Grow
Despite the funny summer we’ve had, we are still seeing a few new items trying to get in their production before the nights get too cold…
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| Luffa |
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| A baby Butternut Squash, trying to ripen before the cold weather descends. |
I’m not sure that the luffa or the butternuts will have enough time to ripen fully, but I am very hopeful that they will! We have never had luffa grow beyond a sprout before so the flowers and tiny fruits are very exciting to see. And, of course, Butternut Squash are my favorite squash, so even one little ripe guy would make me incredibly happy. Fingers crossed!
Harvest
I am incredibly excited to announce that we have had a couple of firsts over the past couple of weeks! While the harvests themselves are bit small, corn and cucumbers are never items to discount in our garden! We also had one, single, lonely beet that made it through the summer and onto our plates!
Also, I mistook our Jalapeno plant for a Happy Hot plant, so waited for the green fruits to turn to orange. Apparently, I mislabeled, because what we have are definitely Jalapenos, not Happy Hots. Oh well! They’re delicious, none-the-less…though a little red from the wait 😉
Harvest totals for the past two weeks:
- Basil – 4 oz
- Beets – 4 oz
- Carrots – 8 oz
- Corn (Sweet) – 2 lbs 2 oz
- Cucumbers
- White Wonder – 8 oz
- Eggplant
- Florida High Bush – 1 lb 3 oz
- Peppers
- Jalapenos – 1 lb 1 oz
- Ring-o-Fire Cayenne – 1 lb 3 oz
- Shishito – 10 oz
- Squash
- Patty Pan – 8 oz
- Tomatoes
- Indigo Rose – 3 lb 14 oz
- Roma – 10 lb 14 oz
- Yellow Taxi – 15 oz
- Eggs – 116
Eat
I wish I could tell you that things aren’t still up in the air and a little crazy with work, but I can’t. We are trying to do better but are working way too many exhausting hours and are still eating out more than we should. I’m looking at this as a big growth period and a severe learning curve…Learning about time management, stress levels, self care and healthy sustenance vs. simply eating whatever is available whenever we’re hungry.
Do you have any tips or tricks to share about how to eat well and intentionally when life gets crazy?
Here are some of our planned main courses/meals for the next two weeks:
Breakfast
- Bagels and cream cheese
- Omelettes filled with garden veggies
- Oatmeal with berries
- Protein shakes with berries or bananas and peanut butter
- Fried eggs and toast
Lunch
- Leftover dinners from previous nights
- Sandwiches (PB&J, turkey, roast beef)
- Egg Salad sandwiches
- Frito Pies
Dinner
- Green chile, chicken enchiladas
- Chicken and potato burritos
- Make-your-own pizza
- Vegetarian Lasagna
- Steaks and a garden veggie
- Bean burritos
- White beans and pork
- Tamales
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Your peppers and chilis look great. I make salsa with mine. I have gut problems and have had to go gluten-free to cure them, so I got off all flour products and just eat whole grains, I alternate between big pots of buckwheat and rice ( though I could also eat quinoa). To go with them I cook several days worth of meat or else a big pot of beans or split peas, and big pots also of vegetables, then I mix them in various combinations for a meal so I don’t cook often, just get out the pots and dish them up. I like cheese or sour cream with them for a creamy taste and texture, and various spices, usually with pepper and turmeric. I don’t have to spend much time cooking and the food is always ready. I also make a green salad and a fruit salad every day.
Brilliant! Thank you so much!
Great harvest! Gorgeous photos this week. What are those cheery tomatoes with the dark brown on them? They look very interesting, I’d love to know the variety!!
Wonderful, wonderful harvests! Beautiful baskets for photos. 🙂
Oooh, I would smoke those ripe jalapenos and make chipotles. It’s all so pretty, I love your photographs. And congrats on your new crops.
Beautiful harvest! Just gorgeous!
It is hard not to eat out sometime huh? We have done so much better since doing ‘Real’ Food. For lunches for my kids, I often buy organic frozen fruits and veggies at costco for them and put a handful in their lunches frozen, by the time they eat them they are thawed and they eat them right up. Amazing. They are also getting an abundance of sliced raw sweet peppers and tomatoes lately too! Soon I plan to go to the apple orchard and can up a LOT of applesauce for the winter! My husband gets a lot of leftovers for his lunches.
Thanks for the tips, Shawn Ann!
I think your angled luffa will make it to the edible stage.
Here are a few cooking tips, hope they help.
Cook for your freezer. I always make extra meatballs, roasts, stews, soups, brown rice, pasta (yes pasta), … package in meal-size portions, date, label and freeze.
When slicing meat, poultry, etc. for stir-fries, slice extra, package in meal-sized portion and freeze.
Wash and prep veggies for multiple meals.
Keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge.
Make one pot meals, fried rice is a good one.
Make stir-fries and add precooked pasta to make a balance meal.
Hope the above help some.
Such great tips! I really need to master the simple meals! I used to be so good at them…not sure what happened :-/
Great harvest! Those peppers are gorgeous! As are the carrots and that eggplant!