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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
The casserole looks tasty. Our Mini Munches haven’t produced any cucumbers yet although they do have some small immature fruits,
Looks like our tomatoes arrived at the same time Dave, our outdoor plants are actually more productive than the indoor ones so far
Looks like full-on summer out your way! Everything is beautiful. Sorry that some of your tomatoes are cracking. I never know if it’s because the skins are thick or thin on some varieties. No matter, neither of us is selling to market, so they get used just like the perfect ones. The Goldilocks squash is super-early, and looks great. Hope it tastes good too.
mmm that tray bake looks scrumptious, Dave. Strangely, like Steve has said, outdoor tomatoes are doing better than the indoor ones here too!
Oh summer! The tomatoes roll in. A very nice berry crop. Ten pounds is a lot of blueberries. How you’ll enjoy them until the next crop.