When I saw the green head forming, at first I thought it was discolored.  I was expecting white cauliflower.  But, I pulled out the seed packet and sure enough it contained a mix of three types of heirloom cauliflower seeds--green, purple and white.  The green head was more than twice the size of the purple one, but both were very yummy.

Meanwhile, the Brussels sprouts are finally coming along.  Tiny purple blossoms are forming along the axils of the leaves. 

In the past 10 months, we've harvested 205 pounds of vegetables.  Last month alone, we harvested over 24 pounds--our fourth largest harvest so far.

Even though it's mid-December, we still have cherry tomatoes--lots of them!  The leaves of the plant are starting to turn brown, but the tomatoes keep coming and they are still so flavorful! 

All the other summer veggies are gone.  In the past month, I pulled out the last of the eggplant, peppers, squash, Roma tomatoes, bok choy and basil.  In their place, I planted peas, cilantro, radish, parsnip, scallions, spinach and lettuce.  I started all the new vegetables from seed, so the garden has a few spots that look empty at the moment.  I planted the peas against the trellis, so hopefully, they will soon fill up the space where the Roma tomatoes used to be.

I picked the first head of broccoli last week by cutting off the crown at its base.  It was so delicious!  Soon, side shoots will form (little broccoli heads) and we'll have a second harvest.  It's always a bit tricky knowing when to pick the broccoli.   I like to allow the head to become as large as possible.  But, if you wait too long, the head will turn into a bunch of yellow flowers.  I think our timing was just about right for this broccoli crown.

Soon, the purple cauliflower will be ready. 

We're also growing white cauliflower, but it's maturing more slowly.  I've never tasted purple cauliflower.  I wonder if it will taste any different than the white kind?   

Here are a few recipes I made within the past month.  For Thanksgiving, I served Creamed Swiss Chard (www.ebfarm.com) and Spinach, Arugula, Cranberry and Walnut Salad (www.lifeambrosia.com).  Last week, I used some Roma tomatoes to make Chicken Sausage Lasagna (www.tastebook.com).  All three dishes were very good and came from websites I just recently discovered.   I love it when I stumble upon a new website with great recipes to try.  

I'll put up another post in January.  Until then, Happy Gardening and Happy Holidays!

We've now harvested over 181 pounds of vegetables.  The top five producers in our garden have been tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, eggplant and cucumbers.

The eggplant, which is on the right side of the garden, is huge- like a small tree.  Even though it's mid-November, there are still more eggplant on the way.  In fact, we've harvested nearly 14 pounds of it over the last 3 months.  I must confess--we're getting tired of eggplant.  I picked some the other day, sliced it, broiled it, and froze it.  I'm sure it will seem like a special treat when I defrost it in a few months to make some eggplant parmesan.  Soon, I'll pull the plant to make room for some lettuce.   

Over on the left side of the garden, the broccoli and cauliflower are also becoming very  large.  

Right in the center of the brocoli plant, the first head of broccoli is starting to form.  It should be ready to harvest in a few weeks.  Whether it's raw or cooked, nothing beats home-grown broccoli!

Due to the cool nights, the crookneck squash is just about done.  Next year I'll plant it earlier.  Even though we didn't get as many squash as I would have liked, I did find a wonderful recipe for it: Sauteed Summer Squash With Rosemary and Garlic (www.cdkitchen.com).  I'll definitely want to make that one again next year.  I used bell peppers and Roma tomatoes to make a delicious Jambalaya dish (www.allrecipes.com).  I also used some cherry tomatoes and basil for a tasty pasta dish called Jane's Pasta with Pesto and Cherry Tomatoes (www.culinate.com).

When I post new pictures next month, the garden will look completely different.  All the summer veggies will be gone and the garden will be full of fall and winter items.  I'm ready for the transformation and am looking forward to trying some new recipes.

 

  

I went to the same park where I had taken the squirrel and released the rat. 

By this point, I was starting to panic.  How long would this go on?  I set the trap up again with more peanut butter and sunflower seeds.  Fortunately, it's now been about 5 days, and we haven't caught any more animals.  Nor have there been any more bite marks on our garden vegetables.  Mission accomplished--I hope!  

We did have one other garden visitor, but it didn't cause any visible damage.  I don't know it's technical name, so I'll call it a leaf bug.

I found it sitting on a cherry tomato branch.  By the time I put my camera away after taking its picture, the leaf bug was gone.

Despite all the unwanted guests, the garden is still producing lots of vegetables.  Check out these beautiful red bell peppers.

We used them to make delicious chicken fajitas.

This past week we also harvested lots of tomatoes, eggplant and basil.  I made Roasted Tomato Basil Soup and Eggplant Gratin.  Both of these awesome recipes are from Ina Garten and are posted on www.foodnetwork.com.  I also harvested Swiss chard to make Lean Lasagna (www.epicurious.com).  The recipe called for tomato sauce which I made from our homegrown Roma tomatoes.  Yum!

It's now in transition from a summer garden to a fall garden.  The raised beds are full with a mixture of vegetables from both seasons and the trellis is packed with tomatoes. 

Also, the peppers are doing great.  We'll have to make more salsa and other spicy things.

Meanwhile, the cherry tomatoes are going wild.  There are hundreds of them.  And, the good news is the worms and grasshoppers seem to be gone.  The tomatoes are even popping through the back of the trellis.

On a more pleasant note, I got to pick the first couple of crookneck squashes.  Like the zucchini, these are best when they're small.  I generally pick them when they're about 4-5 inches long.  That way, they're nice and tender and have very few seeds.

With the zucchini out of the way, there was room for some fall veggies.  So, I transplanted some of the plants that I'd started in Styrofoam cups last month.  Here are broccoli, cauliflower and bok choy.   

This past week, I searched for ways to use our Serrano peppers.  I made Crispy Jalapeno Honey Chicken with Tomato-Corn Confetti (www.allrecipes.com).  I substituted Serrano peppers for the jalapeno peppers.  It had a pretty good kick to it and we all enjoyed it--especially my husband.  I also made Zucchini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce (both from www.nytimes.com).  For this dish, the zucchini is sliced into long thin strips, so it serves as the pasta.  It was a yummy low-carb meal.  I couldn't decide what to do with our last zucchini of 2009.  So, I shredded it and froze it.  That way, when I start to miss zucchini, which might take a few months,  I can bake one last dish.     

We've now harvested 134 pounds of veggies!  I try to serve everything we grow in the garden, instead of giving it away.  No wonder it seems like we've been eating at home a lot. 

Although vegetable gardening is so rewarding, it can also be a bit challenging at times.  I'm still finding small tomato hornworms on the cherry tomato plant.  There were about three this week.  To avoid touching them, I continue to snip them with scissors.  Today, I was at a friend's house and I suggested this technique to her.  There was a giant hornworm on her tomato plant.  Although she was kind of squeamish, she got out the scissors--since her husband wasn't home to do it.  She carefully cut the worm...and green slime sprayed out in a six foot arc!  We both jumped, but not quickly enough.  My friend got sprayed in the hair!  So, the moral of the story is: if the hormworm is really large, it's probably best to just snip off the branch the worm is on and put the whole thing in the trash.

Let's forget about green slime and move on to delicious food.  I made the most fabulous Zucchini Brownies (www.allrecipes.com).  They were chocolate with chocolate frosting.  I peeled the zucchini so there was no evidence that the brownies were actually at least a little nutritious.  If you tasted them, you'd never guess there were two zucchinis in the batter.   I also baked a Swiss Chard Pie (www.recipezaar.com).  It sounds strange, but tastes great.  With all the basil in the garden, I made a Pesto Vinaigrette (www.epicurious.com) and served it over a salad with Basil and Garlic-Slathered Chicken Breasts (www.ckkitchen.com).  It was the best salad I'd made in quite a while.  Now, it's time to search for a recipe that uses crookneck squash, since the first few will be ready next week.