What are you eating from your garden?

[Gary350]

Stir Fry cabbage and chicken for dinner. I'm not good at making stir fry from scratch so I watched several YouTube videos then experimented with 3 bottles of sauce. Thai red curry paste is very hot, General Tso's sauce is very good, a little bit of the other sauce plus soy sauce stir fry cabbage turned out good.

[imafan26]

If you have meat especially beef sliced thin then marinade the beef strips in 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon sugar ( I use truvia), 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 tablespoon sherry ( it calls for xiao xing wine, but sherry is the substitute) 1 tablespoon oil (optional 1 tsp sesame oil). You would put the marinade in a small bowl with the thin beef strips cut across the grain and massage the marinade into the meat. Let it sit at least 10 minutes but 30-60 minutes in the frig is better. This will help to tenderize and flavor the meat.

When you do stir fry heat the pan and add a tablespoon of oil to the hot pan. saute minced garlic and ginger if you are using ginger for about 30 seconds. Remove the sices so they won't burn. Stir fry each vegetable separately. If makes a difference. Each vegetable will be cooked to the right doneness and retain its unique flavor. If you need to add more oil.

Combine the meat and vegetables together at the end. Season with white pepper, and soy sauce. I usually add some sugar to cut the bitterness of the soy sauce. Salt to taste ( The soy has salt so I usually don't need to) . I don't really like soy sauce so I usually use oyster sauce instead. The vegetarian option is a mushroom sauce. Top with green onions as a garnish when served.

I don't think I have tried General Tso's sauce. It is an American Chinese dish so it is not traditional. The marinade above is also one that is locally adapted, Chinese would not add sugar to sweeten the marinade.

[applestar]

We had big bowls of garden salads since I harvested the bulk of lettuces, radishes, and salad turnips. We also still have some late harvested tomatoes left from the garden, as well as summer harvested garlic. I had storebought carrots but the DD’s got the harvested carrots.

I tried a new dressing that I think is really good — HALO Wasabi Ranch (dairy-free). I embellished my salad with fresh avocado slices, sunflower seeds, and nuts and fruits trail mix of dried cranberries and raisins, almonds, cashews, and pine nuts.

[pepperhead212]

Today I made a one dish meal in the Instant Pot, using about 3 cups of canned tomatoes, and about the equivalent of 3/4 c of dried ones, plus about the equivalent of a lb of dried eggplant. I had a lb of sweet Italian sausage I had to use up, which is what got me thinking about making something Italian, plus I wanted to use some of that basil, since it's been a while since I had some!

I put the dried EP and tomatoes to soak in hot water, then I cooked the sausage separately, and set it aside. Then I cooked a medium chopped onion in a little olive oil on Sauté until soft, then added 4 minced cloves of garlic, cooked a minute, then added about 4 tb of Kalamata paste, the dried tomatoes, blended smooth with the soaking water, plus 3 cups more, and the crushed tomatoes in the jar, and the drained EP, with some marjoram and about a third of the basil, chopped up, and simmered about 25 minutes. Then I stirred in the cooked sausage, a little more salt and hot pepper flakes, and stirred in a lb of pasta shells and a half cup of moong dal, hit stop, put lid on, and set for 2 minutes on Manual (I usually set for 3, but this has more to heat up), and when finished, release heat quickly. Then I stir in the remaining basil.
First harvest of the basil from the hydroponics. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A pasta sauce in the Instant Pot, with canned tomatoes and dried tomatoes, with dried eggplant, with sweet sausage and olive paste. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The sauce cooked down with a third of the basil, and the dried eggplant, then the sausage and pasta added, before setting for 2 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished pasta, with the last 2/3 of the basil, ready to stir in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First bowl of pasta, with a little more basil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

Lemons. Actually, they are falling so I have to do something with them. The lemon I got today did not seem to be a Meyer. It might be a Lisbon because it had that little point on the end and even though it was ripe it did not have a lot of juice. I could also be a yuzu. I have bought both types of citrus before ( multiple times). This plant does not have a label. I also have Tahitian lime which I still consider to be a Persian lime. I thought it might be a Bearrs lime, but it has too many seeds. I really need to get metal tags for perennial plants.

[applestar]

Daikon and squash:
I had the bottom half of the bulb part of ButternutX squash leftover in the fridge for a while. I wanted to cook that up before it went bad so last night, I cut it up essentially into “matchsticks” and then baked in the oven 350°F for 40 min., covered with some butter, sugar, pumpkin spice mix and a bit of water. I forgot about it, and it was till in the oven this morning so I gave it another 30 min in 325°F.

I then modified/adapted from recipes for “daikon mochi” — a popular recipe around this time of year for combining shredded or thinly sliced daikon with some kind of flour or starch and some veges, then pan frying crisp on tree outside and chewy on the inside. (Also incorporated recipe ideas from kabocha squash “mochi” and “monja”.)

I combined shredded daikon with the cooked drained squash, and added brown rice flour, pastry flour, vegan swiss cheese slices torn into bits, coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute), and 3 rectangles of mochi cut into 1/2”~3/4” cubes.

Pan fried as approximately 3Tbs dollops shaped into rounds in frying pan of shallow heated tigernut oil and unsalted butter until nicely browned and crispy on the outside and the mochi cubes fully cooked and melting. They turned out yummy.

[applestar]

I made chicken soup over the weekend. It got really cold again so the family loved having soup kept warm in the Instapot to dip into as needed.

Cabbage — a full Pixy Baby cabbage head as well as some culled incompletely headed tender Alcosa Savoy secondary side head greens — from the garden seemed like a good idea for winter soup. I had harvested celery stalks from the garden and had carrot tops left over from earlier. Summer harvested and dried sweet marjoram and parsley and rosemary went in.

I also had 6 cups of tomato juice made with the last of the summer-ripened best larger and mid-size tomatoes in the freezer. I used that to deglaze the sautéed chicken and veges before adding chicken broth and chicken stock.

Since I meant it to be “warming”, I dug up a fresh finger of ginger from the containers of ginger overwintering in the Green Room, which I minced and added at the end. Freshly dug ginger has tender skin so no peeling needed!

[pepperhead212]

Greens, what else? lol

[imafan26]

Cucumbers. I have a 4 left to go. Tomatoes, green onions, and herbs.

[applestar]

I made Japanese style soft cooked rice with neat and vegs — kind of like “risotto” I guess.

I wanted to try out a tip I came across for using daikon — sautée until caramelized before adding/incorporating to your cooking… I envisioned Brussels Sprouts.

So started with roasted sesame oil and cubes of daikon and added dill salt and other veges like celery, onions, daikon stems and greens, cabbage side heads, kohlrabi leaves, immature (STILL haven’t turned buff color) ButternutX squashes. Then some ground lamb and minced fresh ginger. Added mirin, Roku gin, Japanese dashi pack (dried bonito, kombu kelp, shiitake mushrooms), freshly ground black peppers, cumin seeds…. Topped with washed rice (mixture of short grain brown, red, wild) plus pearled barley. Twice normal amount of water.
(Cooked in iPot rice setting at LOW pressure)

[imafan26]

I made roasted potatoes. I used rosemary from the garden for that.

[applestar]

The big harvest collected prior to the severe drop in temperature last week has been supplying bright additions to recent meals.

Today, we ordered cooked and raw sushi and sashimi, and broiled eel rice bowl, and favorite appetizers like edamame and fried tofu, etc. from one of the more expensive restaurants in the area for lunch, and also ordered some appetizers and side dishes that could embellish the traditional New Year’s Eve noodle soup we were making for dinner (a charm to eat long noodles and ensure long life).

I don’t quibble over what kind to make — every year, it’s been different and dependent on what we felt like having and what we had ready or available.

This year, I had dry ramen-style noodles on hand, which I cooked ahead of time, and then gathered into balls for individual serving.

I had the leftover beef rib bone and last of the roast meat from 2nd sous vide and oven seared rib roast since Christmas. So I used the bone with attached meat and leftover meat and drippings as base to make the noodle soup broth, adding smaller immature daikon and turnips from the garden as well as the thick stems of one of the larger napa. The rest of the soup was made with slivered fresh ginger root, storebought carrots, garlic powder, and seasoned with two kinds of udon soup and flying fish broth soup base mix.

Added the garden harvested napa leaves and baby pakchoi to blanch, then scoop out to maintain the bright green color and crunchy texture, reheated the takoyaki, shumai and rock shrimp tempura that had been purchased and delivered earlier to embellish the noodle soup.

Everybody had the chance to assemble their noodle soup to their liking. Yum!

…

I hope you are all having fun New Year’s Eve with friends and families. Thank you for all of your participation in the forum to share your garden and advise and cry together over the ups and downs we all experience.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful New Year, and another gardening season full of new discoveries and delicious harvest!

[imafan26]

Cucumber and I used up the araimo I harvested for the nishime. Green onions for an omelet. Ginger for beef broccoli. Lemons and calamansi for my ice tea and to make lemon meringue pie. I have never had longevity noodles. I know it is a custom in China to have longevity noodles with egg on your birthday.

The warm weather made fresh fish more available, but I still don't buy it much. When it is not a holiday, it is $17 a pound, so I don't buy it much. I don't really like fish anyway.

Happy New Year everyone.

[applestar]

I had one more 2.5 Lbs rib roast left in the freezer, so I decided to try something different.

I let it defrost a bit, enough to use the big knife to shave extremely thin slices, and prepared about 1/3 of the beef for Shabu Shabu style cooking.

I didn’t have all the ingredients and the family wasn’t available for a full sit down at the table, so I just cooked them in broth made with konbu and Japanese dashi (all natural packets made with konbu, mackerel and bonito, shiitake, etc.), and the big rib bone with some meat on it. I added the last Saitaro daikon and China Rose turnips from the garden.

They were served as appetizer with three kinds of Japanese style sauces — soy-free Teriyaki, Wasabi Ranch, and Ginger-Sasame (Teriyaki sauce won best reviews, although I liked Sesame Ginger as well. DD2 said she likes the Wasabi Ranch for steamed vegs, but liked Teriyaki better for the beef and daikon/turnip.)

I previously marinated the rest of the beef sliced a little thicker and in strips with sliced onions, garlic, fresh ginger, my ground shiitake stem and herbs blend, and last of the other brand ginger sesame dressing/marinade, a little mirin, and teriyaki sauce.

Once the shabu shabu style appetizer was finished, I pan sautéed the marinated meat and onions, more shiitake, and last of the Alcosa cabbage side head.

This went over very well with the family as well.

…Oh I forgot to add — the broth that was used for shabu shabu, I added to the instant pot that was keeping warm about 2 cups left of cooked white rice/brown mochi rice/barley/canned sweet corn from the day before, and re-cooked it all into porridge/gruel along with the rib bone and konbu (shitake stems are inedible while so I removed them). So yummy.

[imafan26]

Not exactly from my home garden, but I did get eggplant, oranges, and finger limes from the other garden. From my garden I am using mainly green onions.

[pepperhead212]

Glad to see everyone here again! I'll start out with one of my typical posts, about something I harvested last season, maybe in October! Today I found a winter melon with a small bad spot, that made me have to use it - very small spot, when I cut it out, but those thing spread fast. I wore gloves, when prepping it, due to that hairy skin, that can be like handling fiberglass, with bare hands. I cut it in half, and scraped all the seeds out, then quartered it, and peeled it, before cutting it into pieces.
A winter melon from last October, with a small bad spot I had to cut out. 5-6 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Winter melon cut in half, showing the large amount of seeds. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About 3/4 cup of cleaned seeds, from winter melon. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The winter melon meat, and the peels and cleaned up core for the compost, after separating the seeds out. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here are some things I harvested today, used in the recipe for the winter melon:
The alliums going into the Szechwan winter melon dish - scallions, garlic chives, and chive blossoms, plus some garlic. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

For the winter melon dish, I cut the melon up, and it was just over 2 lbs, and when I saw the pieces in the bowl, it reminded me of those eggplant pieces I cut up frequently, for that Szechwan dish I make all the time, so I figured I'd try it with this - it has even less flavor that eggplant, but it is fairly absorbent of the flavors in the sauces. The one time I've cooked one it kept its shape, and didn't turn soft and mushy as quickly as eggplant or butternut. I stirred. It around after 7 min covered, and it was still firm, so I cooked it the full 15 minutes, which was just right.
All of the ingredients mise en place, for the Szechwan winter melon dish. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The garlic/ginger paste started in a little oil, followed by the Szechwan chili paste with garlic. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A lb of ground pork, mixed with the soy sauce and half the scallions, added to the wok, to cook on high for about 2 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The winter melon, added to the pork mix, to SF for 4 minutes, followed by the sugar, then SF 2 minutes longer. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The other half of the scallions, to be stirred into the winter melon, with 3/4 c water, then covered and cooked for 15 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Almost finished dish, ready for the chives and chive blossoms. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Garlic chives and chive blossoms, to be stirred into the dish, and cooking another 30 sec., before serving on jasmine rice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished dish, served on some jasmine rice by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

Glad to see you back @pepperhead!

Looks delicious as usual…though maybe a tad spicier than I can handle. Wow winter melon lasts for a long time doesn’t it? It’s supposed to be very good for you… but I can’t remember the specifics.

LOVE that chive blossom garnish— the perfect touch

[digitS']

Glad to see you back @pepperhead!

...

You aren't the only one Glad to See @pepperhead Back, applestar !

Steve

[digitS']

One bed in the hoop house — the bed on the other side of the path looks about the same with more lettuce, the cilantro replaced by dill, and no lemongrass (you can see the lemongrass there at the end of the bed in the photo.)

Outdoors, the beds have much the same with lots of pak choi and lettuce but now some of the warm season plants have been set out. But, nothing is being harvested for the kitchen from those beds.

Steve

[applestar]

Now I’m curious — Are those light green frilly ones Tokyo Bekana or are they lettuce? I recognize Pak Choi I think … what are the divided leafed ones?

I’m having leafy greens too — mostly the extra early-spring planted lettuce, mizuna, mini-choi and pre-bolting asian greens like komatsuna and yukina… culled mini napa and carrot, radish and turnip thinnings. Also overwintered leaf celery and cabbage side sprouts.

[digitS']

I have grown and enjoyed Tokyo Bekana before, AppleStar –– not in 2025. Lettuce at opposite ends/sides of the hoop house.

The first of the Gai Lan was harvested.

We will have the cabbage side sprouts when the center head of the Tiara Cabbage is harvested from an outdoor bed. So, late in the season for that cut & come again.

[imafan26]

Looks good. What you are eating in May is what I could plant in January. Now, all of my cilantro, komatsuna, bok choi, and semposai are gone and have been replaced with peppers.

I have been eating and giving away cucumbers, jalapenos, tomatoes, calamansi, bush beans, and I have been eating some of the herbs green onions, garlic chives, basil, bay leaves, English thyme, Italian parsley, rosemary, and miracle berry. I also got gifted some mango, bok choy ( it was too old so it went to the worms), My lemon grass needs to be divided, it is shrinking. I have a few pots of different lavenders, but I really don't eat that much of it.

[digitS']

I have grown Kale since the 70's (& maybe the 60's, but somehow I don't remember ). Not consistently but DW likes it and I have come to appreciate the use of young leaves and that kale can be harvested well into Winter.

We had a dozen plants going into December 2024, an unusually large number and always have them all pulled by now. This year, the extended harvest has continued to the harvesting of the flower stalks.

Gai Lan and Choi Sum have become something of garden staples in recent years. We have even learned that the flower stalks and buds of the Bok Choy we grow are worth the harvest. This is the first year that we are trying those of the Kale and we are surprised how tender they are – right up until the time that the buds begin to show some sign of the yellow flowers, soon to open.

Steve

[Gary350]

Some of our red onions bolted so wife made 2 gallons of chili. I pulled up several red onions they have very good flavor.

[digitS']

Pak Choi now harvested from the Outdoor Beds.

Supposed to be 80°f (27°C) tomorrow and maybe one or two times through the week. Summer Weather.

Steve

[Gary350]

I dug up 1 lb. of Kennebec new potatoes 1 month early so wife can make potato salad. She wanted onions also. Several red onions bolted they will never grow larger than this, eat them now before they go bad.

[imafan26]

String beans, green onions ( actually my sister raided my garden for green onions and lettuce). Jalapeno ( I gave them away), calamansi, cucumbers ( I gave a lot away),

I have been nuking the beans in the microwave and eating or freezing them. It is a feast or famine thing. I planted the successions too close. Cucumbers, I gave many away, some of it came back as namasu. I just like cucumbers in salads or with mayo and soy sauce. Calamansi goes in my tea. ( It is also good on noodles and fish). Green onions: My sister uses a lot, she can kill a plant in 3 months. Most of my plants are over 3 years old. It may be time to replace some I use green onions for omelets, salads, noodles, pork tofu, fried rice, and I just made jook, I use it as a garnish for that.

I have over a dozen jalapeno plants I started from seed I collected from my own jalapeno. Too many survived, so I have a lot of peppers now and I give most of them away. I don't really like jalapeno because they are not very hot and I don't make a lot of salsa which is what I mainly use them for. Most of the parties I go to, people don't like spicy, so I make a plain salsa for them without any peppers.

[applestar]

Majority of cherries harvested recently had cracked/split from the rain. Those caught early (almost fully ripe, then split overnight) were no problem, but ones that were underripe or had split a couple of days before were not appetizing to eat fresh, so after trimming and putting them, I made
(1) ice milk (milk+condensed sweetened milk, extra sugar to taste; combined with rum-soaked pitted cherries, vanilla extract) — frozen in sealable silicone food storage bag (original recipe used zipped freezer bag but I wanted something sturdier and reusable) — You start squishing the zipped bag before the mixture fully freezes, then continue to gently mush around several times to prevent it from turning into frozen solid block (zipper may pop open so stand it upright when manipulating). Mixture turns into something like a frozen slushee/smoothie/sorbet and is very yummy.
(2) mixed berries and cherries refrigerator preserve made with store-bought blueberries and strawberries, trimmed pitted garden cherries and wild strawberries, splash of rum — cooked until thickened and started to gel.

[pepperhead212]

Only greens, and herbs, as always! I gave a gardening friend my extra seedlings as I always do, and this was the first time she grew all those greens, and was thrilled with them! They built a raised bed, just for those, and couldn't believe how many she got, and how they choked out most of the weeds, planting fairly close together. And she's amazed at how fast they grow back, after cutting the perimeter leaves from them. I got another one hooked on greens! She hasn't tried any of the kohlrabi yet - not quite large enough, but I gave her some ideas for using it, and she knows that the greens can be used, too.

[imafan26]

Eggplant. I picked one earlier, but it was a goner. So, I picked a few more yesterday about 6 in total. This is why only one eggplant is enough! I made a combination dish. I made spicy eggplant (using a mah po tofu sauce mix) with tofu and I added a little sambal oleck and Thai sweet chili sauce for a little more spice. I need to find a recipe to make spicy garlic eggplant and find some black vinegar.

I still am not keeping up with the cucumber, and I don't have a lot of takers for jalapenos. My BIL did come by to raid my green onions. Most of my green onions are over 3 years old so it is time to make some new ones. He likes the Ishikura longs.

I got a 4 lb. 14.1 oz cabbage from the field trials at the garden. I made corned beef and cabbage with half of it. I am planning to make ham and cabbage soup with the other half. I got 3 cabbages in total, so I gave one to my sister and one to my neighbor. The cabbages were huge.

I got some mulberries from the garden, but they were sour. I need to wait until they are riper.

I still have a mango left to finish.

Yesterday, my grafting hui went to a jackfruit farm. It was an adventure. Google directions does not help if I don't have a compass in the car. I need to get me another one of those. Anyway, the jackfruit was sweet, but fresh jackfruit has a bit of latex to stick to your fingers and lips.

The worms got to eat sweet potato leaves and bitter melon ( it grows wild in my yard). I picked jalapenos but I am trying to give them away. I don't have use for them now.

[applestar]

It’s so nice to have home-grown garden vegetables and fruits

I’ve managed to work lots of greens into our meals recently — cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, turnip, beet, daikon radish, carrot, leaf celery …sometimes along with small culled or side shoots of the roots and heads, embellished with storebought. These combine well with sautéed and braised meats or sausages that can be kept warm in the iPot.

I also made mini napa cabbage outer leaves and shrimp in shiitake and garlic sauce. With shrimp for the protein, this one needed to be eaten right away.

Today, I made Japanese style katsu or cutlet — normally made with pork but I made with turkey breast sliced across the grain in 1/4”~1/2” thick slices. Marinated in sesame ginger dressing, tube ginger, mirin, and and other stuff, combined with potato starch, then dipped in beaten eggs and “Vitamix ground up, hard as rock stale French baguette” breadcrumbs.

I fried them at lower temp until golden, then skimmed the oil and heated to slightly higher temp for the 2nd crisping cycle of couple of minutes in the oil.

These were served on a mound of finely shredded tender mini napa cores lightly drizzled with Yuzu vinaigrette.

[imafan26]

I had another left over cabbage from last week's harvest. This one has been in the frig so it is a bit more limp. The core was damaged, but I made golumpki and it was just enough for all of the filling. I forgot to put the egg in the recipe and I left the lemon out (on purpose. I do have lemons), and I cheated and used tomato soup and tomato sauce for the sauce, but I will have that for at least four or five days. I did use a cubanelle pepper I just harvested and I cooked my rice with pandan leaves.

I am over stocked with jalapeno's. I have 30 plants. My sister came to raid my garden for green onions and hot peppers, but the super chilies are better for what they are making. I also gave her my first Red Snapper from the second batch of tomatoes from the plant I started on December 31, and two of the cucumbers I picked the other day.

I put some spearmint in my tea. It needs to be repotted before it chokes itself.