It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. Asparagus season is in full swing here now, and we have cut over four pounds of it so far. Gardeners who grow it will know that the spears come in all sizes, and we eat all that’s big enough to be usable. Unlike some vegetables, I find the larger spears are more tender than smaller ones, which are often tough and stringy.
asparagus harvest
We used some of the harvest to make Asparagus Mimosa again. It’s a seasonal treat, and we will get our fill of it during asparagus season and that will be it for another year. Add a slice of my crusty sourdough bread and we make a meal of it.
Asparagus Mimosa
For the Asparagus Mimosa we steam the spears until just tender using a bamboo steamer. Our favorite treatment for asparagus is to roast it in the oven, either on a sheet pan or in a cast iron skillet. We had that for a side dish one night for dinner, served with pan-seared cod and roasted potatoes.
roasted asparagus
I also got another cutting of collards from the plants that have sprouted from the stems and roots. It’s a mix-up of several varieties, including a few rapini from the flowering plants. I used the collard greens in a pot of Tuscan Bean and Farro Soup (aka Zuppa di Farro) I cooked up for dinner last night. It’s a hearty soup, and the tender collard leaves held up well in the slow cooker.
young collard greens
Tuscan Bean and Farro Soup
The early plantings of lettuce are about done for, but I found another decent head of Starfighter last week. It had a lot of aphids though, so cleanup was a bit tedious. It made a tasty topping for our black bean tacos we had for lunch on Saturday.
Starfighter lettuce
black bean tacos
The second planting of arugula is still producing, and I made a cutting last week to go on pizza. It was a mix of Speedy and Dragon Fire, both planted in containers in the greenhouse.
mixed arugula
We used pita bread for the base of the pizza, and other toppings included olives, homegrown tomato sauce and pickled Aji Rico peppers from last year’s garden.
pita pizza with arugula
In other news, the baby bluebirds fledged the PVC nest box about a week ago and mama bluebird wasted no time in building another nest. There were three eggs in there last time I looked, though she has probably added a couple more since then. I have seen the babies once or twice, and no doubt the parents are keeping busy feeding them.
bluebird eggs
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 please check out what everyone is harvesting!
How lovely that the birds have fledged successfully.
We are experiencing the hungry gap now and relying on the freezer
It’s interesting that you are in the hungry gap Sue, for us, April is our biggest harvest month (in £) until August, which beats April in £ and lb but September is top for lb with all the squash. I’m picking £162 a week from my plot right now, it will drop off a little, maybe £150 in May and then picks up again in June. Each year I attempt – fail – but get closer to harvesting the same amount of food in £ every week of the year : All the best – Steve
Oh asparagus, how I miss ours. I think it petered out on a 20+ year run and competition from apricot tree roots. Wish I had half an acre!