Home Grown Dinner

[John53]

I managed to get enough vegetables from the garden today to make a stir fry tonight. Sugar snap peas, beans (and 1 butter bean), kohlrabi leaves, carrots, chilli and small Lebanese zucchini. Have to pick the zucchini small because I've had no male flowers yet and they would rot off. I'm going to try the flowers as per the recommendation of @ChristineM

 

[Dan From Smithville]

What sort of peppers are those?

You grow some large carrots. I never had a lot of success with carrots. I could keep them alive through the season, but the results were pretty skimpy-sized carrots.

 

[John53]

What sort of peppers are those?

You grow some large carrots. I never had a lot of success with carrots. I could keep them alive through the season, but the results were pretty skimpy-sized carrots.

I can't remember, the bush is actually on its 3rd season. They're kind of mild for being smaller ones, usually the small ones are the hottest.

I've found thinning out the carrots is the trick, you have to be brutal and sacrifice some babies. They don't like being close together.

 

[F1fan]

I need to harvest my beets and tomatoes on thursday as we have a brutal freeze coming.

 

[Windwalker]

I managed to get enough vegetables from the garden today to make a stir fry tonight. Sugar snap peas, beans (and 1 butter bean), kohlrabi leaves, carrots, chilli and small Lebanese zucchini. Have to pick the zucchini small because I've had no male flowers yet and they would rot off. I'm going to try the flowers as per the recommendation of @ChristineM

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Nice. You must live in a lot warmer climate than me. I just harvested the end of my collard greens and kale before the temp drops into the 20's F this weekend. Can't grow when the temp is below freezing around here. Not even "iceberg" lettuce.

 

[John53]

Nice. You must live in a lot warmer climate than me. I just harvested the end of my collard greens and kale before the temp drops into the 20's F this weekend. Can't grow when the temp is below freezing around here. Not even "iceberg" lettuce.

Getting towards the end of spring here. We rarely get frosts even in winter. I think about 7 years ago was the last one.

 

[Windwalker]

Getting towards the end of spring here. We rarely get frosts even in winter. I think about 7 years ago was the last one.

Ah, you're on the other side of the planet. Yes, I'm in Minnesota, and just finished getting everything outside ready for the cold snowy winter ahead. I think it'll be in the 50's one more day this week, then down into the teens we go. By January, we start hitting 20 below zero or lower around here. Yay!

 

[exchemist]

I managed to get enough vegetables from the garden today to make a stir fry tonight. Sugar snap peas, beans (and 1 butter bean), kohlrabi leaves, carrots, chilli and small Lebanese zucchini. Have to pick the zucchini small because I've had no male flowers yet and they would rot off. I'm going to try the flowers as per the recommendation of @ChristineM

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They look good. I wish I had a patch with enough sun to grow some vegetables.

By the way, I've never understood what kohlrabi is and what one does with it. Sounds like a sort of Jewish cabbage......

 

[John53]

They look good. I wish I had a patch with enough sun to grow some vegetables.

By the way, I've never understood what kohlrabi is and what one does with it. Sounds like a sort of Jewish cabbage......

I think the name means turnip rooted cabbage. They have an edible bulb which grows above ground and the leaves are edible. Same family as cabbage.

 

[exchemist]

I think the name means turnip rooted cabbage. They have an edible bulb which grows above ground and the leaves are edible. Same family as cabbage.

How do you cook it? Treat like a turnip?

 

[John53]

How do you cook it? Treat like a turnip?

Yep but I usually eat it raw, I do that with turnips too.

 

[ChristineM]

I managed to get enough vegetables from the garden today to make a stir fry tonight. Sugar snap peas, beans (and 1 butter bean), kohlrabi leaves, carrots, chilli and small Lebanese zucchini. Have to pick the zucchini small because I've had no male flowers yet and they would rot off. I'm going to try the flowers as per the recommendation of @ChristineM

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You are making me jealous, i love home grown, it seems to taste better than supermarket tat. But alas, with just a small courtyard and veranda to play with all we manage is a strawberry tree , a couple of grape vines and a barren fig tree in pots.

The strawberries have been great this year, giving enough for the family once a week from early summer until last weekend (climate change benefit of long season). Those tiny green fruites that are left won't make it now.

 

[exchemist]

Yep but I usually eat it raw, I do that with turnips too.

Hmm. I might try it in a lamb navarin in place of turnips, then. Presume one treats the leaves like spinach?

 

[pearl]

According to my daughter there is nothing better than making a salad from your own garden. All her vegetables are from her garden. They harvest and can enough to last through the winter. Makes a lot of soup, carrot, squash, etc.

 

[John53]

You are making me jealous, i love home grown, it seems to taste better than supermarket tat. But alas, with just a small courtyard and veranda to play with all we manage is a strawberry tree , a couple of grape vines and a barren fig tree in pots.

The strawberries have been great this year, giving enough for the family once a week from early summer until last weekend (climate change benefit of long season). Those tiny green fruites that are left won't make it now.

I think the reason they taste better is because of freshness, once you pick something like sweet corn or peas the sugars start turning into starch. Most of the stuff in supermarkets is at least a week old. Can also grow varieties for flavour not for shelf life.

Had to google strawberry tree, I'd never heard of it.

 

[John53]

Hmm. I might try it in a lamb navarin in place of turnips, then. Presume one treats the leaves like spinach?

I've only used the leaves in stir fries and salads but I'm assuming anything you can do with a cabbage leaf you could do with kohlrabi.

Had to google lamb navarin. I'll definitely be giving it a try if the price of lamb ever goes back down.

 

[exchemist]

I've only used the leaves in stir fries and salads but I'm assuming anything you can do with a cabbage leaf you could do with kohlrabi.

Had to google lamb navarin. I'll definitely be giving it a try if the price of lamb ever goes back down.

Neck fillet is ideal for it. I think it's called navarin from navet, the French for turnip. In my Françoise Bernard it's called "Navarin Printanier", i.e. a springtime dish. Carrots, turnips, onion, new potatoes and peas. A little tomato paste and some thyme also. The only ingredient I am able to contribute from the garden is the thyme, which I grow in a pot on the patio along with sage and chives. I also have a rosemary bush and a huge bay tree, so I do OK for herbs - apart from parsley which I have trouble growing.

 

[ChristineM]

I think the reason they taste better is because of freshness, once you pick something like sweet corn or peas the sugars start turning into starch. Most of the stuff in supermarkets is at least a week old. Can also grow varieties for flavour not for shelf life.

Had to google strawberry tree, I'd never heard of it.

Often the fruit and veg market venders are "bio growers" they grow the produce they sell, organically. The food is often picked in the morning before market.

Ahh not that sort of strawberry tree. Ours is a diy jom. 2 metres of 180mm plastic pipe with one end blocked and 60mm holes drilled every 250 mm in every direction. Filled with compost (and a small pipe sunk into it for watering). The holes have strawberries growing in them. Like so...