Monday Harvest – 16th July 2012

Much of my harvest this week is green, but I thought I’d start with a splash of yellow.  This Tahitian Lime went into some guacamole which I ate for lunch yesterday.  I’ve been pleased with my first lime harvests – 6 doesn’t seem too bad for a first year.

Despite the cool weather I’ve been enjoying eating salad this week, I can pretend I’m somewhere warm as I tuck into my Mizuna, Spring onions,  Lettuce and Chervil.

The side shoots on my Calabrese broccoli have started to appear regularly and so I have harvests like this a couple of times a week.  Not heaps but enough for me and kids to enjoy in a stir fry.  My partner is broccoli averse, some people have the strangest palettes don’t they?

The parsley harvest continues unabated, fortunately so too does my enthusiasm for eating it.

Every week I harvest a few Spring Onions, I very rarely account for the on my spreadsheet and they don’t tend to feature highly in my harvest photos.  To rectify this here are two spring onions which went into the aforementioned guacamole.

On Saturday I made a chicken Caesar salad for dinner.  The majority of this basket is actually Cos (Romaine) Lettuce but the highlighted leaf is ‘Salad Bowl’.  This is my first year growing ‘Salad Bowl’ and I have to say I’ve been hugely impressed.  It has grown equally well in both our summer and winter, its been relatively slow to bolt and the flavours good.  It is a loose leafed variety so you can harvest leaves whenever you need them.  What more could you want in a lettuce?

My Tuscan Kale continues to grow well, this fine bunch of leaves is destined for a Kale & Cannelini Bean soup:

And finally, not really a splash of colour but at least a variation on the green, I harvested my first cauliflower.  Its not very big, its not very attractive, but hopefully it will taste OK.  Once again I’ve learnt that attempting to grow brassicas in the shade is really not that great an idea…

Wanting more harvests?  Then head over to Daphne’s Dandelions and enjoy fruit & veg from around the world.

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26 Responses to Monday Harvest – 16th July 2012

  1. Louise says:

    Hmm, nice harvest. Lovely lemon, nice greens – will have to try salad bowl.

  2. Spring onions haven’t really performed well for us for the past few years – not sure why not – they seem to develop so very slowly.

    • Liz says:

      I find them slow to get started and then all of a sudden they’ll be big enough to eat. I have taken to sowing them in seed trays and then planting out later to avoid them being really, really small in the beds.

  3. Jo says:

    I grow Salad Bowl, it’s ideal for me as the rest of the household aren’t keen on lettuce so I just snip a few leaves as and when required. It comes in red as well as green, I grow both.

  4. Dave's SFG says:

    What a nice harvest for winter. My wife is also one of those people with the bitter gene and she hates most brassicas. But broccoli or Brussels sprouts (a particular hate of hers) from the garden are so sweet that she actually eats them. I think supermarket produce is generally so old that sugars are lost and the bitterness is emphasized.

    • Liz says:

      I think for him its the texture he struggles with, if I make it into a pesto or something he seems find with it. I have to admit being glad I don’t have the bitter gene though – you’d miss out on so many things that are good for you. Glad she likes the home grown though.

  5. L says:

    6 limes is a great first harvest! I wish I had your parsley success – mine failed to germinate so I have none at the moment 🙁

    • Liz says:

      I find parsley can be really slow to germinate, I’ve often found previously abandoned trays suddenly coming to life. I think now would be a good time to sow some more.

  6. bumblelush says:

    Very nice harvests! I love guacamole and would love to have a lime from my garden to squeeze into it. Your kale and cannelini bean soup sounds good too!

  7. maryhysong says:

    What a great looking harvest; can’t wait for fall and all the lovely lettuces! I’ve found both the green and red salad bowl to be great for early summer also; like you said, sweet and slow to bolt.

  8. Daphne says:

    I know what you mean about the onions. Like herbs, sometimes they don’t make it into the photos or the weights. I always weigh the big harvests of herbs that will be dried, but the little everyday ones are mostly ignored.

    • Liz says:

      I do try a weigh the little harvests sometimes because its them that are expensive here. $2.99 for the smallest bunch of parsley you’ll ever see, and so on.

  9. Sarah says:

    Great looking harvest! Have just been to check out your cannellini bean soup recipe too – it sounds perfect for the weather we’re having at the moment. Cannellini beans are a family favourite, we usually have them cooked with oil and garlic, the soup will make a nice change.

  10. Norma Chang says:

    That’s a pretty lemon. It is too hot for soup now but I will remember your kale and cannelini bean soup when the weather cools a bit.

  11. Rick says:

    Looking very tasty. I could use some of your fresh lettuce for a salad to eat with our tomatoes that are finally starting to come on!

  12. Leanne Cole says:

    Looking good. Your vegetables are looking great. Love the photos.

  13. Perusing your cool weather harvest is a lovely break from the record heat we’ve been experiencing…

    • Liz says:

      It seems everywhere is having an extreme of some sort at the moment. A return to normal would be much appreciated.

  14. I’d bet that cauliflower tasted great, huh?

    Your harvest looks really good – the plants look very healthy 🙂

  15. Bee Girl says:

    6 limes is definitely something to be proud of! How wonderful!!!

  16. Andrea says:

    Great harvest for the week Liz, I’d be pretty happy with 6 limes………………….
    At present waiting for the sun to come up so i can go out into the garden and pick some fresh bay leaves for my preserved lemons………….Friend gave me this great little book on Jams and Preserves and guess what a recipe for Tangelo curd and Pickled Indian Limes…………..can email you a copy of recipes if you like.

    • Liz says:

      The pickled Indian Lime sounds great and I’d love a copy. I don’t have any Tangelos to make curd with but funnily enough I was thinking of growing them as I love their flavour.

  17. Diana says:

    I think your cauliflower look cute.
    Enjoy looking at your harvest each week.

  18. Mary says:

    Great harvest! The lemon looks wonderful!

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