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Monday, October 30, 2017

Harvest Monday - October 30, 2017

This Monday's harvest report is very brief. Last Monday I harvested only what absolutely had to be harvested because it wouldn't keep in the garden until today and that was 3 heads of broccolini from the new plants.

Broccolini

Same Broccolini
Early Tuesday morning Dave and I set off for Santa Catalina Island to backpack the Trans-Catalina Trail and we didn't get back home until Sunday afternoon. The Island was beautiful but the already challenging trail was made even more so by record breaking heat. But we met the challenge and finished our planned 45 mile hike in 4 days. One good thing about the hot weather was that the skies were clear and the views long.

West End Catalina Island
The broccolini kept very well for the week and was still sweet and delicious Sunday evening. The tomatoes that I harvested the Sunday before and showed last Monday also kept really well. Fresh veggies for dinner was a welcome treat after the dehydrated meals that we had on the trail. Those were good because many of them featured veggies from the garden, but nothing beats fresh.

The harvests next week will be more colorful, there's still peppers and a few tomatoes left in the 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.



14 comments:

  1. Omigosh! You were hiking in near 100 degree temperatures??? I bet you were glad to get home! What a hot October it's been.

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    1. Oh yeah. It was so hot and dry that I could see the salt crystals on my skin from all the sweat that just about instantly evaporated. For the first time in my life I resorted to Gatorade, guzzled the stuff. Yuck, but it got me through.

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    2. What heat!! The views look amazing though, and hiking in those conditions will certainly be something to remember, I'm sure

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  2. 45 miles in 4 days is a good pace. Was there any shade available, it looks treeless?

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    1. There was almost no shade. There were shade structures in a very few places and we found some big enough bushes to hide behind once in a while. Fortunately the sun at this time of year is at an angle so it wasn't as intense as it would be in the summer. We also hit the trail before dawn to minimize our time during the worst of the heat.

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  3. Wow that’s a reall challenge - did you sleep under the stars?

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    1. We slept under the stars if you count sleeping in a tent to be under the stars.

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  4. Sounds like hot but fun hiking for sure. I bet you were ready for some fresh veggies when you got back. We used to always say that after a marathon, calories didn't count!

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    1. I've already made up for all the extra calories burned and then some! The hiking itself wasn't always fun but it's very gratifying to meet a challenge like that. And being immersed in a unique and beautiful environment like that is always the biggest reward, I love it. And yes, fresh veggies tasted better than ever.

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  5. So envious of your backpacking trip. I've never been to Catalina, but growing up in Santa Barbara the northern (western?) Channel Islands were always in view. I've been to Santa Cruz Island several times, and once to Santa Rosa and San Miguel. There is nothing like them on earth.

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    1. This was my first time on any of those islands. I would love to go visit more of them.

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  6. Ooh, do you have any special methods or recipes for using your dehydrated veggies? I'm planning to get into more hiking next year and how great to be able to pack along lightweight dehydrated veggies that you made yourself!

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    1. I have come up with a few recipes that have met with the seal of approval from my eater in chief (aka my husband). I may have to do a post about them and the method that I've been using to cook them on the trail. It's a bit too involved to go into detail here. So stay tuned!

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  7. Wow, you guys are certainly committed! Two of the three times I went away this year, there seemed to be record heat. I'm such a heat wimp - I wouldn't have been able to last more than a couple of hours before seeking out some AC. And yum to the broccolini - be it dehydrated food or eating out all the time, there's nothing like coming home to a home cooked meal with fresh from the garden veg.

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