This week we had a nice harvest of leeks on Tuesday, tomatoes on Wednesday, romaine lettuce on Thursday, (nothing on Friday), more romaine lettuce on Saturday and lots of jalepenos and beans on Sunday.
This year we planted cover crop. It's our first time ever, and I've got to say we're really enjoying its potential. Planting cover crop has for us been like starting a compost bin. It's a really good thing to do for organic gardening.
Here are a few pictures of our harvest and a couple dishes we made with our fall vegetables.
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| What to do with leeks? See the next picture! |
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| Cooked and frozen leeks with other vegetables for winter kale soup. |
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| Romaine Lettuce, Beans and a few Jalapeno Peppers |
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| Winter Rye Cover Crop |
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| Chinese Chicken Salad with romaine lettuce. |
Chinese Chicken Salad allrecipes.com
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon hot chile paste
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 16 (3.5 inch square) wonton wrappers, shredded
- 4 cups romaine lettuce - torn, washed and dried
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the hoisin sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, chili paste, ginger, vinegar and sesame oil.
- Grill or broil chicken until cooked, cool and slice.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Spray a large shallow pan with nonstick vegetable spray, arrange shredded wontons in a single layer and bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, wontons, lettuce, carrots, green onions and cilantro. Toss with dressing and serve.
- Mmmm good the boys totally love the crisp won tons and sweet dressing!
Garden Totals
beans 1 lb
jalapenos 1 lb 10 oz
leeks 6 lb
romaine lettuce 2 lb 15 oz
Tomatoes 13 lb
Total: 23 lb 9 oz
Stop by Daphe's Dandelions and see what gardeners worldwide are harvesting.
The leeks look great! I can't wait to see how the cover crop experience goes.
ReplyDeleteBoy you had a good fall harvest this week! "The Italian" will love that recipe you posted.
ReplyDeleteI have never planted a cover crop. I always think about it but never do it.
So, where are you going to put the cold frame?
Good Harvest. Good Cook. Good Food.
ReplyDeleteYour children has one of the best parents in this whole wide world.
Ooooh, that salad sounds good. Funny that we think of fall as a time to slow down, but it sure seems just as busy.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, thanks. The leeks were planted late in the season. We're very surprised they came in before winter.
ReplyDeleteRobin, thanks. We're putting the cold frame right where you recommended. It's nice and close to the house, and that's pretty darn important for cold and snowy days.
Malay-Kadazan girl, thank you. Your a really great family too!
Jane, our boys can't get enough of it. Boy are you right about fall. We're anything but slowing down right now!
You are tempting me to plant a cover crop in our garden. Our soil is still pretty bad, and I know that planting a cover crop would really help... but man, there are so many other projects that need to be done!
ReplyDeleteI love leeks, but have not managed to grow them yet. Do you normally harvest them in the fall? For some reason I thought that most people left them in the ground over winter for a spring harvest.
Hi Prarie Cat, The cover crop wasn't too hard. Turning the soil was the biggest job, after that we just casted the seed and watched it grow. But I know what you mean about all the projects, especially at your new place!
ReplyDeleteFunny you mentioned overwintering leeks. That was our original plan, but they grew so fast and so well that we had to harvest them. You can do it either way. They need to be planted early (spring I think) for a fall harvest.