It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. It was an exciting week here as the first spear of asparagus made it’s way out of the ground. We got our first one last year on exactly the same day, so that tells me spring is pretty much on pace in 2020 as it was in 2019. The soil has dried out a bit faster this year though, which is a good thing as it stayed wet for a long time in 2019. More asparagus should be popping up soon now with warm temps and it will definitely add a little variety to our meals for the next couple of months.
first asparagus of 2020
The purple sprouting broccoli has come to the end though, and I plan to pull the plants in a day or two to make room for the summer cucumbers. I got a few more sprouts this past week, but they are getting tiny to say the least.
last of the overwintered broccoli
The kale rapini are still coming on strong, and the size is holding up on those. My wife and I enjoy these as much as we do the broccoli, perhaps even more. It’s a good thing because the kale plants are making lots of them!
kale rapini
The first planting of lettuce is about gone, but I found a bit more for salads last week. Oscarde is a red oakleaf type that colors up nicely in the greenhouse, though probably not as much as it would planted out in the open.
Oscarde lettuce
There is currently a shortage of bread flour and wheat berries in some areas of the U.S. but I still have a good supply of both. I baked a couple of times last week, and made one batch of dark rye buns and a loaf of Rye and Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf. That served as a base for a grilled sandwich of sprouts and cheddar cheese we ate for lunch one day. I like my sandwich breads to be sturdy, and this one qualifies. A little bit of olive oil softens the crumb while molasses lends color and flavor.
Rye and Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf
The sprouts were a mix of alfalfa, mung beans, broccoli and radish. I’ve been sprouting seeds for years and it’s truly one of the quickest and easiest ‘harvests’ one could ask for. We use them on salads, sandwiches and in various bowl dishes and wraps. I especially love the grilled cheese and sprout sandwich, and I’ve made some version of this for years.
harvest of sprouts
grilled cheese and sprout sandwich
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!
We are having difficulty obtaining bread flour too. Martyn usually makes a loaf specifically to make breadcrumbs which we are abandoning for the time being and will have to crumb bought bread.
I typically use ends or other bit for breadcrumbs, but we don’t use a whole lot of them so I generally have a supply.
Weeks before the lockdown I managed to stock up on my favourite flour! I have enough for month, baking a batch a week. Our PSB is coming to an end, a few kales are still throwing out flowers, but we will have a months wait before we have cauliflower/calabrese to take its place this year.
I have plenty of grains and a mill, and I am going to experiment with sifting and making my own high-extraction bread flour. I’m planning on baking one tomorrow, we will see how it turns out!
Asparagus arrives just as the PSB ends. Your new greenhouse has certainly been productive. The last of the lettuce looks good. What a treat for the winter and spring until you harvest in the garden. Olive oil to soften the crumb is a nice touch. Onward to spring!
I also use walnut oil sometimes in bread, but olive oil is the one I usually use.
That is the most gorgeous loaf I’ve seen in ages. And the sandwich. Mouth watering. My microgreens are almost ready and I have flour and yeast. All I need now is more initiative (get up go). The price of bread and the big drop in retirement savings might provide just that!
Thanks Jane! Homemade bread is so tasty it would be hard for me to go back to store-bought loaves.
A grilled cheese sprout sandwich sounds amazing. I would have never thought of that on my own even though we make and eat sprouts, mostly for soups and salads. Your greenhouse looks amazing and it’s great you were able to fit so many large plants in there.
I hadn’t seen any kind of flour available in stores for a month, but picked up a couple of small bags of white when Aldi’s got a shipment a couple days ago.
I was at the grocery this morning and there was no flour of any kind. I am lucky to be able to grind most of our flour from whole grains.
Hi Dave, I read your posts each week and it’s lovely to see all your veg. Here in my city, we have been locked out of our allotments due to the health emergency. Despite petitions etc they have not changed their minds. I’m finding I can adapt a bit since I have a home with a very small garden and can grow a bit there, but I don’t want to miss my asparagus. This will be the prompt I need to put some asparagus plants in at home, I think!
Still going ahead with seedlings so here’s hoping.
We are very fortunate here that our local council continues to follow the advice given by the National Allotment Society and support us. I only have new asparagus plants so no spears for me, but hopeful for next year. Dave, your Rapini look great and it remind me another harvest can be gathered tomorrow, as the PSB fades away