Harvest Monday - 9 October 2017

Hello, and Happy Thanksgiving to readers in Canada! The week started cool and dry, but quickly turned warm and humid in advance of Tropical Storm Nate, now passing through as I write this Monday morning.

I start by showing the accumulated dried beans just before putting them away in storage. From left, Midnight Black Turtle, Sunset Scarlet Runner, and Kenearly Yellow-eye (a poor showing this year).

The remaining Silver Queen sweet corn was picked, and the stalks cut. Obsessive as I am, I counted 26 ears from 59 stalks. The Kitchen Goddess boiled them, cut the "niblets," and further boiled the cobs to make packages of creamed corn for the freezer. I learned that while it contains a lot of butter, there is no actual cream involved.

I took the first of the "Floriani Red Flint" dry corn, and also harvested the last of the black bean pods. Many of the corn cobs had been damaged by something, which causes mold around the penetration of the husk. This will have to be cut off before we can shell the cobs.

By the end of the week the bean pods were crisp enough to shell, a relaxing activity that gives a man time to think...mostly about beans. With this and the earlier picking, we have a lot of bean dishes in the future.

The sultry weather was good for tomatoes, although I have been getting a lot of drops.

Also in the picture are the first-of-the-year "Homemade Pickles" cucumbers, oddly misshapen. And some shishito peppers.

The weather was also good for peppers and eggplants, and the zucchini is still putting out fruit despite its powdery mildew problems.

TKG dehydrated all the accumulated hot red peppers to make red pepper flakes, an aromatic experience!

We took another "Winter Light" daikon radish. These are supposed to be mild, but we find them spicy, which is not a bad thing.

So many things from the garden went into this delicious weekend cook-out. The cucumbers became an Asian-style pickle appetizer (rice vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, and sesame seeds, in proportions I never do consistently). Zucchini and "Umberto" tomatoes made up one skewer. Shishito peppers are another. Finally, richly-herbed lamb and Cubanelle peppers are the main course. And as a garnish, a leek "scape," also grilled, which is crunchy and onion-y. All served with a wonderful Schug Pinot Noir from the Carneros district of Sonoma County. Quite a feast for a rare warm October night!

Lastly, the fall-bearing raspberries are coming on strong.

That's all for this week. As always, thanks for reading! And a big shout-out to Dave at Our Happy Acres for hosting Harvest Monday!