Harvest Monday

It has rained for 3 days now; which is actually heavenly; the garden and lawn are all cheering.  I think the arugula has all shot up 6 inches.  It is so lovely.  And, it was so lovely to cut as much as we wanted for dinner tonight!

Last Thursday I made a big batch of our Italian Meat Base Normally it is 3 freezer containers; but this time I added a lot of the large tougher leafs from the brassicas and mustards in the garden.  I must have added much more that I thought because I ended up with 3 to freeze and enough for Friday night Italian Meat & Veggie Pie.  I used the meat base made the night before and added another big batch of kale, mustard, and collards from the garden along with a container of tomato sauce.  In a few more months, our own tomato sauce - first tomatoes planted outside today! Stirred it all up, spread a pie crust on top and stuck it in the oven.

Then I made the relish.  Rutabaga and parsnips were purchased, and yes we like them very much - will be planting our own.  Roasted grape tomatoes, rutabaga and parsnips.  Fresh picked from our garden; added grated and thin sliced broccoli, radish, turnip, onion, cilantro and mustard to the roasted veggies.  Served on top the serving of Meat & Veggie Pie.

We both had seconds.  Yummmm

All parts of the broccoli are edible.  I really like the leafs in salads.  And the ribs and stalks are also edible.  If we don't use ribs and stalks from any of our leaf veggies; I usually stick them in a freezer baggie then use them when making soup or stew; or Italian Meat & Veggie Pie!

Mondays are normally my lawn and yard maintenance day; so I try to plan an easy dinner.  Recently easy and super good has been salads from the garden.  We are finally getting enough root veggies that I was planning to fix a salad and add a bunch of broccoli and root veggies.  Well, that didn't quite happen.  Between poor sad hurting injured doggie, trips to the vet and more rain ... we had plain salad.  Plain!  There is nothing plain about that explosion of flavor fresh from the plant.  Oh, and we harvested one of the tomatoes from the upside down planter.  Just in time to encourage our future tomato cadets to grow faster!

I've gotten a harvest technique going that seems to be working well.  Late afternoon; before I get rushed with hubs getting off work - I go out with my cart, harvest bucket and scissors.  My harvest bucket is a 1 gallon bucket that I keep cleanish, and fill about 1/3 way with water on my way to the garden.  I make my way along the garden; cutting from the bottom* what I want for the harvest bucket.  As I go along; I check for any issues; trim anything needing trimming; spray anything needing spraying; and generally just enjoy the sights and smells of the garden.

* I'm still figuring out this cut and come-again technique; but I also succession sow by seeds or seedlings.  And removing bottom leafs this time of the year lets in more light to encourage new seedlings to grow.

Today's discoveries?  The Meyer Lemon tree we planted last year is fixing to explode in bloom!  Our baby apple tree is budding at the top; and our Christmas Tree Peach is budding already.  And the strawberries are blooming and setting fruit.  Must.Keep.Squirrels.Out.  Our berries!  Why did blogger put this photo in upside down?

It is so nice to fill the harvest bucket as full as I want and not worry if there will be greens for sandwiches or rolls the next day.  In fact, provided my day is not re-ordered - we'll be having fish taco's for dinner tomorrow!

On the way in; I'll drop the trimmings off in the compost pile.  I'll leave the pickings in the bucket of water either inside or out; wherever it is coolest.  The water from our tap is always cold; even during the midst of summer.  So, the veggies stay hydrated and cool.  To prepare for dinner; I'll do a quick rinse in the bucket of water then a final rinse in the spinner.  Rinse water goes into the bucket water and then it all gets dumped in the rain barrel; or if it has been especially dry; a needy plant.

Special thanks to Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday's  that keep me thinking and learning about how to use and preserve the fruits of the garden.  Eating our front yard - one leaf at a time!