I know today is a holiday here in the U.S. but I want to do a brief update on some of what’s happening around here. In my last post I promised I’d share the results of my latest smoked peppers when they were done. It took a couple of days to get them all dried, and I took them out of the dehydrator in stages. I put them back on the pan in much the same position as they were in this photo, so you can see the difference between fresh and smoked/dried. I only had two of the sweet Dulce Rojo, so I saved them for later use, but I ground all the hot ones. The smoked chile powder is nice to add to cooked dishes, as well as used as a table condiment to sprinkle on tacos, salads and even baked potatoes.
smoked and dried peppers
The peppers continue to slowly ripen. I harvested a couple of the Big Bertha last week. This variety is aptly named, and the big peppers are sweet and flavorful when ripe. Those in the below photo wound up on the grill, served up with some burgers.
ripe Big Bertha peppers
I found a couple of winter squash that were ready to harvest. There’s a Black Futsu and a Seminole squash in the below photo. The Black Futsu weighed a little over two pounds, while the Seminole came in at 20 oz. I’ll let both of them sit for a few weeks before we eat them. There are more Seminole fruits on the vine, but I think that will be first and last Futsu this year.
Black Futsu and Seminole squash
The fall planting of kale really took off this year. I guess I did get it planted a bit earlier than usual, but I also think that favorable weather helped it get off to a good start. At any rate, I harvested a bit over a pound of the Wild Garden Mix last week. The leaves were nice and big, and relatively clean of insect damage. I’ve been spraying with Bt to keep the cabbage worms from eating them up.
Wild Garden Mix kale
The kale wound up in a bean and kale dish we had for lunch yesterday. I sometimes make this with Runner Cannellini beans, but this time I cooked up a pot of the Royal Corona beans I got from Rancho Gordo. They are a runner bean that is similar to the Runner Cannellinis, but a tad bigger. They are big when dry, but after cooking they are huge! They have a starchy consistency that is quite pleasing to my palate, but if you cook them a bit longer the inside gets creamy and soft. They paired up nicely with the kale which is briefly cooked for about 10 minutes before the cooked beans are added. A splash of balsamic vinegar and a little crumbled bacon on top adds extra flavor to this almost-meatless dish.
Kale with Beans and Bacon
That’s a peek at what’s happening here in early September. To see what other gardeners are harvesting and cooking up, visit Daphne’s Dandelions where Daphne hosts Harvest Mondays.