Harvests haven't changed much in the past couple of weeks except for the first two tiny pickings, I almost said handfuls but they didn't quite amount to that much, of cherry tomatoes.
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| Piccolo Dattero & Sweet Gold |
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| Piccolo Dattero, Sunrise Bumblebee, & Purple Bumblebee |
I used both "handfuls" of tomatoes to garnish some
Zucchini Gazpacho.
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| Caper Berries or "Cucunci" |
I didn't harvest any caper buds this year so the plants are producing a lot of caper berries. I've got this lot fermenting in a plain brine at the moment. When they are done I'll drain them and pack them in a good white wine vinegar.
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| Coriander of Morocco |
Coriander of Morocco is grown primarily for its seeds. I was careful to not allow any of the other cilantro/coriander volunteers in my garden to bloom while this variety was blooming. I grew only a small patch so the harvest isn't large and I also left a number of umbels on the plants to allow to dry before I harvest them for seed saving rather than culinary use. I like to harvest culinary coriander seeds when they are ripe but still green because I think they have more flavor.
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| Fennel Seed Umbels |
I also harvest fennel seeds green for their superior flavor. These came from various plants that I allow to volunteer around the garden.
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| Orion Fennel |
The Orion Fennel got to be a bit overgrown but is still tasty. Last night I made a gratin with diced fennel, zucchini, onion, and sheep milk ricotta that was a winner. I'll have to write up the recipe before I forget it.
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| Rossa Lunga din Firenze Onion |
I pulled all the onions a couple of weeks ago and have been letting them sit outside in baskets to cure. There are a number of nice bulbs but none of them compare in size to what I've grown before. I'll enjoy them while they last and then it will be purchased onions for the next few years while the downy mildew spores in the garden hopefully die out.
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| Chelsea Prize & Green Fingers Cucumbers, Romanesco Zucchini |
The cucumbers are coming in in spurts, the plants produce a few and then take a break so the harvests haven't been overwhelming. On the other hand, there's been a parade of squash and zucchini.
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| Tromba D'Albenga Squash |
There has also been plenty of Broccolini and Broccoli.
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| Aspabroc (aka Broccolini) & Batavia Broccoli |
That's the latest harvests from my garden. 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.
Zucchini is a versatile vegetable, but you might be getting near the limit! The tomatoes are really beautiful. Interesting to see caper berries; I don't think I've ever seen them before. Do you use them like caper buds?
ReplyDeleteFortunately I like to use dehydrated zucchini so we didn't have to consume all of that fresh and I did give some away as well. The caper berries are quite different from the buds and so far as I've been able to determine they are consumed primarily as a pickle which is how I'll use them.
ReplyDeleteWe need to cure our onions and shallots and typically the weather has turned damp!
ReplyDeleteWE are about a week behind you in having ripe tomatoes to pick.
Wonderful harvests - love the coriander! So funny that we both harvested our first tomatoes now - I've only harvested a couple of fingers (vs. a couple of handfuls) ;)
ReplyDeleteHow dry is your dehydrated zucchini? Are they kept at room temperature in the pantry? Do you dehydrate your Tromba D'Albenga Squash also?
ReplyDeleteI dry them to the point of being quite leathery, just short of being crisp. I keep them in the fridge for long term storage, it preserves the color and they will keep well for over a year. I treat the Tromba squash the same, it dehydrates beautifully.
DeleteLooks like you are getting a glut of tromboncino! How do you think it compares to zucchini when dehydrated? I've done both but I struggle to find uses for it other than soup.
ReplyDeleteThe Romanesco and Tromba squash are equally good dehydrated. I use a lot of them in the nearly weekly veggie packed frittatas that I make for my Dave that he takes for lunch. I don't even bother to rehydrate them, they soak up the moisture from the eggs and other veggies as the frittata bakes. Another dish that I like to make with them is to stew them in a tomato sauce with or without other veggies and perhaps some sausage or pancetta, again I just add them to the tomato sauce and they soak up the moisture from the sauce. I like that the zucchini/squash slices retain some chew when they are cooked that way. And I use them in soup also. They are great for lightweight backpacking meals too!
DeleteI love the idea of dehydrating zucchini, hopefully I'll have enough of a glut to do that (I usually give a few away and tend not to have too many leftover). What an abundance you have!
ReplyDeleteI am marvelling at the diversity of your harvest. I am ery curious about the Moroccan coriander, not seen that before or even heard of it. My fennel plants have bolted, so I may let them just grow like you for the seeds. And I wish i had some of the caper berries, they look so good.
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ReplyDeleteDehydrating summer squash... that never occurred to me before, but it's damn clever. Probably one of the smartest ways to preserve the glut that I've heard in a long while. Thanks for the insight!
ReplyDeleteI feel like I've been seeing the Tromba D'Albenga squash everywhere this season. While a lot of the emphasis has been on using it as a summer squash (since it is apparently quite tasty) I'm nevertheless curious - do you let any mature to winter squash stage? If so, how do they add up?
Tromba squash do seem to be popular lately. You could let the Tromba squash mature into a winter squash. It would be something like a butternut squash to which it related. I harvest all of them as so called summer squash since the will produce over a very long season, well into fall in my mild climate.
DeleteI've never thought of growing caper berries, we always use nasturtium seedpods in a similar way but, although good, they are different. I assume capers would need to be grown under glass here in the UK? I must look in this for next year!!
ReplyDeleteThey are a Mediterranean plant, they need plenty of sun and warmth in the summer and will only tolerate brief periods of freezing weather in the winter. Your best chance of success in the UK is probably under glass.
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