - 5.6 oz.
Peppermint Stick chard - 3 lb., 5.3 oz.
Mild French green garlic - 5.3 oz.
Spring onions - 2 lb., 11.1 oz.
Helios radishes - 2.4 oz.
Malaga radishes - 6 oz.
Petit Dejeuner radishes - 3.5 oz.
Pink Punch radishes - 3.7 oz.
Total for the week - 7 lb., 10.9 oz. (3.5 kg.)
2016 YTD - 93 lb., 9.3 oz. (42.4 kg.)
Harvest Monday is hosted by Dave on his blog
Our Happy Acres, head on over there to see what other garden bloggers have been harvesting lately.
Oh my! Those onions are just so colourful. The so-called red ones I grew last year had barely a tinge of pink on them. Must be the quality of the sunlight in your neck of the woods that makes them so impressive. I must look for some different Radishes to grow (like those Helios ones). The ones sold here are predominantly plain red or red-and-white.
ReplyDeleteThat chard is beautiful, as are the scallions! It's funny, the Apollo and Speedy arugula couldn't look any more different, but I grow them side by side and they have both become my favorites. And I'm looking forward to making your Garlic Cream when my green garlic sizes up a bit. I even planted extra this year to make sure I have plenty.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvests - so much pink, not often a colour often associated with yummy veg! I just had some garlic crème with beans (also from last years garden) and each time I have it, I thank you in my mind :)
ReplyDeleteYou certainly have a way of showing of the beautiful colours of your harvest - the pictures are beautiful! How hard to decide which pictures to show off in your banner!?!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to the gratin recipe.
As always, your post is a feast for the eyes and the appetite! That peppermint chard is lovely as our those Spring Onions. Your picture could be hung on the wall at a gallery. I also really appreciate you taking the time to post recipes. I am learning to eat better - fresh from the garden - and grow many new-to-me things. But part of the challenge is learning how to cook them. So all of your recipes are greatly valued. Have a great week in the garden!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful harvest, nicely photographed. I keep eyeing those Malaga radishes, what a beautiful color. I'll have to look for some at Bakers Creek if we visit them in May. And I guess I will be looking for a place to put my extra onion seedlings rather than tossing them so I can have some spring onions. Won't look as attractive as yours.
ReplyDelete