Welcome to Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. It’s been a week for new faces in the harvest basket. The broccoli plants have really taken off despite early problems I had with aphids and one plant making a ‘button’ head prematurely. I cut the first big head from Gypsy, and the smaller main head from the broccolini type Apollo. Another big head of Gypsy should be ready by today or tomorrow, and side shoots are coming on the Apollo.
Apollo(L) and Gypsy(R) broccoli
The summer squash is coming on now too. The first two I harvested were the light green Clarimore, a Middle Eastern type, and the hybrid pattypan Daize. Clarimore (from Renee’s) did quite well for me last year, and the newcomer Daize promises to be a pattypan with more flesh than other types, though you can’t tell it from the below photo.
Daize pattypan and Clarimore zucchini
The first two squash were followed by more, with another Clarimore and the first Sunstripe coming on a couple of days later. I’m growing the yellow striped Sunstripe for the first time, and it is a striking squash for sure, and easy to find in the garden with its bright yellow color.
Sunstripe and Clarimore zucchini
I grilled some of each and added them to a pizza I served up Saturday night. The arugula was all bolting and I pulled it up, so we’re missing one of my favorite pizza toppings. But I made a garlic and olive oil topping with some fresh dug green garlic that was bulbing up, and added lots of slow roasted tomatoes from the freezer. I also topped it with oil-cured olives, some sauteed mushrooms, turkey pepperoni and thin sliced provolone cheese.
pizza
We are starting to get the first fruits of the year. My wife found a few ripening blueberries, which we enjoyed with our morning muesli. There may be less than we got last year, since we pulled a couple of under-performing bushes and replanted with different varieties.
first blueberries of 2017
Blackberries are also starting to ripen. That’s Natchez in the below photo, which ripens a bit before the Apache blackberries we also have planted. I caught a deer checking them out early one morning, which prompted me and Lynda to get the netting around the plants. The plants are loaded with berries and it looks like it should be a good year for them. That first ripe one did not make it in the house however, and neither did the next two (or three) to ripen.
first blackberry
Fortunately I had already netted the gooseberries or they would likely have been eaten up by the deer like they were last year. In the below photo it’s a mix of Amish Red, Hinnomaki Red and Invicta. I made a small cobbler with them, which I thoroughly enjoyed. My wife is still acquiring a taste for them, though I have been eating them since I was quite young, thanks to my mother who was also a big fan. I like a mix of red and green ones for pies and cobblers, though I am not fond of eating them out of hand like I would the blueberries or blackberries. There’s more to come, though the bushes are still fairly small and there won’t be a whole lot of them this year.
gooseberries for cobbler
The snow peas are still coming on. They are likely now getting close to the end, what with our hot summer weather coming on. They are in the below group photo, along with another Clarimore squash and some broccoli side shoots. I’ve harvested about two pounds of them so far this spring, which doesn’t sound like much but actually made for quite a few meals.
zucchini, broccoli and snow peas
One meal featuring the snow peas was a stir fry I made one night, with chicken, the snow peas, king oyster mushrooms, kohlrabi and a bit of spring onion. I added a light sesame/soy/ginger sauce and served it all up over soba noodles. I think the kohlrabi adds crunch like water chestnuts do. I blanch the snow peas in boiling water for about 15-20 seconds and shock them in cold water before adding them to the wok at the last minute.
stir fry with snow peas
I also got about a dozen more kohlrabies from the cold frame bed. There’s close to seven pounds of them in the basket, about half each of Konan and Kolibri. I grilled some one night for a side dish, and they were quite tasty that way. The giant Kossak kohlrabies are sizing up in the main garden and I’ll be pulling a few of them soon. They will likely wind up in kraut or fermented kohlrabi pickles. It’s my wife’s turn to cook next week and she will be trying to use the kohlrabies along with everything else that’s coming in from the garden.
Konan and Kolibri kohlrabi
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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