Harvest Monday July 13, 2020

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The blueberries are beginning to wind down, and I’m guessing my wife is not entirely unhappy about that since she is in charge of the harvests. She has picked 17 pounds of them so far, and those that we haven’t eaten fresh have been frozen for use throughout the year. A few did make their way into a batch of blueberry muffins last week though. These had a full 1-1/2 cups of berries in them, so there was none of that “where’s the blueberries?” like I sometimes see in commercial ones.

blueberry muffin

It’s cabbage time here, and it looks to be a better year than last was for it. I cut two heads of the flathead Tendersweet and a big one of Green Presto. It’s my first time growing the latter, and this one weighed in at two pounds. It went into a batch of sauerkraut, while we’ve been using Tendersweet for cooking. I’m not exactly a connoisseur of cabbage, but I can tell a difference in some of them and Tendersweet lives up to its name.

cabbage harvest

Green Presto cabbage

I’m getting a few green beans now too. I planted Orient this year, which is supposed to make pods that are 4 to 4-1/2 inches long. Mine have been running a bit smaller than that so far. They are a tender variety though, and are a good size for roasting or steaming whole. It will be a few weeks before the pole beans start bearing, and these will give us a taste of beans before then.

Orient green beans

The squash are another story, and we’re getting lots and lots of them. Meal planning has almost become “what squash do we cook and what do we serve them with?” I grilled one of the zucchinis and one of the Korean Meot Jaeng I Ae squash one day for lunch. I sliced the squash on the mandoline, then brushed with a little olive oil before grilling. Both of the squashes worked well for this treatment, and I continue to like the Korean zucchini which I’m growing for the first time. I sauteed one of the Korean avocado squash (Teot Bat Put) and it was tasty too. Thanks to Lou Murray (Lou Murray’s Green World) where I first heard about this squash!

squash harvest

grilled zucchini and Korean zucchini

Teot Bat Put squash

One thing we like to do with our vegetables is to put them in a Veggie Quesadilla. We roast or saute the vegetables first. Then we put mashed avocado and sliced cheese on the quesadilla before piling on the veggies, folding over the tortilla and toasting in a skillet. It makes for a light but filling meatless meal, and for the last one we served some refrigerator pickles on the side.

Veggie Quesadilla

I saved my favorite harvest of the week for last. We got our first cherry tomatoes last week, a mix of Sun Sugar, Jasper and Sunpeach. We enjoyed these on a salad, though I confess there were several that didn’t make it to the house or the photo!

first tomatoes of 2020

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!