I started off 2014 here by harvesting a few greens from the greenhouse and cold frames. I found enough spinach leaves in the cold frame to enjoy some of them in a salad, along with some lettuce and arugula from the greenhouse.
spinach for salad
The greenhouse lettuce has stayed nice and clean so far, with no insect issues. Sometimes aphids are a problem in the winter, but I think it has gotten cold enough in there at night to keep them from taking over. At least I hope so! As spring arrives I will have to keep a close watch for them.
lettuce harvest
My wife and I enjoyed the salad for lunch on New Years Day, along with a meatless Reuben sandwich I made on some homemade rye bread. It was great to start the year with something fresh from the garden.
first salad of 2014
I also used some of the sweet potatoes from storage to make some oven fries for dinner one night. I cut up one Beauregard and one Carla’s Purple, tossed them in olive oil then baked them until they were tender and started to brown. It made for a pretty (and tasty) mix. I love these purple sweet potatoes. They have a slightly drier consistency than Beauregard, and a great flavor. I look forward to more experimenting with them in the kitchen, and to growing more of them this year. I am so glad Carla decided to share them with us!
sweet potato oven fries
And I made a batch of Italian Wedding Soup, using some of our Jacob’s Cattle Beans, carrots, and some Lacinato kale.
Italian Wedding soup
That’s a look at what we are harvesting here in early January. To see what others around the world are harvesting or cooking up, visit Daphne’s Dandelions where Daphne hosts the Harvest Monday series.
Homegrown salad greens on New Year’s day, what a special treat. Hope your green house stays bug free. I made a delicious pot of soup over the weekend with my Beedy’s kale from the freezer, it is becoming my favorite kale, thanks for sharing your seeds with me.