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Monday, December 25, 2017

Harvest Monday - Christmas Edition 2017

Merry Christmas! Tis the season to be picking peppers and tomatoes and squash? Depends on where you live but it's not typical here so this is an atypical Christmas Harvest post for me.

Baccatum peppers are actually not all that unusual a harvest in December for me because they are fairly cold tolerant and they ripen late but I don't typically have this much to harvest.

Aji Amarillo Grande, Aji Angelo, Joe's Giant Aji,
Aji Golden, Craigs's Grande Jalapeno, Ethiopian Brown
But vine ripened tomatoes are an unusual treat for late December. Those half ripe larger tomatoes finished ripening quickly on the kitchen counter and are surprisingly sweet and flavorful or perhaps I just have lower expectations for December tomatoes. The Jaune Flamme tomatoes have been a real treat, there's really no compromise in their flavor.


I cleaned out all the sweet peppers that I could find and they are also ripening on the kitchen counter. Most of those are also good eating when green, far better than a horrid green bell pepper. The orange Habanadas were prolific enough to fill another quart jar for another batch of dried fermented pepper flakes.


A freeze warning prompted me to collect all the tender Tromba D'Albenga vine tips and squash of nearly any size that I could find.

Tromba D'Albenga Vine Tips, Baby Tromba D'Albenga
Most of those vine tips and half of that big squash below went into a pot of soup. The vine tips are really good in soup, they lose the fuzzy texture and have a delicate squash flavor. I was reading somewhere online that in some parts of Mexico they sell the vine soup ingredients together in a bag which includes the shoots, squash, and squash blossoms. I'll remember that for next year. My version of the soup was not traditional, I added some brown rice, shredded chicken, and tomato puree. A big pinch of fermented pepper flakes added some zing.

Not-So-Baby Tromba D'Albenga
Here's the most wintry harvest I could manage last week, some thinnings from my winter radishes. I like to ferment the tops and then dehydrate them. The chopped dried fermented greens add flavor to soups, stews, and sautes. 

Radish Thinnings
That last harvest of radish tops pushed my total harvests for 2017 to within a hair's breadth of the half ton mark so next week I get to brag a bit about my annual harvest total.

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, and if you are looking to link up to Harvest Monday next week come on over here, I'll be giving Dave a break and hosting for the month of January.



13 comments:

  1. What great colours and what as lot of produce. I am only slightly envious of your weather as I listen to the storm outside here in th UK.

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    1. I must say that I'm slightly envious of your weather. A storm would mean some much needed precipitation. It's dry dry dry here and the fire season just won't end.

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  2. The peppers are so colorful. And it sounds like the Tromba vines are versatile. I sure like the squash itself in soup. Wishing you a Merry Christmas too!

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    1. Try the vine tips in soup some day, they are much better than I thought they might be. It's also a great way to keep the rampant vines in check. I alway feel so bad about whacking the vines back and throwing them in the compost, now it will be easier to snip them back earlier in the season.

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  3. Wow, so happy to see your harvests are still so ample! Maybe just, ya know, a wee bit jealous ;) And jumping back, I also really enjoyed the garden tour earlier this week. I'm always extremely interested to see how other people organize/structure their gardens. Happy holidays!

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    1. Happy Holidays to you to Day. I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. Green with envy... :)

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  4. What a great harvest! I would never have thought of making soup with those vine ends, as I am a bit put off by their fuzziness, but you said that goes, so I'll have to try it next season

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    1. Cook them long enough and they do lose the fuzzy texture. The key is in the time.

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  5. Harvesting in Dec. I'm in Indiana where unless it's under cover it is gone,lol. Have a Happy New Year!

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  6. Tomatoes and peppers in December! Although some things got covered up for the freeze warning, it didn't seem to be much of a freeze. I dread to think of what this mild, dry winter will do for the varmit population this spring and summer here in the Valley. All the best for the New Year.

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    1. The varmints will be hungry for sure and I know where they'll be looking to fill their bellies. It really wasn't much of a freeze, there's still good tomatoes on the vines. Happy New Year!

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  7. Such lovely colours and delicious eats - that would certainly contribute to a brag worthy Christmas dinner! I can't believe all those baby Tromba squash - wow!

    Oh, half a ton...can't wait to see the details on that.

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