Welcome to Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. If I could sum up my recent harvests in one word, it would be “green.” As the days get longer, it seems the greens planted in the greenhouse and cold frames have picked up the pace of growing. Last week I made a cutting of the True Siberian kale I have growing in the greenhouse. This is my second year growing it in there, and it overwinters quite well, giving us a taste of kale early in the year.
harvest of True Siberian kale
I paired it with some Runner Cannellini beans for a main dish meal. I braised the kale in a little olive oil, and it was tender in about five minutes. It’s a simple treatment, just the beans and kale, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a little crispy bacon on top when I plate it.
Kale and Cannellini Beans
I had enough of the kale to make a second meal out of it, as a lunch side dish for me. I cooked it briefly in a little olive oil along with mushrooms. It kept its green color, and was sweet and flavorful. There is such a difference between homegrown kale and what you buy at the grocery, and I suspect more people would like it if they grew it themselves.
kale and mushrooms
Also in the greenhouse, I made a cutting of mixed lettuce and spinach. We made a meal off the salad I prepared with them, adding a little hard boiled egg for protein plus some homemade whole wheat croutons I made with a bit of leftover bread. To make the croutons I cut the bread into cubes then bake until crispy. I also sometimes use the dehydrator if I am making a lot of them. At any rate, it was a simple, light meal where the lettuce and spinach were the the real stars.
lettuce and spinach for salad
And speaking of spinach, the spinach planted in the greenhouse has really taken off. I have three varieties planted in there, Viroflay, Giant Winter and Space. All the spinach was started indoors in plug flats, and transplanted to the greenhouse bed in December. It’s mostly Giant Winter in the below photo. It went into a pot of bean and barley soup.
spinach from the greenhouse beds
I also pulled the first of the green garlic that I planted back in December. This one came from a container planting I made that has overwintered in the greenhouse. It was showing quite a bit of green leaf, and made a nice garlicky addition to a tofu and veggie stir-fry I whipped up for dinner one night.
green garlic
I’ll close with a welcome sign – the early daffodils are blooming! I don’t know the cultivar, as they were already here when we bought the place. That’s a good sign that spring is right around the corner, isn’t it?
early daffodils blooming
Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest you want to share, add your name and blog link to Mr Linky below. And be sure and check out what everyone is harvesting!
Not just kale but anything homegrown taste better than store bought. Your daffodils brighten my morning and put a HUGE happy smile on my face, yeah spring is here. With the new zoning I am supposed to be zone 6a like you but you are so far ahead of us, will be a while before I see spring flowers and harvest green garlic.
I love the pic of the bird in your header! Ah daffodils, what a pretty sight to see.
That kale looks amazing – and huge! Lovely daffodils – I’m hoping that mine are ok as they had started to come up right before we received another dump of snow & freezing rain.
I sowed some spinach for overwintering and I see some actual green (not brown!)peaking out where the straw has thinned out a bit. Many of the seedlings I sowed in the fall didn’t come up or were possibly devoured by slugs, so now, of course, I’m kicking myself for not resowing.
That’s such a pretty kale with its white ribs and frilly edges. Beans & Greens is one of my favorite combos. We had Gigante beans and spinach in tomato sauce this week. Your greenhouse makes a big difference, I can’t imagine that you would be able to have spinach now without it, and I’m sure the kale was happier for it also.
We are pretty much green as well! But we do have some orange in the form of overwintered carrots!! Your harvests look great this week!
Ooh lovely, you have so many nice leafy harvests. I feel in a bit of limbo having got my toms on the go but it’s still to early for most things and too wet outside for other direct sowings. Oh well it will all come along soon enough and then I’ll be panicking instead!
Your greens are gorgeous 🙂 I failed my fall/winter garden, but it’s coming back happily as an early spring garden, so I’ll take it 🙂 I may even have a harvest to share in the next week or two!
Your spinach and kale look amazing. I over-wintered some spinach but it’s looking tiny and a little worse for wear after spending winter in the open.
We are also enjoying the daffodils – not to eat I hasten to add
You are way ahead of us here, although today it felt like Spring. No green and no daffodils yet. Your greenhouse is really proving its worth to judge by the kale and spinach you are harvesting.
What wonderful greenhouse harvests you get! Yes a very green week. And daffodils–yes so heartening as spring approaches.