What are you eating from your garden today?

cucumbers,squash sweet peppers,hot pepers and a few cherry tomatos good day

Silly me!

I have been harvesting alot of zucchini from my 2 zucchini bush plants and making chocolate chip zucchini muffins and mini-loaves and freezing them.

Although there isn't as much zucchini as there should be for having 2 plants, I do have plenty. Found a delicious-sounding recipe for zuch relish, utilizing my peppers also. I have the first batch started (soaking in the fridge). Will see how it turns out tomorrow. I have a nice recipe for zuch brownies, that no-one would ever know had a bunch of veggies in it! My kids love it, so we've made several batches of that this summer.



Today it is hot - about 95. Just got home and saw that some of the plants are looking a bit wilted, so put some water going on them and see that I have a lot of cherry and grape tomatoes ready and even a few full-sized ones that are just almost ready to pick, along with more peppers and asian eggplant. Finally - something to show for all that work back in the spring!!!



BTW - can someone tell me what "bumping" is? Ie: "please don't bump your post unless it has fallen off the latest topics..."

Bumping is making a post to a thread with just the word "bump" to bring the post back into the latest topics. Usually it is used when you are wanting a response to a question that has not been answered, or it is a older topic that is relevant again because of the time of year.

Furbalsmom wrote:

krazikandiland wrote:QUESTION: I bought a head of lettuce from the farmers market and have no idea what it could be. It was so delicious, slightly sweet, juicy, crunchy, crunchy, crunchy, no bitterness, and crunchy. It had an amazing shelf life and was huge. It took us a little over a week to eat it, we were eating it daily! And it was just as good yesterday as when we bought it over a week ago. It was green on the bottom with dark red tops. It was very crunchy. The head was long and not round like iceberg. It's very hot hot hot here so it must be heat hardy. I'm embarrassed to ask the exact type because I want to grow it. (probably shouldn't be but it's their business to sell food). Any guesses as to what it might be

Don't be embarassed, let the farmer/merchant know you enjoyed it and want to know what kind it is. It would be great to know what variety it is as it probably would grow well for you if they are truly local.

And then pass the information on to us. Please!

Made a Ratatouille for dinner tonight, though the peppers and eggplants were purchased items. Mmmmmm! Leftovers look very like a pasta sauce for tomorrow night, with addition of more home-grown tomato and basil, and a good-sized grating of fresh Parmesan cheese over pasta....perhaps a bit of the basil pasta in the 'fridge. What wine goes with ratatouille pasta? Enjoy, Nonna

everything sounds so yummy!
congrats to everyone on your harvest!!
Dunken have a safe trip and enjoy your grandson!!.....let us know how the potato harvest goes


hugs

rose

I'm going to be cooking the first potatoes and some carrots and (don't laugh please) four broadbeans. Everything is finally growing nicely after a very cold early summer followed by a very dry late summer. Now it is warm and wet so I think the carrots should fatten-up a bit, and the potato-grass is still healthy.

Looks good, icemaiden, and I for one will not laugh at your four broadbeans as the other day I cooked four scarlet runner beans. PS I am laughing at myself.

Dug around the Kennebec potato vines, and discovered 2 good sized potatoes, one larger than my hand. We were grilling a steak, so I cut the potatoes into large fries, seasoned them with olive oil and Penzy's Northwoods seasoning, and we grilled the batch. They were devine....the steak wasn't too bad either. Along with them, I made a salad of black eyed peas, corn (frozen last year), red onion, etc. served on home grown butter lettuce with a side of small carrots the grandkids missed. Even the jalapeno and cilantro for the salad came from the garden. Dessert: some ripe strawberries (Tristar). This garden is starting to pay for itself. Bon Apetite, Nonna

our first tomato!!
hubby went and bought some special bread from the bakery....its some kind of olive bread that is soooo good!

i put some garlic cream cheese and feta cheese with my slices of tomato

hubby had his on wheat bread with mayo......LOL

the kids just ate the tomato by its self and loved it!


we had it all planed out for our first tomato ...i know kinda dorky...we had been talking about it from the first day when he was still a seedling....ha ha ha





ohhhh yummy!

Rose

I just love it how we go overboard about our first whatever.

I know...hubby thinks maybe im a bit looney....cause ever since this guy started to turn color and i knew we were going to get something....every night as we layed there and fell asleep we would or i should say i would....wonder...how the guy was doing out there at night.....was the slugs staying away....are the crow's going to get him first....is he to hot....dry....need food....ha ha ha....like a little baby....ha ha ha ha....im am a bit looney!



hugs

rose

FamilyGardening wrote:I know...hubby thinks maybe im a bit looney....cause ever since this guy started to turn color and i knew we were going to get something....every night as we layed there and fell asleep we would or i should say i would....wonder...how the guy was doing out there at night.....was the slugs staying away....are the crow's going to get him first....is he to hot....dry....need food....ha ha ha....like a little baby....ha ha ha ha....im am a bit looney!
hugs
rose

You know, Rose, I'm surprised you even ate him. The same way one deosn't eat a pet bunny.

Furbalsmom wrote:

krazikandiland wrote:QUESTION: I bought a head of lettuce from the farmers market and have no idea what it could be. It was so delicious, slightly sweet, juicy, crunchy, crunchy, crunchy, no bitterness, and crunchy. It had an amazing shelf life and was huge. It took us a little over a week to eat it, we were eating it daily! And it was just as good yesterday as when we bought it over a week ago. It was green on the bottom with dark red tops. It was very crunchy. The head was long and not round like iceberg. It's very hot hot hot here so it must be heat hardy. I'm embarrassed to ask the exact type because I want to grow it. (probably shouldn't be but it's their business to sell food). Any guesses as to what it might be

Don't be embarassed, let the farmer/merchant know you enjoyed it and want to know what kind it is. It would be great to know what variety it is as it probably would grow well for you if they are truly local.

They called it Scarlet but I can't find it at any of the online seed companies. I am guessing it's a butterhead variety. :o( The farm is in the Yakima Valley so whatever it is, it is heat hardy.

I did a little bit of searching for scarlet head lettuce, red butterhead, and red head lettuce. The only promising thing I could find was red iceberg lettuce:

http://www.seedsavers.org/Details.aspx?itemNo=845

Looks good though! If I could grow head lettuce without the slugs making a home inside of it, I'd buy those seeds.

EDIT:

Upon further looking, I found this!

http://www.seedsavers.org/Details.aspx?itemNo=637C

My first harvest of bush beans and lots of blossoms and little ones still on the bushes. One and one half pounds of bush beans, Royal Burgundy, Soliel, Nash and Contender. Fresh beans with new potatoes and a grilled steak for dinner tonight. I may freeze 1/2 lb for later.

One pound six ounces sugar snap peas. I can hardly believe how well these are still producing. Some for my salad and I will blanch and freeze the rest.

Todays harvest with first ( ever!) Black Beauty Eggplant. The carrots are the short Nantes variety but the top was nearly 1-3/4" wide. As a first timer summer sfgardener this was a pretty exciting day.

I wish every first year gardener could have a harvest like that. It'll keep you coming back for more, year after year! Enjoy!

Oh thank you Boffer, that is so kind of you to say.



I've been so appreciative of all the helpful info on this site.



This site and Mels All New SF Gardening book is where I've learned the importance of proper composting. Any other website or book has only confused me. Mine consists of leaves, grass, loads of aged llama manure, tea bags, coffee grounds, veggie trimmings, banana peels, egg shells, and shredded paper. Think thats all of it. I found that unfinished-composted weeds will return but once. Picked them out of the beds, that is the end of them. I can live with one effort of serious weeding !

And finally a huge thanks to Mr Mel B. himself for he has now created a seriously hooked Square Foot Gardener. : )



This is one of the best if not The Best managed websites I have come across. Thank you to All of you who make this happen.



Llama Momma

Tenderpod and Dragon's Tongue beans. Bean, potato, and cheese burrito! I have been harvesting the beginnings of my beans all week and today I had enough to steam with the 4 last store-bought Yukon Gold's (before I dig mine next week). I have enough steamed taters & beans for 3-4 more burritos. Love my veggie burritos!



Also gave away my first 14 onions pulled from the garden. I have at least 70+ more out there that just need a bit more time, so I felt generous!

GG

Congrats on all the happy harvesting!!

hugs

rose

llama momma wrote:This is one of the best if not The Best managed websites I have come across. Thank you to All of you who make this happen.
Llama Momma

Here, here!

I picked 15 cucumbers and made 6 pints of Bread n Butter pickles ( i didn't use all of them, I underestimated what "pack the jars" meant. I packed but it still wasn't enough so I have some empty space in the pints. LOL ...



Live and learn, right?!?!

I'm going to make spaghetti sauce tonite!