Welcome to Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The fall veggies are starting to come in now. I got a nice cutting of a Japanese turnip called Nozawana that is grown primarily for the greens. Mine is all greens right now, and after cooking them my wife and I both gave them two thumbs up. They were tender and mild-flavored, and I imagine they will be even sweeter after a frost – not that I am in a hurry for any frosts! The seed for this one came from Kitazawa Seed.
Nozawana turnip greens
I cut two heads of Diplomat broccoli last week, and side shoots from Artwork brockali. The heads of Diplomat were pretty much the same size as the Goliath I cut last week, about a half pound each.
Diplomat broccoli
The Artwork has been making lots of side shoots, and the fall planting has outperformed Apollo by far. I used these in a stir fry, leaves and all.
Artwork broccoli
I harvested two heads of cabbage last week, one of Farao that weighed around a pound and one of KY Cross that weighed in at 2.5 pounds. I used all of the Farao and some of the KY Cross to start a batch of sauerkraut, and I used some of the KY Cross in a stir fry. The cabbage had only minor caterpillar damage on the outer leaves, so apparently I have been keeping up with my Bt and neem oil applications. And there were no hidden snails inside – at least none that I know about!
Farao(L) and KY Cross(R) cabbage
Speaking of a stir fry, I got the first batch of the fall snow peas, and it was enough to go in the same stir fry with the cabbage and the Stocky Red Roaster peppers you see in the below photo.
snow peas and Stocky Red Roaster peppers
I got a little over a pound total of Aji Angelo and Aji Golden peppers last week, enough to fill two dehydrator sheets. Both these baccatum peppers have mild heat and a fruity flavor. Aji Angelo is such a useful pepper in the kitchen, and I use the dried ones to add to various pickles, kimchi, and for making into pepper flakes. The Aji Golden should be useful in much the same ways. After drying I packed the peppers in a quart jar and used the FoodSaver jar attachment to seal them up.
Aji Angelo and Aji Golden peppers
I got a few each of the sweet peppers Stocky Red Roaster, Corno di Toro Rosso and Jimmy Nardello. Those wound up on the grill, as a side dish for lunch one day. The Stocky Red Roasters took a long time to ripen this year, but I think they are a tasty pepper. Too bad they have been a shy producer for me the last couple of years, and I doubt they will be back next year. I think Cornito Rosso will be their replacement.
Stocky Red Roaster, Corno di Toro Rosso, and Jimmy Nardello peppers
I found another batch of hot peppers for smoking last week. I got quite a few of the green Not Celia Dulce peppers, plus some green and red Senorita jalapenos and four of the Fooled You jalapenos. The Fooled You peppers were a disappointment, having not only no heat but also no particular jalapeno flavor to them. I guess if you take away the heat then they’re just another sweet pepper. The Senorita peppers have been great though, a bit less heat than the usual jalapeno and plenty of flavor. After smoking I dehydrated the peppers, and most will be ground up later into chile and chipotle powder.
peppers ready for smoking
I harvested four Seminole pumpkins last week, the last winter squash alive out in the garden. They averaged about 1.5 pounds each, a little less than last year but still a lot of pumpkin. These are good keepers and I probably save them for use after some of the other winter squash are cooked up. There’s one more on the vine which I will leave a bit longer.
Seminole pumpkins
I had a great time Friday talking about homemade hot sauce on the WEHT Local Lifestyles show, while my wife did a segment on printing with leaves.. One of the other guests was a local farmer, Clint Kern from Aficionado Farms, who was on to talk about his CSA operation plus the Indiana Grown initiative. We had a nice chat before and after the show, and I picked up a few ideas from him for next year. He was packing Sun Gold, Supersweet 100, Black Cherry, Yellow Pear and Sunpeach tomatoes in a clamshell package for his customers, and I think he sold me on giving Sunpeach a try next year. It is a hybrid pink grape tomato that is a sister variety to Sun Gold. It was fun to hear all the things they are growing on the farm, which is about a mile from Happy Acres as the crow flies.
me and Lynda before the show
I wasn’t sure who would be game for tasting hot sauce on camera, but I managed to get host Ange and her meteorologist sidekick Ron Rhodes to join me in the tasting. I had cut up some homemade whole wheat bread cubes and stuck toothpicks in them so we could dip the cubes in the sauce. We were also joined by anchor Greg Parker and both the camera operators before it was all over. I left several bottles of my hot sauce for folks to take home with them. The video clip of the show is not yet available online, but I will post it here if and when it’s published. Meanwhile, my wife and I are booked to come back on November 4th, where I plan on talking about growing pumpkins and making pumpkin puree. I see pumpkin pie in my near future!
UPDATE: Here’s a link to the video from the show: Happy Acres Hot Sauce.
hot sauce tasting
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!
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