The garden: it's what's for dinner
At this time of year nearly all our produce comes from either the garden or farmer's markets. I don't usually make a source distinction while I'm putting dinner together, but today I realized after preparations were complete that nearly everything in the meal of tuna-and-veggie stew plus fried okra was grown by me. It's a good feeling! I didn't grow the tuna, or the onion (I could have, but decided against using space for onions this year), but I did grow the potatoes, pumpkin, zucchini, pepper, garlic and tomato that went into the stew, along with the okra.
Here are the Purple Viking potatoes (the most beautiful potato ever):
They grew in a large pot, mostly (due to complex circumstances) in shade and complete neglect, so I didn't get a lot of them, but some is better than none.
The pumpkin I put no effort into at all - it grew out of the compost and all over my backyard garden, was chewed on by groundhogs and dried out by drought, and I was completely surprised when I went back there to fetch a pepper and discovered two mature gray-skinned fruit that look just like the Jarrahdale that we got for Halloween.
Sometimes compost pumpkins have unpredictable genetics and are not the most lovely or delicious around, but this one was perfect. And half of it I baked and scooped out for puree, so some baked goods are on the menu later this week.
I'm actually a bit short of zucchini and peppers this year, but I've got more tomatoes than I know what to do with. Well, actually I do know what to do with them - eat as many fresh as possible, and roast and freeze the rest. Roasted tomatoes are awesome, with their rich and concentrated flavor, and it'll be great to pull them out of the freezer in the winter. Here's some of what I've been harvesting:
If you've achieved an all-from-the-garden meal lately, tell us about it in the comments!
Here are the Purple Viking potatoes (the most beautiful potato ever):
They grew in a large pot, mostly (due to complex circumstances) in shade and complete neglect, so I didn't get a lot of them, but some is better than none.
The pumpkin I put no effort into at all - it grew out of the compost and all over my backyard garden, was chewed on by groundhogs and dried out by drought, and I was completely surprised when I went back there to fetch a pepper and discovered two mature gray-skinned fruit that look just like the Jarrahdale that we got for Halloween.
Sometimes compost pumpkins have unpredictable genetics and are not the most lovely or delicious around, but this one was perfect. And half of it I baked and scooped out for puree, so some baked goods are on the menu later this week.
I'm actually a bit short of zucchini and peppers this year, but I've got more tomatoes than I know what to do with. Well, actually I do know what to do with them - eat as many fresh as possible, and roast and freeze the rest. Roasted tomatoes are awesome, with their rich and concentrated flavor, and it'll be great to pull them out of the freezer in the winter. Here's some of what I've been harvesting:
If you've achieved an all-from-the-garden meal lately, tell us about it in the comments!
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