February Harvests

We’re still pretty much in ‘harvest as needed’ mode here with the fresh vegetables. This week I harvested several things to add to our menu. I cut some Mei Qing pak choi in the greenhouse bed for stir frying. I tried something different and added a spoonful of virgin coconut oil to the wok before adding the pak choi. That and a splash of soy sauce at the end was all the seasoning it needed. It made a good side dish along with some blackened salmon and a baked spaghetti squash from the basement storage.

Another green I cooked this week was some Lacinato kale. This fall-planted kale was still alive and well a few days ago, before the latest cold snap, and hopefully it has survived. The cold weather has made it super sweet. I steamed it in a little water then added some sliced garlic and a few of our dried tomatoes. It went with one of our Dark Days meals along with baked chicken and sweet potatoes.

I’ve been getting lettuce and other salad greens all winter from the cold frames and the greenhouse. I harvested a nice head of Flashy Trout Back lettuce this week from the green house. This is a Frank Morton selection of Trout Back lettuce that has more uniform coloration. It and some of the other salad greens went into a salad we had one day for lunch. I’m still using some China Rose radishes I harvested last December. They have kept nicely in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. They add a nice crunch to salads, soups, and other dishes, and you can bet I’ll be growing them again.

And more lettuce went into some chalupas we had for dinner last night. I’m not sure how I got started making chalupas, but they’ve been a favorite of mine for many years. I cook the pork and pinto bean mixture along with onions, peppers and other seasonings, then freeze it in serving size containers for later use. To serve it, I add some baked corn tortillas, lettuce, cheese, and other toppings (like some green tomato salsa from the freezer). It’s sort of like taco salad, except with the pork and pintos on the bottom. It’s a meal in a bowl!

Spinach and arugula went into a frittata my wife made for lunch yesterday. We are currently blessed with a lot of eggs from our CSA, and frittatas are one of our favorite ways to use them. I harvested enough of the Giant Winter spinach to saute some tonight for dinner. With one 4×4 foot cold frame devoted to spinach, and more in the greenhouse, we should have a nice supply of it before it decides to bolt.

That’s a peek at what we’re harvesting here in early February. To see what others are harvesting visit Daphne’s Dandelions, host of Harvest Mondays!