Harvest Monday August 12, 2024

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. Just as our cucumbers are about done for, the pole beans are setting on and last week I got enough for our first taste of them this year. These first ones are an heirloom variety from Tennessee I’m growing for the first time called Turkey Craw Variant. They are a bit earlier than the Turkey Craw beans I’ve been growing for a few years now, and we certainly enjoyed eating them. Like all the heirloom beans I’m growing these have strings, but they are easily removed before cooking. They also have a flavor advantage that too often got bred out of the string-less beans, plus they don’t get tough like the modern varieties do if left to grow too long before harvesting.

August Harvest

Turkey Craw Variant

And I hauled in lots more tomatoes last week as well. The small cherry varieties are very productive this year, and we’re getting plenty of the slicing types too.

tomato harvest

Harvest Moon tomato

Hot Streak tomato

I did a tomato tasting last week of my trial varieties Hot Streak and Harvest Moon. I thought Hot Streak was okay but not an improvement over other red varieties I’m growing. The Harvest Moon, however, was outstanding! It had a rich, full flavor that pretty much stole the show for that meal. I look forward to tasting more of these beauties.

Hot Streak and Harvest Moon tasting

The eggplants are still producing well too, and I got lots of them last week in all sizes and shapes. I also found a mature Centercut squash hiding in the abundant foliage of those vines, and brought it in.

eggplant harvest plus Centercut squash

I got a big batch of paste tomatoes one day along with more of the larger eggplant. The paste tomatoes were Zenzei, Juliet and Health Kick. Juliet is a baby Roma type, and always does well for me here. Zenzei was a 2023 AAS Winner and a standout last year in our garden. I made one batch of Freezer Tomato Sauce with most of these, though not all.

paste tomatoes and eggplant

Zenzei tomato

Dehydrating tomatoes is one of my favorite ways to preserve them and concentrate the flavor. And Juliet is one of my favorite varieties for drying! I did one tray of them last week, with more to come I am sure as more tomatoes set on.

before dehydrating

after dehydrating

With all the eggplant coming in, eggplant sandwiches were on the menu last week. I had one for lunch, along with what I am calling Cheesy Baked Tomatoes. I sliced up a tomato and roasted it on the sheet pan along with the eggplant, but only for about 5 minutes. Then I topped with mozzarella cheese and some fresh basil and put it back in the oven just long enough for the cheese to melt. Other cheeses should work well too, and I am looking forward to making this side dish again soon.

eggplant sandwich and cheesy tomatoes

In non-harvest news, I found a swallowtail caterpillar feeding on one of my potted parsley plants. I moved it over to a plant I set out in the pollinator garden just for the caterpillars. We love seeing the big swallowtails flying around, and I have both fennel and parsley as host plants for them.

swallowtail caterpillar on parsley

And lastly, the hardy hibiscus are still putting a show with daily blooms showing up on our plants. Fireball has big red blooms, and has been a standout since we planted it a few years back. I just set out Luna White this spring, and already it has had quite a few blooms on what is still a small  plant. You can see a bee on one of the blooms, and they do visit them for pollen.

Fireball hibiscus

Luna White hibiscus

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!


Posted in Harvest Monday | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Harvest Monday August 5, 2024

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. Tomatoes are playing a starring role in our harvests lately, and ones of all shapes, sizes and colors are coming in from the garden. We’ve been enjoying them every way we can, and as often as possible since tomato season never lasts long enough for me.

tomatoes with cucumber

tomato harvest

Chef’s Choice Purple tomato

We sliced up one of the Chef’s Choice Purple tomatoes for use on sandwiches, and the taste was great – a nice blend of acid and sweet that I really like.

sliced Chef’s Choice Purple tomato

I’ve been slow roasting some of the smaller fruited ones. I did one sheet pan last week, and this batch went into the freezer for later use. I also dehydrated a few, which is another of my favorite ways to use these smaller ones when we have lots of them.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

In non-tomato news, I harvested the first sweet peppers last week, Cornito Giallo and Cornito Rosso, along with a couple more small Tromboncino squashes. I don’t think it will be a great year for peppers overall, since I think they are struggling with our rainy, wet conditions more than the other veggies. These first ones were much appreciated though! I used one of the yellow ones in a batch of sheet pan ratatouille, along with our eggplant, tomatoes, onion and a Tromboncino squash. I added some fresh basil at the end, and this is one of my favorite treatment when the summer veggies are plentiful. We sometimes serve it over pasta or polenta, but I think it is also quite tasty on its own.

first sweet peppers

ratatouille with chicken

I also got a couple more of the acorn squashes, one each of Goldilocks and Starry Night. All the bush squashes are about done for, but they’ve been great performers this year and we have had plenty to eat. I’ve been growing the pinkish-purple skinned Dancer eggplant for years now, and it always does well for me here.

squash and eggplant

Dancer eggplant

I got a few of the test varieties of tomatoes late last week, a few of the Hot Streak and Harvest Moon varieties along with two of the Annina eggplants. I’ll let you know what we think of the tomatoes once we get a good taste of them.

tomatoes and eggplant

I did find time to bake a loaf of my Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread last week. It makes a great bread for BLT’s, which are likely to be on the menu periodically now that tomato season is here.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

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!


Posted in Harvest Monday | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Harvest Monday July 29, 2024

Posted on July 29, 2024 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The weather here of late has been seasonally warm and mostly dry. That has helped most of the summer vegetables to thrive, and I am harvesting things mostly on a daily basis. It has been a great year for cucumbers, eggplant and squashes, and the first small-fruited tomatoes are ripening now as well. I got one big Tromboncino squash last week, which was so long it was hard to get in the photo! I cut it in half so it would fit in the frig. We spiralized one half for a side dish and the rest went into a ratatouille where it made a great stand-in for zucchini. I got another smaller head of cabbage too, which I froze for later use.

July Harvest

another July Harvest

But really, when the first tomatoes of the season start ripening it’s pretty much all about them for me! The first cherry and plum types are coming in now, and they are a real treat.

Raspberry Drop and Sun Sugar tomatoes

Later in the week I got a bigger haul of tomatoes. This batch included Sun Sugar, Cherry Bomb, Raspberry Drop, Plum Drop and Purple Zebra. Purple Zebra is a favorite here, and while it may be smaller in size this 2022 AAS Winner is big on flavor. We sliced these first ones up to use on a BLT sandwich.

assorted tomatoes

Purple Zebra tomatoes

I’m growing Plum Drop tomato for the first time this year. Like Purple Zebra, it is also from the Cream of the Crop line of tomatoes, as is Raspberry Drop. Cream of the Crop Tomatoes is a joint project between A.P. Whaley Seed Company and Frogsleap Farm. Plum Drop has a nice balance of acid and sweet flavors, and my wife and I have certainly enjoyed these first ones.

Plum Drop tomatoes

Raspberry Drop(L) and Plum Drop(R) tomatoes

We have lots of cucumbers still, plenty for our own use and enough to give some away to friends. I’m growing all these in the greenhouse, where the plants can take the heat and be free from disease and pest problems as well.

L to R: Itachi, Corinto and Nokya cucumbers

Itachi is a long, slender white Asian type cucumber that is mild flavored and crisp. It is somewhat of a shy producer for me though, so we enjoy every one we get.

Itachi cucumber

We did our best to make good use of all those veggies coming in. Eggplant sandwiches are always a favorite. We slice the eggplant thin, spritz with olive oil and bake until tender. This batch went on Mini Naan bread and was topped with cheddar cheese.  I made a cucumber and sour cream salad to go with the sandwiches.

eggplant sandwich and cucumber salad

I also made a quinoa salad last week that had our cucumbers and cherry tomatoes plus a few dehydrated tomatoes from last year. It made for a cool companion dish to my wife’s Curried Chicken Salad we had for lunch one day. We’re always looking for new ways to use the cucumbers, and this treatment has become a favorite.

Quinoa Salad with Curried Chicken Salad

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!


Posted in Harvest Monday | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Harvest Monday July 22, 2024

Posted on July 22, 2024 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. We’re getting lots of summer veggies from the garden now, plenty to enjoy for our own use and a few extras to share as well. Tomatoes are beginning to ripen, and the peppers are setting on too so it won’t be much longer for both of those to join our harvests.

eggplant and cucumber harvest

It’s been a great year for cucumbers here so far. I’ve harvested mostly slicing varieties with a few of the smaller pickling types. We’ve been enjoying them every way we can, and they have made almost daily appearances on our plates in some form or another.

Nokya and Excelsior cucumbers

Nokya and Corinto cucumbers

I used one of the big cukes in a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad I made to go with some roasted salmon we had for dinner one night. Along with the cucumbers I used some of our frozen Slow Roasted Tomatoes from last year plus fresh basil and oregano and some crumbled feta cheese along with a few olives. The cucumbers added crunch to this cool salad, and it would go well as a side dish with many things.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

It’s also been a great year for eggplant too. The early varieties (Gretel, Icicle and Fairy Tale) I have growing in containers has kept us well supplied, and the in-ground plantings are now beginning to set fruit also. We used some of our harvests to make an open-faced eggplant sandwich last week, one of our many favorite eggplant recipes.

container eggplants

eggplants and Korean avocado squash

open-faced eggplant sandwich

The summer squashes are slowing down, but we’ve had a good run. At this point in the season I’m not too sad to see the decline, especially when the other veggies start producing.

summer squashes

I also brought in some acorn squashes last week, three each of the Starry Night (green skin) and Goldilocks. Goldilocks is a tasty little squash with golden skin and flesh. It’s an AAS Winner that does well for me here. Starry Night is a bit bigger and has great flavor as well as good keeping qualities.

Starry Night and Goldilocks acorn squashes

Starry Night squash

We have lots of flowers blooming in our perennial beds now, but the hardy hibiscus plants are really putting on a show, Fireball has blooms up to 10 inches across on a 4 foot plant that has purplish red leaves. The native Scarlet Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) has smaller blooms on plants that get a bit taller. The blooms on all these only last a day, but are quickly replaced by more buds that open on a daily basis here for most of the summer. The blooms are visited by butterflies and hummingbirds, especially the native ones.

Fireball hibiscus

Scarlet hibiscus

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!


Posted in Harvest Monday | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Harvest Monday July 15, 2024

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. Summer veggies continue to roll in here, including the first tomatoes of 2024. These first ones are Sun Sugar, a sweet golden cherry type I’ve been growing for many years now. More plants are beginning to get ripe now too, so it won’t be long before others join in. These first ones were especially tasty, and wound up on a salad.

Sun Sugar tomatoes

Squashes are still abundant and I cut another cabbage last week too, this time the flathead Sweet and Tender. The head was nice and solid, and weighed right at three pounds. I used about half in a stir fry last week, which also had zucchini in it.

summer harvest

Cucumbers are setting on in the greenhouse, and I cut several last week. Corinto is a dark green slicer I’ve grown for a number of years now. Nokya (dark green) and Itachi (white) are long, skinny Asian types with mild crunchy flesh. All have kept us supplied for fresh eating, and they have appeared in several salad creations and bowls.

Corinto cucumbers

Itachi cucumber

Nokya cucumbers

closeup of Nokya cucumber

The summer lettuce is beginning to bolt, but I managed to get a couple of decent heads last week. The green crisphead  Tehama and the red leaf Karen’s Fave were tasty for salad use and look well together on the plate. I sowed more seeds recently to set out for a late summer crop.

summer lettuce

This lettuce went in a salad I made for lunch last week. In addition to the lettuce, it featured the cherry tomatoes plus some cucumbers and zucchini. I tossed with a homemade lemony vinaigrette and topped with feta cheese and some of our sourdough bread I made into croutons. I added a few big Royal Corona beans for protein along with a handful of almonds and pistachios, and it made for a filling and tasty meal.

lunch salad

The container eggplant continues to give us ample amounts. Fairy Tale, Gretel and Icicle are all AAS Winners that are early and productive for me here.

eggplant harvest

Last week I made another batch of Baked Ziti & Summer Veggies using our yellow squash and zucchini. The combo of the squash and pasta plus a cheesy mix of ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan is tasty and filling and is one of my favorite dishes to make when the summer squashes are coming on strong. We made a meal of this one, and I served it with our cucumber pickles on the side.

Baked Ziti and Summer Veggies

Another dish I made for lunch yesterday was a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Summer Vegetables. I tossed yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant and onion with olive oil and roasted on a sheet pan until tender. Then I added some Slow Roasted Tomatoes from last year and a bit of fresh basil from the garden. The vegetable mix went into bowls with cooked quinoa, and I topped them with crumbled feta cheese and a bit more fresh basil. Lemon juice and olive oil served as a dressing. I served it with some fresh baked Ligurian Focaccia bread. My wife and I both declared this one a hit, and it was yet another way to use up the summer garden bounty.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

In non-harvest news, the Cranberry Crush hardy hibiscus has started blooming now. The deep red ruffled flowers are almost 8 inches wide! More hibiscus will join the party soon, as they are budding up.

Cranberry Crush hibiscus

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!


Posted in Harvest Monday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments