After a dry August here, rains returned in September with over 3 inches falling throughout the month. That made the fall plantings grow, and we are reaping the bounty now in early October. The broccoli is heading up nicely, and I cut about 24 ounces of it this past weekend. I made some Broccoli and Walnut Salad with part of it, and we steamed the rest. Most of that in the below photo is the Apollo variety, which has longer and more tender stems than the typical broccoli. I think it is better raw than many of the other broccoli I grow.
Apollo and Packman broccoli
Steaming the broccoli gave me a chance to use our new All-Clad steamer. We have really been enjoying using this new cookware, and I am so glad we finally got it.
broccoli in steamer
I harvested one more of the yellow squash Enterprise. It looked lonely all by itself on the cutting board, so I added a few late setting Rattlesnake beans for it to hang out with. I will need to pull up the last of the summer squash vines soon so I can prepare that bed for planting garlic later this month.
Enterprise squash and Rattlesnake beans
Kale is a star performer here this fall. We had some of the Red Ursa one night in a kale and potato hash dish. I need to post the recipe for this creation, as it turned into a really good side dish. This fall and winter I’m looking forward to making favorite kale dishes like bean and kale soup along with trying new ways to fix this tasty and nutritious green.
Kale and Potato Hash
Some of the Wild Garden Kale Mix wound up in Kale Chips. That is one of my all time favorite things to do with kale!
kale cutup for chips
kale chips
I am trying to clean out the last of the lettuce in the cold frame to make room for a new planting. This is the Sierra variety, a Batavian type that holds up well to heat. It has a nice crispy rib that reminds me of romaine types. It’s interesting that while the lettuce has remained free of slugs, in the bed next door the kohlrabi is getting eaten up by them. The lettuce made for a nice salad. Now I need to get the new lettuce planted once I can work some compost in that bed.
head of Sierra lettuce
Last and definitely not least I am harvesting some figs finally. They are always late to ripen here. I have the Brown Turkey and Conadria varieties ripening, with Hardy Chicago still not ready yet. They will keep on coming until we get a hard freeze, so they should have a few weeks left to ripen. I have been enjoying the figs on my breakfast muesli and for snacks.
Brown Turkey figs
And don’t forget, you still have time to get in on the cookbook giveaway. Just leave a comment on the post New Cookware and a Book Giveaway to be eligible. I will do the ‘drawing’ on Wednesday. I’ll be back soon with more happenings from HA!