Harvest Monday July 26, 2021

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The harvests here have been pretty typical for this time of year here. For much of July, eggplant, squashes, cucumbers and berries were plentiful and have kept us well supplied. I generally harvest these every other day, and one morning’s haul is in the below photo. I got the first of the big eggplants, along with a good sized tromboncino we spiralized for a dish we made last week.

squash and eggplant harvest

I mentioned last week we made a Spiralized Zucchini and Summer Squash Casserole that was topped with a ricotta and Parmesan cheese mixture with a little fresh basil added. We made it again, and this time I had the camera ready. It’s really not so much a casserole though, since it is baked on a sheet pan. It is so tasty, and I have added it to my list of “things to make when squash is in season”. I have a couple of more dishes I want to try this week that feature summer squash.

squash casserole

Spiralized Zucchini and Summer Squash Casserole

Our berries are about done for the year. They had a good run, and we got over 20 pounds of blueberries and over 10 pounds of blackberries. The freezer has been restocked, and we will enjoy these throughout the year now. I will miss the fresh ones though!

blackberry and blueberry harvest

Tomatoes from the main garden are finally ripening. It’s one of my favorite times of year! Many of these first ones are splitting due to our recent rains, but not Juliet on the left. It’s always early and prolific, and one of my favorites ever since it was an AAS Winner in 1999. The rest are a mixed bag including Sun Sugar, Cherry Bomb and Amy’s Apricot.

first of main crop tomatoes

The container eggplants are still cranking out the fruit. I got a goodly amount of the white skinned Gretel last week. The yield from these container grown eggplants is always amazing, and this year they seem to be doing even better than usual.

Gretel and Fairy Tale eggplant

The smaller eggplants like Gretel and Fairy Tale are our new favorites for making eggplant sandwiches. They get soft and tender when roasted, and the mild flesh is a nice canvas to add all sort of other savory ingredients. We had them last week on toasted naan bread spread with hummus and topped with cheddar cheese. With a side of my refrigerator pickles, it made for a tasty lunch.

eggplant sandwich with refrigerator pickles

While cleaning up the bed where the spring brassicas had been growing, I found a couple of runty cabbage plants that finally made an edible head. They weighed just over a pound each after cleaning up the outer leaves, which was a pleasant surprise since I had given up on them. They will be good for slaw or general cooking use, and frankly I don’t try and grow giant cabbages anyway since they are more than the two of us can eat or store in the refrigerator.

last of spring cabbages

The Mini Munch cucumbers are truly just the right size for salads and snacking. My greenhouse plant has been quite prolific and has kept up well supplied. These cucumbers are seedless with a thin tender skin, and the plants are parthenocarpic with all-female flowers which makes them heavy yielding.

squash and Mini Munch cucumbers

Another first last week was the Goldilocks golden acorn squash. This squash was a 2021 AAS Winner, and they are pretty enough to be ornamental. I’m really looking forward to eating these. They each weighed in at a bit more than one pound apiece, and were the first of the winter squashes to mature here this year.

Goldilocks squashes

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!