2014 What did you eat from your garden today?

[Gary350]

I have 11 squash, more bell peppers than I can count and about 15 tomatoes that SUCK. These @#$% celebrity tomato's have almost as much flavor as cardboard I am very seriously considering pulling the plants up. The bell peppers make a GREAT omelet every morning for breakfast.

[lakngulf]

We had fried squash for dinner tonight. Good! I shred it like hash browns, salt, pepper, corn meal and fry in light oil. We like to let it crisp real good on first side before flipping.

Gary350, what variety of tomato works well in your soil? I have grown Celebrity (along with Better Boy, Brandywine, etc) for years. The Celebrity's have always been good, and I like it that a lot get ripe at the same time.

[feldon30]

What a beautiful basket of goodies you have there, feldon! And an okra too! My okra plants have only barely poked through to the surface this week. I am green with envy. Enjoy!

Just FYI, that picture was taken in my Houston garden a few years back and thus much further advanced in the season! Where I am now (Rock Hill), I've got but a few snow peas to eat and everything else is weeks away from giving me a harvest.

I personally find Celebrity to be indistinguishable from grocery store tomatoes. But then again people call me a tomato snob. I grew a few plants of Celebrity my first year and I ended up giving most of them away. Frankly, I almost threw in the towel on tomatoes until I went to a farmer's market and tasted a Cherokee Purple and a Druzba. After the paramedics revived me, I started reading everything I could about heirloom tomatoes and the love affair began.

This is my 5th year gardening (my first in South Carolina) and I am growing a dozen tried-and-true heirlooms and plus another half-dozen favorite hybrids (some of them are pretty amazing), all told 29 plants and all selected for flavor and those which have done well for me in past years. Some favorites include Cherokee Purple, Earl's Faux, Tony's Italian, Big Beef, Sungold, Black Cherry, etc.

[Lindsaylew82]

Still just asparagus, but I have lots of basil and cilantro that are just waiting on me to get over the excitement and cooking laziness that payday brings.

[applestar]

I made an omelet with freshly harvested garlic greens, Egyptian green onions, garlic chives, spinach and Swiss chard from the garden, fully ripened hot lemon and green jalapeño from the indoor overwintered peppers that are blooming and setting fruits, dried tomatoes from last years harvest and dried Mexican Mint Marigold/Texas tarragon from overwintered harvest.

Then instead of folding it, wrapped it around cooked brown rice for Japanese style "om(elette)- rice". Yum!

[feldon30]

Looks like the discussion between me and lakngulf about tomato varieties has been wisely split off into its own thread here: Tomato varieties -- have you grown these?

[Susan W]

Not all from my garden, but got some small new (red) potatoes Saturday from fellow vendor. Yesterday boiled, skins on, for potato salad,. Made dressing with mayo, lemon juice and loaded up with herbs. I had dill, tarragon and chives. I also had what I could salvage from the broccoli that got over run with the caterpillars (blue with stripes that get IN the crown, not the green ones on the leaves).

[Lonesomedave]

gonna have a mess of green beans, sauteed in butter and olive oil, and also a bunch of chinese pea greens

for those not familiar with chinese pea greens, I got them from burpees...you cut off the greens as they grow and stir fry them...they are incredibly good...I first was exposed to them on a trip to taiwan with my (chinese) wife...I couldn't believe how tender and delicious

when I saw them on burpees website, I ordered a box of seeds and they have not disappointed...easy to grow and prolific...I recommend them to all here

[lakngulf]

for those not familiar with chinese pea greens, I got them from burpees...you cut off the greens as they grow and stir fry them...they are incredibly good...I first was exposed to them on a trip to taiwan with my (chinese) wife...I couldn't believe how tender and delicious

I may have to give them a try. When I was in graduate school at UNC Chapel Hill we lived in married student apartments. I petitioned the housing folks to let me grow some tomatoes in a spot behind the building, very small about 4 x 6. Well, our neighbors Hai Ping and DuhSen wanted to garden as well. So we tilled up a small section, they took half, we took half. Was interesting.

I need to see if my x-wife has a picture of the gardens. Mine was tall - tomatoes, pepper, etc and theirs was short with all the delicious greens, beans, peas and sprouts that are so good.

[PaulF]

Besides radishes, today I ate a homemade strawberry/rhubarb pie. It was....and I mean was...delicious.

[Lindsaylew82]

An asparagus (prolly the last time I'll harvest ) Omelette topped with a mixture of store bought diced compari tomatoes, minced garlic, olive oil and basil from my garden. Tonight we'll finish off that tomato mixture with some grilled bread and fresh mozzarella.

[Lonesomedave]

today...green beans, cooked slow with country ham scraps...the other day, I had em stir fried, today, old school

BTW...my first better bush tomato that was gonna be on the menu later this week, has been attacked by birds...I may have to net all my plants, but I have heard that birds that do this are not hungry...they are thirsty, and if you leave fresh pans of water strategically in you garden, they will leave your tomatoes alone...any truth to this?

or any thoughts?



ps-edit- also found, while making my rounds, that we have several zucchini about three-five inches long...so, I collected a bunch of them and we are also gonna have stir fried zucchini tonight

[hendi_alex]

Yesterday, tomatoes, Asian greens, sweet peas, radish, squash, leek, garlic, shiitake, strawberries, mulberries, blueberries. Today, add cucumber as our first cucumber was harvested.

[grrlgeek]

I am so jealous of you folks with tomatoes and cukes and squash already!

Got home from work hot, hungry, and too spent to feel like making anything. I grabbed a small head of red sails lettuce on my way in, drizzled some ranch dressing on it, stuck it between two pieces of bread, and voila! It was cool and crisp and light and a lot yummier than I expected. Which reminds me to start more lettuce seeds today!

[valley]

Greetings, So far just a couple types of lettuce, mustard, mint and onion. Looking forward to several types of peppers and tomatoes.

Richard

[hendi_alex]

Birds and squirrels damaging tomatoes. I have tons of both in ouryard and they only seem to bother the tomatoes during drought. So I would agree with you comment. Provide them with water.

[feldon30]

Picked a quart of snow peas so far. Steamed them for 2 minutes, then tossed them with sesame oil to get them crispy, then tossed with a little soy sauce. All told less than 5 minutes cooking and still very crunchy. Soooo sweet and tasty! Just the perfect first thing from the garden.

Cukes and tomatoes are going like mad right now. Beans are loading up with flowers. I think I am going to be buried in beans, about 2 weeks, then cukes, then tomatoes, then corn!

[Lindsaylew82]

Herbs, herbs, herbs! Tonight we had some quick grilled chicken that I smeared with s&p, tarragon, and Dijon mustard.

Tarragon and chicken are such a great match!

I miss my asparagus... I always do the first week.

[applestar]

Strawberries are starting to come in. Finding some pecked by birds -- I think it's those sneaky catbirds. Picked what might be the last asparagus today -- didn't eat it but put it in the quart freezer bag with others for a meal later.

[hendi_alex]

Funny how similar catbirds are to mockingbirds. Yet we had a couple of catbirds two or three seasons ago, and they were so much more active and persistent in eating our fruit. The cat killed both of them, and sad to say, I wasn't sorry to see them go. The mockingbirds show just light interest, and I'm willing to share at that level.

[Lindsaylew82]

I made pesto with basil, walnuts, garlic greens, manchego cheese, and evoo! Kid picket bow tie pasta! Very tasty!

Tomorrow though.......

[SusanRachel]

Squash, zucchini, and scallions stir fried with a little sesame oil and soy sauce. Yum! During the day, I snacked on the last of the green beans and snow peas and the first of the cherry tomatoes.

[Cola82]

Feldon, this is random, but I think I bought the same yellow twine you did. It's holding up much better than the green stuff in the garden center did, I have to say.

I picked two early cherries today and gave them to the boyfriend because I already has a sun gold and early cherry a few days ago.

I'm jealous you guys all have peas already. I had to start mine kind of late so they're only 6-8" tall.

[hendi_alex]

Susan, if you have a morning sun location, you can keep bush beans growing much later into the heat of summer. I have five small beds under the edge of an oak canopy. Green beans, egg plant, peppers, and arugula do well there any time during the summer.

[rainbowgardener]

Last night I had company over and served a big salad all from the garden! Lettuce, kale, lots of spinach which I am trying to use up since it is starting to bolt, celery, fresh picked peas!, chard (with the colorful stems chopped up into it), BROCCOLI! (first one) along with some of the broccoli leaves, and lots of herbs thrown in - lemon balm, dill, fennel, green and purple basil. That and some black bean burgers on the grill made dinner.

[hendi_alex]

Fresh strawberries and blue berries on homemade shortcake with homemade whipped cream. Yummy! Also had out of the garden squash, onions, garlic, tomatoes with dinner.

[lakngulf]

Fresh strawberries and blue berries on homemade shortcake with homemade whipped cream. Yummy! Also had out of the garden squash, onions, garlic, tomatoes with dinner.

WOW! StrawBlueBerry Shortcake. Looks great

[grrlgeek]

Lunch was a salad with steamed cauliflower and broccoli shoots over rice.

Dinner (can't wait!) portabella mushroom cap (not from the garden) "burgers," currently marinating in olive oil and minced baby garlic, with bbq roasted turnips and baby carrots with rosemary and more garlic.

I have one tomato that as of yesterday, is showing its first blush of red! Still unsure when the biggest Green Sausage tomato will look ripe, but it's still extremely firm. Might pick it anyway, to slice for the burgers, because I'm impatient like that.

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[Lindsaylew82]

When green sausage gets ripe, it turns very very yellow. The stripes stay green! They stay pretty firm. Very low water.

[lexusnexus]

You guys are killing me! I can finally start on my garden next month (moving soon).

[evtubbergh]

My garden was NOT productive this summer but I just made soup with cannelini beans from my mom's garden. Very delicious!

[lakngulf]

This!!



My son and his family are visiting from North Carolina. They really enjoy fresh veggies, so I was glad the garden gave us some produce for a great meal. Oddly enough, our daughter in law gave us a gift of Fried Green Tomato batter. So glad we were able to try it out.

[grrlgeek]

When green sausage gets ripe, it turns very very yellow. The stripes stay green! They stay pretty firm. Very low water.

I was so close! But I decided to wait based on your advice. Sliced up an un-identified store-bought organic heirloom instead.

tick tock....

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Today, I got 3 strawberries, and, the fledgling birds and their parents moved out, leaving me a lone raspberry in payment of rent for the ledge where they nested. Harvested some kale and chard to sautee for greens with dinner.

[Lindsaylew82]

They look like this when they're ripe! My husband's absolute favorite!!!

[Lindsaylew82]

Did you get your green sausage yet?! We had our second one. Both grainy...meh.

Kid said she wanted green beans for supper tonight while we were on the way home from work. She's in luck!! I went out thinking there were enough to give her, and ended up with her little shirt full of them! First time she got to pick anything! She thought it was great fun! She liked breaking them up too! We got enough for a side dish tonight and for our lunches tomorrow!

We also picked about 10 good sized yellow squash. I sautéed them and had them with our beans, a few cherry tomatoes and some quinoa! It was yummy! And I had a great time sharing this experience with my daughter!

[grrlgeek]

First Green Sausage came off on the 8th. It was awesome too. Tart and meaty. Hubby liked it a lot. I want to make a cooked green salsa with tomatillos and then blend these in chopped and raw. They are also good on toast. But I haven't met a tomato yet that I won't put on toast. LOL

I picked 3 more in the last couple days. More are coming, but that first one teased me by being way ahead of the others. Here's how it looked when we ate it.

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And yesterday, we had enough tomatoes assembled to have a real tomato taste test!

Clockwise, from top center, Zluta Kytice, Heinz 2653, Indigo Rose, Yellow Pear, Sweet Million, Gold Nugget Cherry, Orange Icicle, Black Plum (awesome), Cream Sausage, Tumbling Tiger, Green Sausage, Indigo Kumquat.

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[Lindsaylew82]

I have a black plum but it's called brown berry. The first is ripening on the window!

[imafan26]

I ate nishime (Japanese vegetable stew) using the dasheen that I grew. I also had cucumber and tomato salad with my first cucumbers and cherry and beefsteak tomatoes from the garden. I have a zucchini in the frig, still thinking what I am going to do with it. I have pak choi, papaya and one fig waiting for me too.

[Lonesomedave]

cucumber salad with some of our Japanese cucumbers.

Fried yellow squash, using our crook neck squash, with some shallots (not ours) and fried with some smoked jowl meat

and bacon/tomato sandwiches with some of our Better Boy and Big Beef tomatoes...real good...we let the tomatoes get really vine ripened and then after picking, put them in a closed container for a couple of days

not from my garden or anything, but also had some homemade Brioche, using a really good recipe for no knead brioche that I picked up from Cook's Country on PBS....great show....one of my favorite TV cooking shows... the brioche has to slowly "rise" in the icebox for about 24 hours, but the recipe is dead simple and really tastes buttery good

[skiingjeff]

We're currently harvesting snow peas and the broccoli is coming in as well. The summer squash are starting up too!

We just love when the fresh veggies start rolling in