Harvest Monday: August 28, 2017

Tromboncino squash

I spent four of the last five days at the LPGA tournament in Ottawa, pretty fun to watch some amazing ladies play golf!  So I have not spent much time in the garden.  And the little time I did spend was harvesting ... mostly cucumbers.  These are Spacemaster cukes.

I've pulled the cucumber plants as they were dying off and I now have about 15 pounds - guess I'm making pickles this year!  The picture above is only about half of what I now have in the kitchen.  And in the bottom left corner, you'll see a Sweet Dumpling, the first winter squash to be harvested.

And the main photo shows three more tromboncino squash - in the picture, you may see that two of them had started to sprout and one even has a blossom on its sprout!  One was sliced and grilled for dinner Sunday.

I've also harvested about 5 pounds of tomatoes.  Some (shown above, mostly forme de coeur) have already been processed into 3 litres of salsa, along with a few sweet peppers from last week.  And the rest will likely be canned as puree or as a pasta sauce - haven't decided yet.

And here's a link to the Harvest Monday collections hosted by Our Happy Acres.  I will pop on over there myself and see what other gardeners are doing this week!

Harvest Monday: August 21, 2017

OK well I have more of the same this week ... peppers and tomatoes.  The top row (L to R) are Ancho, Gypsy, King of the North and Corno di Toro.  Bottom row shows Hungarian Hot Wax peppers plus Hahms Gelbe and Andrina tomatoes with two small jalapenos below.

The Hungarian Hot Wax peppers are currently fermenting for a hot sauce.  The Ancho peppers have joined those from last week in the dehydrator.  The tomatoes went into a tortilla casserole with the last of the previous season's beans.

Plus more cucumbers and a couple of tromboncino squash.  And I've started to harvest the "drying" beans.  I've already had the Vermont Cranberry in the dehydrator to speed up the drying.

I've had a few more Forme de Couer tomatoes (literally translated as Heart Shape).

And as pitiful as they look, I decided to clean up the onion bed and pull just a few carrots.

I have also cleaned out a 4 x 4 bed of potatoes with very little to show for it.  Maybe 2 lbs?  Ugh, but I still have several grow bags with potatoes on the go.

And, as always, I look forward to seeing what other gardeners are harvesting or cooking this week by checking out Harvest Monday submissions hosted by Our Happy Acres.

Zucchini, Red Pepper and Duck Egg Strata

It's peak season for summer veggies and I've got plenty to choose from in the garden (or more to the point, sitting on my kitchen counter!).  This dish is versatile and can be served at any meal ... breakfast with a side of bacon, lunch with a salad or dinner alongside your favourite protein.

The veggie topping and choice of cheese can be changed with just about anything.  Maybe some onions and peppers with monterey jack cheese, or chopped broccoli and parmesan?  The version I've made here (zucchini and red pepper) would be good with blue cheese on top instead of the goat cheese.

Set oven to 400 degrees F.   Lightly oil a deep dish pie pan.

Whisk together in a bowl:

• 3 duck eggs (or 5-6 chicken eggs, you need about 1 cup of egg)
• 1 cup milk (I used almond milk, but regular 2% is fine)
• 2/3 cup aged cheddar or your choice of cheese
• 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper

Then add in:

• 4 cups of cubed bread (something crusty like a baguette).  

Mix together, then pour into the prepared pan and let sit.

Saute, olive oil, until softened:

• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 large red pepper, sliced (I used 2 corno di toro)
• 1 cup of zucchini, sliced into half-moons (I used the colourful Zapolitto del Tronco squash)
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, and salt & pepper

Arrange on top of the bread and egg mixture.  Dot with a bit of goat cheese. Bake about 25 minutes, until bread has puffed and browned.

Harvest Monday: August 14, 2017

OK well lots of things going on this week, although nothing new ... except garlic I guess.  The garlic was harvested weeks ago and has finally been dried and cleaned up for storage.

But back to the main events!  Tomatoes, potatoes, cukes, zukes and lots of peppers!   Plus cabbage. Busy day so I'm just showing some pics and will catch up on details later.  Looking forward to seeing what other gardeners are doing this week through Harvest Monday hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres.

Harvest Monday: August 7, 2017

Thanks to the greenhouse, I've got a whack of cherry tomatoes!  These are Hahms Gelbe ... a dwarf determinate variety.  I have three plants, all of which are very productive.

And Mountain Princess tomatoes are ripening well also.

A first this week ... cukes!

Some old and some new ... the 8-ball zucchini is another first. Still have these Tromboncino that aren't quite forming properly. 

And the first carrots!

And here's a surprise repeat ... I don't normally harvest rhubarb this late in the year but there is so much of it still with this cool, wet summer we are having.  So another 5 pounds of rhubarb went into the freezer this weekend.  Also beans ...

And let's see what other gardeners around the world are doing this week by popping over to Harvest Monday hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres!