Today I found myself in and out of the garden all day. There is so much to be picked and enjoyed this time of year. I thought I’d share some of the gifts of the day.
This morning, after making coffee, I went down to the blueberry bushes and picked a bowl full for us (we ate them too fast to even think about a photo). On the way back, I stopped at the hoop house and picked a little pile of tomatoes. It’s been really nice to have a few varieties this year.
Then I headed back up to sit and finish my coffee. I was a little grumpy this morning. Picking tomatoes helped some.
After I drank my coffee, I snipped some green and purple basil, oregano and thyme.
Later in the afternoon I did some planting, and transplanted some of the things we started a while back in the hoop house. I feel more organized than ever with the fall garden this year. Fingers crossed it comes together well.
Does that big orange winter squash make you think of autumn? It does me. This is the first of the golden delicious and it’s a big one! They are usually kind of petite.
The lettuce is starting to bolt, one by one, so I pulled a few full heads today to start making way for new lettuce plantings. We have been eating big salads daily. Need to eat bigger ones!
While cleaning up the lettuce bed, I was shocked to discover how big the turnips are getting. I had no expectations for these, and planted them as an afterthought, so it feels like a little gold mine in there.
This crazy beast of a tomato is one I picked last week. Today it reached prime ripeness (and tonight we ate most of it!). Here’s a photo taken when it was picked, which gives some reference of size.
All that picking got me thinking about what to make for dinner. A summer veggie torte seemed like the natural choice (what would have been your natural choice?).
I layered sliced potatoes, turnips, turnip greens, summer squash, mushrooms, fresh herbs, red onion, cheese and tomato. All but the onion and mushrooms were grown here at home, which felt super satisfying.
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[footnote] So it would seem as though this blog is turning into a gardening blog… Don’t worry, I’ll be around with other things to share about soon enough. For the moment, the garden feels so central to the season, I just want to soak it up.
I’d love to hear what’s happening in your garden, or what you’re cooking with the fresh foods of the season. And if you haven’t tried a torte yet, I recommend it! So easy and versatile, and crazy delicious.
