With the way the economy is going lately, that title could mean a number of things, but right now I just mean frost. I can’t explain why, but it feels close at hand. I had a dream about it last night (guess you could call it a nightmare!). So in addition to planting my very first garlic today, I covered the tomatoes in a frost blanket, and harvested several things I’ve been neglecting (like the tomatillos), or things I just wanted to make sure I saved (like the squash). I’m hoping the tomatoes survive a little longer, as clearly (from our dinners) you can tell that we love tomatoes. And we have SO MANY still on the vines!!!
Today we harvested 85 pounds of produce. Ok, the pumpkin was almost a third of that, but it’s still food!
Recap.
Three weeks ago we made ourselves some rules for Urban Hennery’s Dark Days Eat Local challenge. Please see the original post for details. Essentially they are: Eat 90% Local, 50-100% from the garden, 6 days a week (exceptions: coffee, peanut butter, & wheat products). One night a week we have to eat 90% from our garden (no exceptions).
Notes.
We’re still between 85 and 100% local for any given meal. Our winter wheat seeds came in the mail yesterday, along with flax and rye! Next spring, we should be able to supplement our grains with our very own from the garden. But for now, we probably won’t get higher than 50-75% from the garden. Yes, Laura, we really want chickens or ducks... we’re thinking maybe if we sneak in a couple of them, our elderly (but very prickly) landlady won’t notice....???
Sampling.
-----
FRIDAY
Above: Harvest of 5 lbs tomatoes, 1 yellow carrot, 2 scallions. Dinner of leftover salad from the night before, with added new goodies, pasta sauce made with every type of tomatoes we have (zebra stripe, San Marzano, cherry, yellow cherry, early girl), and organic whole wheat pasta (not local), local wine.
----
SUNDAY
Above: Harvest: 2 lbs tomatoes, 2 icicle radishes, 5 scallions, 4 carrots, one large bowl of various salad greens. Below: Tasty salad from the garden, yummy pizza - our best yet! Matt makes the crust, I make the sauce, we put on toppings together (in this case just local mozzarella). Note: now that we’ve discovered we can eat carrot tops, we eat them every time in our salads - they have a great flavor!
----
MONDAY
Above: Harvest: beet greens - lots of them. You can’t even tell they’re absent in the garden. Yellow mangel beets make the most amazing greens! Also 2 largish zucchini, very pretty, and some carrot tops. Below: Beet greens and shallots sauteed in olive oil and a little vinegar, orzo sauteed with shredded zucchini and carrot tops (in place of parsley), salad. A very tasty meal, actually.
----
WEDNESDAY
Above: Harvest: 7 lbs tomatoes, 4 lb blue ballet squash, big bowl of kale, thinned brussels sprout plants. Below: A two course meal - er - due to bad timing on the cooks part (that would be me). Kale and brussels sprout plant leaves sauteed with red onion and balsamic, orzo with barely cooked green zebra, san marzano, and garlic sauce; baked blue ballet squash with butter and brown sugar.
----
THURSDAY
Above: Harvest: 6 purple dragon carrots, one mystery orange nub of a carrot, first kohlrabi. Below: The we-both-had-a-long-bad-day-and-it’s-late-and-we-just-can’t-cook-and-don’t-want-
anything-more-than-plain-pasta-anyway meal. (Ripping off Katrina at Kale for Sale!) Matt, the former cook, calls this side a crudités. Sounds better than raw vegetables, doesn’t it?
----
FRIDAY
Above: Big bounty: 9.5 lbs tomatillos, 1.6 lbs ground cherries, 3 lbs tomatoes, 6 carrots, 5 scallions, 1 lb salad greens, approx 30 lbs pumpkin, 31.5 lbs blue ballet squash, 6 lbs butternut squash. Below: Something we never ever eat: salad and pasta with tomato sauce, with organic red jug wine from a local winery. We’re saving our winter squash for the times when we can’t have fresh tomatoes as a good vitamin source. Ground cherries will probably be tomorrows breakfast with yoghurt. Tomatillos... don’t know yet! Fortunately they keep well.
