Welcome to Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. It’s a new month but mostly the same green harvests here. I made a cutting of Winterbor kale from the greenhouse to go in a bean and kale soup I cooked for dinner last week. I love the combination of beans and greens, and they show up frequently on our menus. The kale in the main garden appears to be done for now, but I still have plants going in the cold frame and greenhouse. I have really enjoyed having kale pretty much all fall and winter now, and I have a spring planting ready to go in a couple of week. I don’t generally grow it in summer months when we have lots of other veggies, plus the leaves aren’t as tender and sweet when grown in our heat.
Winterbor kale
I also made another cutting of lettuce from the greenhouse grow boxes. This is a mix of Salanova Green Butter, Red Sails and Pele. Some of this lettuce went on fish tacos I made for us last week. As with the kale, it’s nice having fresh greens in the winter months.
lettuce trio
Also for the tacos, I made a batch of corn tortillas for the occasion. I used Bob’s Red Mill masa harina, following package directions. I used a tortilla press to form the dough, then cooked in an electric griddle. I was quite happy with how they turned out, and I can see me making them again in the near future. They were so tasty, much better than store bought, and I would like to try them for enchiladas and other dishes too.
corn tortillas
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!
Hi Dave,
Love your blog! It’s inspiring. Have you tried your beans and greens with Rancho Gordo beans? They sell the freshest, most delicious heirloom beans. They have a website where you can order them, but shipping is expensive unless you buy a lot. For example, shipping is $10 if you buy one pound of beans and $10 if you buy ten pounds of beans, so you should try to find a local vendor in your area so you can try them out. I know I’ll never go back to grocery store beans. They have other things too, like hominy and popcorn, which are also wonderful. Anyway, I just thought you should know about them. Thanks for all the gardening news!
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, I am a big fan of Rancho Gordo. We are having some of their beans (Rio Zape) for lunch today. And I’m like you, it is hard to go back to beans from the grocery. I cook up a batch of beans and freeze the extras, so we usually have some in the freezer if we need them in a hurry.
We love kale all year round but we tend to switch to eating the crown of curly kale and varieties like the various Nero varieties and Dazzling Blue.
You still have plenty of lovely greens
We love beans and greens too. Last week had a soup with kale (sadly not from my garden) and favas (from my freezer). It’s comfort food. Fresh corn tortillas are the best!
Your corn tortillas look incredible, and totally different than the ones people purchase in shops. What kind of fish do you use for your tacos?
And your lettuces are holding up very well, even with the chilly weather we’ve been having lately. I haven’t ventured outside to check on the garden in a long while.
This time I used grouper for the tacos. Sometimes I use tilapia or another white flaky fish.
It’s been a long time since I’ve made tortillas. Thanks for the reminder. Are you pleased with the Salanova lettuce? What do you see as its main advantages? So glad you can have greens all winter.
I am pleased with all the Salanova types I’ve grown. The compact size makes them good for intensive planting, and they do well in containers. I plant most of my greenhouse lettuce in containers, so that’s important to me. I haven’t tried them in-ground so I can’t say how they do that way though.
I haven’t made corn tortillas in years – you’ve inspired me to get out the tortilla press! I find it interesting that you don’t grow kale during the summer – As you say, there are so many other greens at that time of year and kale is much sweeter and more tender during cooler weather. Hmmmm – something for me to consider.