Not to change the subject or anything, ahem, but how 'bout we start showing off our harvests. Doesn't matter if it's big or small, just post pics of what you've harvested from your gardens. If you've not harvested anything yet, get excited about what's to come. If you're like me and already enduring the hot days of summer, show off your bounty! (And I'm not talking paper towels here!)
Today's harvest: More cherry tomatoes and some black-eyed peas of the Pink Eye Purple Hull variety.
These are 'maters from a couple weeks ago... I have more 'maters than I know what to do with right now. I planted 15 plants (13 varieties) in my little square foot garden.
And a small part of the harvest from one day last weekend...
Eggplant, zucchini, Armenian cukes, lots of 'maters, Okra and several peppers-yummy...
Well, I don't have a picture but I harvested 7 gal. of tomatoes, 1 gal. of Sweet 100's, 8 gal. of cucumbers and 1 zuccini today. When I cool down a while I'll try to get a picture our temp is over 100 today, Kelly.
Sounds like you moved to Phoenix Jim - lol... We were only 106° today...
Yukon Gold potatoes grown in old washing machine tubs!
And Kennebecs grown in a 20-gallon SmartPot.
Cabbage from winter '09 garden, harvested spring '10!
Mustards and collards just before harvesting. Cooked in the slow cooker overnight, with smoked turkey necks. Served on fluffy white rice, with a sweet potato side-car!
Last week's harvest sampler!
A Dutchman destined to be a fried green delicacy!
That is what I was thinking when I made that post to you. It has been super hot with a humity of about 90 per cent. Don't know what that makes the heat index but way up there. I love it.
Everything looks good Gymgirl. Nothing like fresh vegetables. We had a home grown supper tonight, purple hull peas, green beans (cooked in an iron skillet), fried okra and zuccini, sliced cucumbers, sweet corn (cooked in the shuck) and sliced tomatoes.
Ever made turnip green soup? It is goooood.
Sounds good. How do you do your Okra? This is my first year growing it and I don't even know if I like it or not - lol.
Jim, how do you cook your green beans in the skillet?
This is what I harvested yesterday. We had to take the tomatoes so early because of the rat problem. They had eaten up a tomato. They have gotten to all our peaches, and even our oranges that are grown in containers. Isn't that a sorry looking little cucumber? I haven't taken pics of peaches, tomatoes, yellow squash we have harvested. Plus, I have a couple of square ft. of lettuces and spinach growing inside on a tabletop under lights. I learned how easy it is to make peach ice cream! It looks like strawberry ice cream though, no preservatives or food coloring added. I am going to take cuttings of the peach tree that gave us an excellent harvest this year. We had a plum tree give us hundreds of plums. The squirrels (now dearly departed courtesy of my husband's pellet gun) got to the ones we left on the tree at the end. They didn't give us a chance to harvest all of them.
I've already got the tomato seedlings going for the "fall" planting.
Part of my harvest from this morning.
Here's the rest.
I like small pods of okra (about an inch and a half long) cooked in peas or beans. Wait until the peas and beans are nearly done then add the okra. Jo removes the okra after it is done because some of our folks don't like boiled okra but like the flavor it adds.
Fried okra you cut crossways into pieces about a half inch long. She adds just a little milk to moisten it. Mix corn meal with salt and pepper and roll the okra in it and deep fry until brown. Be careful with the salt because it is easy to get to salty.
Skillet beans, fill your iron skillet with snap beans, add a small amount of water and a little olive oil. She adds a few dried onion flakes and seasons with Morton's Nature Seasoning. Bring the water to a boil, then cut the heat back and put a lid over the skillet but leave and air space. Cook until tender. Pretty darn good eating.
Corn in the shuck, clip both ends of the corn with a sharp knife. Make sure you get to the kernels on the end where the shucks are attached. Rinse in cold water and shake off excess. Put in micro wave on high heat for about 3 minutes and turn, micro waving for another two or three minutes. With paper towels remove the shucks and the silks will virtually all come off. Tear a piece of foil big enough to wrap the corn in and add a pat of butter. and roll up air tight.
Yummy Jim - thanks!
Sometimes we just slice the okra and stir fry in a little olive oil with just a touch of seasoning on it. I like it that way as much as the other and a lot less trouble. You can also add a few of those good green beans and a little onion and stir fry it all together and it is great. At least it suits my red neck taste buds.
Bro. Jim,
Why do you cut the ends off the micro corn? I just nuke the whole ear between 2.5 and 3 minutes, depending on the size of the ear. Then, I take it out and let it rest for 1 minute.
Wipe the husks and silks off with paper towels. Slather a thick coat of butter on a slice of bread and roll the corn around on the bread.
No salt. No seasoning. No nothing, except whole flavor goodness.
It makes the shucks easier to get off. I cut the top off go get below any bad kernels on the end.
Someone should start individual threads for favorite quick recipes for squash, green beans, tomatoes, etc.
I know why I am trying to growing squash and am surprised to know that they are so popular for home gardeners. Am wondering what people are doing with all that squash...
I think I can remember how to make fried up Chinese style green beans, what I always go for when I go to the Chinese restaurant buffets, etc....
I love squash. I am trying all kinds of different things this year, partly because I've had to eliminate things like potatoes from my diet. I do squash casseroles, fry it in OO and add parmesan, make "hash browns", cook it with tomatoes, maybe some eggplant when it comes in, stir fry with whatever happens to be around, etc. Yesterday I steamed some cubed patty pans until just fork tender, cooled, and added potato salad dressing. I liked my fauxtato salad. It will be even better when I add the hard-boiled eggs :)
We might try some squash for the fall, but we're not big squash eaters, so we might not. I did want to try making some squash pickles, though.
Maybe we should start a thread over in the recipes forum!
Yesterday's haul...more cherry tomatoes. They're everywhere in my kitchen! LOL
I guess I am going to have to learn to like them. My big tomatoes are between stages right now and not getting any. Jo's 2 Sweet 100's are making like crazy. Picking a gal. everyother day.
Got these today.
Noteworthy: the last of the chard from last fall (my Energizer veggie), the first eggplants of the season (they were slow this year), various tomatoes, and the first tromboncino of the season. Not pictured is an Armenian cuke, about 8 inches, that never made it to the house. Yummy!!!
Looks good!
Today's harvest basket.
LOL, I have the same dishes as the first poster.
yesterday's harvest was pretty also.
Beautiful cukes, lettuce, and maters, kilda!
thanks, stephanietx! Your produce looks great too. And, nice dishes. ; )
Two kinds of lettuce and two kinds of basil. We rolled them in rice paper with grilled salmon and rice noodles last night. Yum!
I didn't realize my beans were even producing, but this morning I was poking around and found a good handful of beans that were as big as my head! Totally exciting, I feel so oblivious!
Prettymess--good-looking beans there. I MISS green beans all the time. They blend in!
Always exciting to find one's plants producing. The baby ones are adorable and the big ones are amazing.
Today's harvest basket includes Emerald Green Velvet okra, cherry tomatoes, jalapenos (first of the season!), another lemon cucumber, and my first Marketmore 76 cuke.
We also finally pulled the plug on the cabbage started last fall.
Naw. That cabbage has a ways to go to catch up to what the worms did to mine. Only the leaf spines were left....
