High Desert Garden

Harvest Monday - January 30, 2012

2012-01-30T13:07:00.004-07:00

Beets, daikon, radish, turnips, and tatsoi greens.

I pulled all the root crops today, they are putting out new leaves,
the bi-annual roots won't grow anymore due to longer daylight,

but I'll start another batch of seeds for spring.

Remaining overwintered greens: chard, spinach, and kale.

Piracicaba Broccoli and Romano Broccoli.

There's not much going on in the gardening department, I started some seeds for green onions, broccoli raab, bok choy, lettuce, and chrysanthemum greens. I'll be sowing peas, beets, kohlrabi, turnips, tatsoi, more lettuces, cilantro, and some other cold tolerant crops in the coming days.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday

to see more garden harvests from around the globe.

Egg Tart 蛋塔

2012-01-26T11:10:00.001-07:00

Egg Custard Tart (from April 2006 album)

This is a very popular item at dim sum restaurants or Chinese bakeries, you can easily make it at home, think of it as baking a mini custard pie. The custard part is simple and straight forward, it's the flaky pastry that makes the difference in a good or bad egg tart. When I'm not lazy I make puff pastry crust for the tarts, but you can get away with a good store bough pre-made pie crust as seen from the photo.

Click here to see a video on how to make egg tarts Hong Kong style.

Ingredients for approximate twenty 3 1/2" egg tarts:

18-20 partially baked tart shells*

4 large eggs—slightly beaten

2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven 375F/190C

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, salt, and milk in a glass bowl, microwave for 2-3 minutes to dissolve the sugar and salt.

2. Add vanilla and beaten eggs to milk, stir and strain the mixture couple times to remove lumps and foam.

3. Pour egg mixture into partially baked tart shells and bake for 15-20 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean, if the tart browns before the custard is set loosely cover the tarts with foil.

4. Do not overbaked or the custard will be rubbery.

*Two 10" homemade flaky puff pastry or pie dough, roll the crust to about 1/8" thick, cut with a 4” cookie cutter to fit crust into tart mold. I managed to get 10 shells out of 1 pie crust, bake the shells at 375°F/190C for about 10 minutes prior to filling.

Note: I'm baking at high altitude, my oven temperature might be too high for lowlanders, you might want to experiment with lower temp such as 350F/176C if your oven tends to run on the hot side.

This post is linked to Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard, drop by The Gardener of Eden to see more preserving and cooking ideas.

Happy Lunar New Year 龍年快樂花開富貴

2012-01-23T09:25:00.003-07:00

Harvest Monday - January 9, 2012

2012-01-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

Happy new year, sorry I've been MIA the past several weeks, I need someone to hit me on the head to snap out of winter doldrums. I'm posting couple pictures from last year end and the new year harvests.

2011 year end harvest -- green meat daikon, carrots, and napa cabbage.

2012 new year harvest -- napa cabbage and piracicaba broccoli shoots.

Garlic for 2012 -- Shangdong and Xian were in good condition, I finally got them planted, whew~

the Spanish Rojas didn't keep as well as the other two, I will not be growing it again.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions

drop by to see more harvests from other gardeners around the globe.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-23T20:59:00.002-07:00

Napa Kraut 酸白菜

2011-12-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

Wash and cut napa into halves or quarters and air dry for couple hours to rid of all water.

Weight the vegetables and calculate 2% of the total weight for salt,
(1 tbsp of salt = 1/2 oz; approx. 5 lb vegetable to 3 tbsp salt)

There are 7.5 lb of cabbage here, I use 4 - 4.5 tbsp of Kosher salt,

it's alright to use a little more or less salt, don't stress over the math.

Gently rub salt into the vegetables until the leaves are wilted, pack them tightly into a clean jar, put a weight on top to keep the vegetable submerge in its liquid and seal the jar, if there's not enough liquid to cover the vegetables, dissolve 1 tbsp of salt in 1 cup of water and pour into the container until the vegetables are covered.
I'm using a glass pickle jar here to show you the water seal, there's a channel for water around the mouth of the jar and a bowl is inverted to keep air out. You can use any large size glass bottle for the pickle, but you have to keep an eye out for mold and be diligent about releasing gas forming inside the bottle as the vegetables ferment.

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Here are some old photos from my last post 4 years ago.

The napas have been cleaned and air dried ready to go into the 2 gallon crock,
2 pieces of stones are used to weight down the vegetables.

Put a layer of cabbage at the bottom of the crock, sprinkle some salt on top and press down, repeat

until all the cabbages are salted and pressed into the crock, it may take a while to do this.

After couple hours of salting the vegetable shrunk and exuded more liquid, its volume reduced by approximately 1/3 and I was able to fit both pieces of stones into the crock, the liquid covering the stones were from the vegetables, I didn't have to add any salt water to cover the them.

Approximately 10 days to 2 weeks of fermentation the kraut is ready to eat. Napa kraut is much milder than regular sauerkraut, and you can use it the same way. I use it for soups, stews, hot pots, dumplings, stir frys, etc etc.....

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For Lacto-Fermented Mustard Greens

(Sorry Thomas, this post is VERY late)

Use 3 - 3 1/2 tbsp of Kosher salt to 5 lb of thick stem mustard, air dry the greens until slightly wilted, gently rub salt into the mustard, press and put a weight on top to release moisture from the vegetable, then pack tightly into a clean container, there should be enough liquid to cover the vegetable, otherwise add salt water (1 tbsp salt + 1 cup water) to cover it.

This post is linked to The Gardener of Eden host of Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard, drop by Robin's place to see more preserving ideas and cooking recipes.

Creamy Napa Cabbage 奶油白菜

2011-12-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Baked Napa Cabbage

Cut Napa into halves or quarters, cook in boiling broth until tender.

Put the cooked cabbage in a serving plate or casserole and pour white sauce over the vegetable.

White Sauce or Bechamel Sauce

(makes 2 cups)

4 tbsp butter (or oil)

2 tbsp flour

2 cups warm milk (or 1/2 milk + 1/2 broth)

1 tsp minced garlic

salt and white pepper to taste

In a small sauce pan melt butter, add garlic, salt, and pepper,

stir in flour, add warm milk and cook until the sauce thickens.

Pour sauce over cooked napa, garnish with shaved ham, serve hot.

Cream Napa cabbage is a popular dish serve in Zhejian (浙江) region of China.

I made 2 substitutions for this dish: 1) I use butter instead of oil for the white sauce.

2) I use prosciutto to garnish instead of the traditional Chinese ham (similar to Virginia ham).

Note: The sauce should be very smooth, I didn't do a good job of tending to the sauce

while working on other things, but you get the idea.

This one was baked at 400F.

Harvest Monday - December 12, 2011

2011-12-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Three different varieties of Napa cabbage.

The once tightly wrapped cabbage heads are now unwrapping themselves
due to stress in subzero temps, I have to pick them before they bolt.
These cabbages will be pickled and make into Napa kraut.

Green onions survived.

These carrots came through, they were somewhat under the patio cover,
another pot of carrots is still covered with snow and the soil is frozen solid.

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Veggies Growing Under Tunnels

Beets

Green meat daikon.

Spinach, chard, kale, and some chrysanthemu greens.

Mini cabbage won't head up when temp dips below mid teens.

Can't believe Piracicaba broccoli is putting out shoots in this weather.

Broccoli and cauliflower

This Napa wants to bolt, its head was tightly wrapped before the subzero temps,
the leaves are unwrapping due to cold stress. Learn something new this time,
certain variety of Napa cabbage does not like extreme cold or hot weather.

This is a different strain of Napa cabbage, it looks a bit better than the previous variety,
I'm leaving it alone for now, curious to see how it fares in coming weeks.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday
to see what other gardeners are harvesting this time of year.

Brussels Sprouts Salad

2011-12-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

Brusells sprouts (blanch 1 minute and shred), toasted pine nuts, and fried bean vermicelli.

Asian vinaigrette: salad oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, and honey.

Japchae - Korean Style Vegetable Beef Vermicelli

2011-12-08T14:14:00.001-07:00

Japchae

Ingredients:

Sweet potato starch noodles

Flank steak - sliced, marinade in salt, pepper, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil.

Dried shitake mushrooms - rehydrated and sliced

Onion - sliced

Vegetables from the garden: carrots, spinach, napa cabbage

Seasoning: sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, pepper

Method:

1. Soak and soften noodles in cold water 5-10 minutes, at the meantime bring a pot of water to boil.

2. Drop noodles into boiling water and cook until the noodles are translucent color, remove from heat and drain, rinse the noodles in cold water to stop the cooking.

3. Pour some toasted sesame oil over the cooked noodles and mix thoroughly to prevent them from sticking together.

4. Heat some oil in a frying pan on high, saute marinaded beef quickly, remove meat from pan when there's no longer red color, set aside.

5. Saute the mushrooms with a bit of soy sauce and broth until cook through.

6. Stir fry and season each vegetable separately and set aside.

Putting the dish together:

1. Reheat the noodles in a non-stick frying pan - season with some salt and few drops of soy sauce for color.

2. Add cooked beef and vegetables, toss and mix thoroughly, garnished with toasted sesame seeds.

Radish Kimchi

2011-12-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

White Radish Kimchi

Any variety of these radishes can be used for kimchi, but the white daikon is traditionally use,

and it is often seen in restaurants and other food service establishments.

I usually make a small amount of kimchi say 3-4 cups at a time

because we like fresh tasting pickles. Here I have approximately 3 cups of diced daikon

mix with some salt to cure for about 30 minutes.

When salting is done rinse daikon with water to remove excess salt and drain.

In a mixing bowl combine:

the drained radish

2 tbsp coarse Korean chile powder

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1 stalk green onion

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp minced salted baby shrimp* (some use fish sauce, fresh squid or oyster)

4-6 tbsp rice porridge (optional, some people like it)

2-3 tbsp water (if the vegetable is too dry)

Note: I don't use additional salt for this recipe because the radish and baby shrimp have

enough salt in them to season the kimchi, taste the vegetable first before you add more salt.

* (I also rinse the salted shrimp to get rid of excess salt)

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly and pack into a clean jar,

leave it at room temperature for at least 2 hours or overnight to develop flavor.

This is a very mild kimchi despite large amount of Korean chile powder, but if you use homemade or other kind of chile powder you'll have to adjust the amount given in the recipe to suit your taste.

(I have not tried to use any other chile powder to make kimchi other than the Korean variety.)

Drop by The Gardener of Eden host of Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard

for more preserving and cooking recipes.

Harvest Monday - December 5, 2011

2011-12-05T11:13:00.001-07:00

Spinach, Piracicaba broccoli, lettuce, pea sprouts, carrots, green onions.

This is the last harvest of pea sprouts, our first significant snow of the year has arrived,

all veggies are undercover except carrots and green onions,
I'm testing to see if they can holdup in the winter without protection.

Winterbor Kale and Mini Napa Cabbage

Japanese turnips, I left them in the ground too long, lesson learned.
I'll salt cure these turnips to be used as flavoring agent for soups and stews.

Kale and chard, I harvested most of leaves before the snow.

Hope the carrots and green onions in those containers survive,
all other greens are on hold pattern under the tunnels.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday

for more garden harvest from around the globe.

Fall Garden Salad

2011-11-29T19:18:00.001-07:00

Broccoli, pea sprouts, carrots, red onion, persimmon, apple, farro, pine nuts, and bacon.

Vinaigrette dressing: Moscatel vinegar, white miso, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.

Harvest Monday - November 28, 2011

2011-11-28T11:50:00.001-07:00

Red and white winter radishes, some of the white daikons will go into a savoury radish cake later.

Savoury Daikon Cake (aka turnip cake, radish cake, lok bok goh 蘿蔔糕).
This is one of the traditional Chinese New Year cakes I make every year for the holiday.

Serve warm: the cake is sliced into 1/2" thick and pan fry until slightly brown on both sides,

it is a popular dish at dim sum restaurants.

Visit Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday

for more harvest from other gardeners around the globe.

Harvest Monday - November 21, 2011

2011-11-21T11:48:00.001-07:00

Mini Napa Cabbage, Carrots, Chrysanthemum Greens.

Sugar snap pea is still hanging in there.

Lots of pea flowers and no pods, I decided to harvest the pea shoots for greens instead.

Fall and winter crops, a little bit of each: various cabbages, mustard, chrysanthemum,

spinach, kale, broccoli, turnips, daikons, beets, chards, carrots, lettuces, and radishes.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions, drop by to see what other gardeners are harvesting around the globe.

Butternut Chiffon Cake (Gluten Free)

2011-11-17T12:34:00.001-07:00

My oven temperature was too hot, the cake center collapsed a bit,

fortunately the cake turned out moist and fluffy (even after 4 days).

Ingredients:

1 10”tube pan

8 eggs separated

120 ml oil

160 ml milk

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp bakingpowder

220 g sugar divided

110 g riceflour* sifted

70 g butternut squash flour sifted

½ tsp creamof tartar

Batter

1.Combine: egg yolks, milk, oil, ½ sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl--- stir& mix thoroughly,

2. Mix together: rice flour, butternut flour, baking powder, and salt --- add dryingredients to yolk mixture.

3. Set mixer speed at low then increase to mediumhigh --- whip until the batter is creamy smooth, set aside.

Meringue

1. Combine: egg white, remaining sugar, and cream oftartar --- stir to mix at low, then gradually increase speed to high, whip eggwhite until glossy and stiff, do not overbeat.

2. Fold meringue into the batter.

3. Pour batter into ungreased tube pan.

4. Bake at 325F for 40-45 minutes

Removethe cake

Invert the tube pan to stand on its legs to cool off, orinsert a long neck bottle into the tube and let the pan hang upside down.

The cake is best when serve the next day.

About measurements in this cake

I was converting a regular chiffon cake recipe into a gluten-free cake, it is easier and more precise to measure in metric weight than in cups and spoons because gluten-free flours have different densities than wheat flour.

* you can substitute the same amount of all purpose flour for rice flour, but the cake won't be gluten-free.

Visit Robin's Thursday Kitchen Cupboard for more cooking recipes and preserving ideas.

Harvest Monday - November 14, 2011

2011-11-14T11:42:00.001-07:00

Napa Cabbage

Radish and Daikon

The cabbages weighted in at 3.0 lb and 3.50 lb after trimming.

I used one napa and three daikons for last night's hot pot dinner (similar to fondue).

Click here for images of a hot pot dinner.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday

to see more garden harvests from around the globe.

Butternut Squash Flour

2011-11-10T12:53:00.001-07:00

There are seventeen butternut squashes steering at me in the storage room and I'm itching to experiment with something new. Lately some of my friends are using winter squash flour to bake delicious chiffon cakes and breads, they purchased organic squash flour from an oversea specialty farmer, I'm not aware of any source for such product here in the states. Generally I'm not a sweets person, most bakery items don't appeal to me, but those cakes and breads made with squash flour got my attention, I just have to grind my own flour and try to bake with it.

It's pretty easy to make the flour: shred the squash, dehydrate, and then grind.
Butternut squash flour is high in sugar content, it will cake up and becomes lumpy over time, it's best to use the flour within 6 months or keep in freezer.

Dehydrated squash ground into flour for use in baking.

I use a VitaMix blender (dry grain blade) to do the job.
Two small squash yielded 6 oz (~180g) of flour, I'll make more if my cake turns out as expected.

Dehydrated squash.

The dehydrator was set at 145F for overnight drying.

Four trays for two small butternut squashes.

Drop by Robin's Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard to see more preserving ideas and yummy recipes.

Butternut Squash Fried Rice

2011-11-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

Stuffing: Fried rice with butternut squash, red onions, black olives, and toss with minced parsley,

garnish with saute pea shoots.

Harvest Monday - October 31, 2011

2011-10-31T17:34:00.001-06:00

These ginger roots are rather small compare to last year's harvest.

I made the mistake of leaving them in a shady corner and forgot to fertilize them.

Celtuce grows well in our region, I've been able to harvest both spring and fall crops this year.

White daikon, Asian red radish, carrots, and Beauty Heart radish.

I picked the last watermelon few days ago, harvested all of the purple beans, cherry tomatoes and eggplants. There are flowers buds on the sugar snap peas, I'm not sure we get to eat any because night temp is dipping to freezing point and first hard freeze is in the horizon. We just came back from vacation and I'm leaving again for another trip in couple days, the veggie garden is waiting to be cleaned up >__<"

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more garden harvests around the globe.

Brandied Kumquat

2011-10-27T09:27:00.000-06:00

Wash fruits and make a small cross cut at the blossom end, blanch in boiling water for about one minute, drained and pack into a clean jar, then pour hot brandy syrup into the jar.

(Brandy syrup -- 1/2 cup water + 3/4 cup sugar + 2 tbsp brandy + pinch of salt.)

These preserved kumquat is quite versatile, it can be mashed up to make sauce for roasted duck or chicken, use as glaze for BBQ ribs, sliced and dry for snacks, make tea or cold drinks with it, and can be used in baking. Generally I use it for tea and dipping sauce for roast duck.

This week Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard is hosted by Jody of Spring Garden Acre, head over there to see more preserving ideas from other gardeners.

Harvest Monday - October 17, 2011

2011-10-17T12:49:00.000-06:00

Purple beans, long beans, mini napa cabbage thinning, Shanghai bok choy, eggplants, and radishes.

We have had some freezing temperatures in recent weeks, the beans, eggplants, cherry tomatoes, and one last watermelon are still hanging in there, I'm amazed at how resilient they are.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more garden harvests from around the globe.

Pickled Beauty Heart Radish

2011-10-13T14:37:00.000-06:00

Beauty Heart Radish (心裡美蘿蔔), some call it Watermelon Radish.

It's beautiful no matter how you slice it.

To use raw in salad -- grate, shred, or thinly slice, and toss with your favorite salad dressing.

Or you can pickle the radish for snacks or serve with grilled meats.

Sprinkle radish with some salt and set aside for 5-8 minutes, then rinse off salt and drain,

at the mean time make pickling sauce with -- 1 part sugar + 0.75 part rice vinegar + pinch of salt.

You may add other spices to the sauce as you wish, I only use fresh peppers for this pickle.

Pack jar with radish and any herb/spice then pour the pickling sauce into the jar.

I put some fresh yellow peppers at the bottom,

you can see a bit of yellow at the lower right corner.

Blogger friend Robin is hosting Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard on preserving garden harvest, head over there to see more home food preservation ideas.

Harvest Monday - October 10, 2011

2011-10-10T17:58:00.000-06:00

Winter radishes: (right) Beauty Heart, (left) white daikon

Chinese red dates jujube, kumquat, and mini napa cabbage thinnings.

I also harvested purple snap beans, bitter melons, chile peppers,

cherry tomatoes, and more eggplants.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions drop by her place to see more harvest by other gardeners.

Green Bean and Farro Salad

2011-10-04T16:43:00.001-06:00

Dressing: miso dressing + a dab of mayo + few drops of lemon juice.

Cooked green beans and farro, red onions, cherry tomatoes, red peppers, and basil.

All vegetables came from our garden except farro (emmer wheat).

I'm attempting to add some whole grains to our salads instead of the usual leafy greens, out of all the whole grains I tried farro is most versatile and it is my number one favorite, I like it best in soups and salads, and I've been sneaking some farro into our rice cooker recently, so far so good, we like the taste of mixed rice.

Harvest Monday - October 3, 2011

2011-10-03T14:58:00.001-06:00

New fall crops: Shanghai Bok Choy, Napa Cabbage thinnings, and Royal Burgundy Snap Beans.

Summer crops continue to produce: Ichiban eggplants, long beans, peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

I've been craving for some leafy greens all summer, now the weather finally cools down and the first planting of Asian greens and lettuces are taking off, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will not become some critters' salad bar.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday for more harvests by other gardeners around the globe.

Early Fall Garden 2011

2011-09-29T17:51:00.000-06:00

New this year -- mini Napa Cabbage (Wawa Cai 娃娃菜)

Napa cabbage, Shanghai bok choy, and turnip.

Purple snap beans and Napa cabbage.

Beets

Broccoli and Lettuce

Celtuce and Napa

New this year -- Japanese hot daikon "Karaine" and long scarlet radish.

Winter radish (daikon).

White winter radish.

Chinese Beauty Heart winter radish.

Sugar Snap Peas

Above are some photos of fall planting, this is the first time I grow beans and peas in autumn, the growth is slower than spring and summer crops, but I'm happy to get any harvest at all. There are three different varieties of Napa cabbage I'm growing this year, I've tried to grow them in spring but the leaves never wrapped up to form a head, looks like heading cabbage will not be on the menu next spring.

Harvest Monday - September 26, 2011

2011-09-26T15:53:00.001-06:00

Eggplants, cherry tomatoes, watermelon, and butternut squashes (second crop).

First ripe watermelon 29.4 lbs

I didn't have time to take photos of all the harvests, not in the picture are: purple snap beans, long beans, more eggplants, water spinach, lettuce, radish, miscellaneous herbs and more cherry tomatoes.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more harvests from other gardeners.

Mioga Ginger 茗荷

2011-09-23T16:44:00.001-06:00

Mioga or Myoga Ginger Flower Buds

Young tender flower buds grow just below soil level.

Briefly blanch mioga in boiling water, drop the buds into a light pickling sauce:

water, cider vinegar, salt, sugar, and mirin (optional).

Pickled Mioga

Mioga ginger is grown for its crunchy flower buds and shoots use in Japanese cooking, the flower buds can be shredded and used raw as garnish in sushi, soup, and salad, they can be pickled sweet and sour to serve with grilled seafood, sometimes you'll find it in tempura or skewered grilled meat.

Mioga is happiest if grown in ground but it can be very invasive, I'm growing this ginger in container for ornamental purpose and to control the roots. The plant gets about 3 hours of morning sun and the rest of the day in shade, the soil is kept moist but not soggy, it doesn't need a lot of fertilizer, I think it was fertilized once with diluted fish and seaweed emulsion during the growing season. I check for flower buds every couple days during late summer and early fall, if the soil surface cracks a bit chances are there's a bud pushing up from below.

I'm hoping the ginger can survived our winter here, I'll find out next spring, wish me luck.

Mid August Garden 中秋菜園

2011-09-13T14:55:00.000-06:00

Variegated (Pink) Lemon

Kumquat

Ginger

Mioga Japanese Ginger Flower

Hungarian paprika is super productive.

Alma Paprika, one of my new faves.

Celtuce, red leaf lettuce, and yellow beets.

Carrots and Radish

I thought I was growing all male asparagus but some are setting seeds, too late to do anything now.

Piracicaba Broccoli, Beauty Heart Daikon, and some lettuces.

Red beets and more Napa cabbages.

The jungle corner - Ichiban eggplant, long beans, butternut squash.

Sugar Snap Peas

Royal Burgundy Snap Bean is filling up the bed nicely and setting flower pods,

wonder it would give me some beans in the next 4-5 weeks before frost.

Butternut squash, I harvested all the squashes last month but didn't get around to pull the plants,
the vines came back with new shoots and set more fruits, a pleasant surprise for the fall garden.

Blogger is not cooperating today, it took forever to post these photos, I'll have more when I return from vacation.

Hummingbird - Buzz 2011

2011-09-08T01:16:00.000-06:00

Harvest Monday - September 5, 2011

2011-09-05T14:10:00.000-06:00

Peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onions, and radish thinning.

Ground cherries and hami melon (哈密瓜)

I was thinning out the Amish Paste Tomato vines and found this cracked melon,

I decided to harvest four more just in case they decided to crack.

Hami is a good storage melon, I've heard people kept it over two to three months without spoilage.

The long beans and Ichiban eggplants are still going strong, I don't bother to take pictures of them anymore. I pulled the Fairy Tale and Little Finger eggplants and decided not to grow them again next year, they are pretty and cute but the Asian variety is more to our taste.

There are three full baskets of ground cherries waiting to be made into preserve, I don't have time to deal with them right now. Peppers are ripening everyday, Spanish Padron (thanks for the seeds Michelle) is done for the season, Peruvian Rocoto is blooming and setting pods, this is THE PEPPER I'm anxious to harvest, I was attracted to it by the pretty purple flowers, bright red pods, and black seeds, after two years and three packets of seeds later I'm getting close to harvest the red fruits. Please please please turn red before frost, I want to see those black seeds!

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more harvest by other gardeners.

Hummingbird Loves Scarlet Pineapple Sage Flowers

2011-08-30T12:29:00.000-06:00

Pineapple Sage Flowers

Harvest Monday - August 29, 2011

2011-08-29T10:50:00.000-06:00

Sierra Gold Cantaloupes

I harvested 12 cantaloupes this week, there are few more ripening soon.

Tomatoes, Eggplants, Peppers,

Bitter Melons, Water Spinach, Garlic Chive Flowers.

Red Potatoes

I forgot to post this last time.

This big baby looks like a 10 pounder and I have no idea when to harvest, any advice?

Hami Melons

They might be ready for next week's report.

Head over to Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more harvests by other gardeners.

Hummingbirds - Buzz and Zipp 2011

2011-08-23T23:02:00.000-06:00

Right -- Buzz, male, black-chinned bordered by a band of purple iridescence.
Left -- Zipp, female, white breast and throat.

This is Buzz (male), black-chinned with purple band around his throat.

This is Zipp (female), white throat and white breast.

Buzz (R) and Zipp (L)

Buzz waiting for Zipp (at upper right corner) to join him.

Please Help, What Do I Have Here?

2011-08-23T13:54:00.001-06:00

These are photos of Armenian cucumber roots, are the white nodules nitrogen-fixing? I know about nitrogen-fixing in Fabaceae family, are there nitrogen-fixing clade in Cucumis or I'm looking at nematodes? Thanks for your help.

Harvest Monday - August 22, 2011

2011-08-22T13:48:00.002-06:00

Butternut squash, hami melon (seeds from storebought melon), and unripe watermelon,

one of the watermelon vines was severed by careless gardener, this baby is history,

I started with 3 watermelons -- 1 cracked, 1 severed from vine, wonder we get to taste the last one.

Dragon Tongue beans, long beans, peppers, tomatoes, Fairy Tale eggplants, bitter melons.

Herb flowers -- red lemon sage, purple Thai basil, and white sweet basil.

I love the scent of herb flowers in kitchen and dinning room, it is very relaxing to me.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday

for more harvests by other gardeners.

Seedlings for Fall Garden 2011

2011-08-22T11:40:00.001-06:00

Varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, beets, and Asian greens.

Purple Burgundy beans germinated in paper pots and transplanted to raised bed.

Interplanting daikon, radish, and yu choy.

Here are some of the seeds I sowed recently, it is so difficult to switch into seed starting mode while summer vegetable production is in high gear, there are harvests and preserving to deal with everyday, the last thing I want to do is to start another round of seeds, but start I must or else risk not having a fall crop. Have you started planting for fall, what are you growing this coming season?

Harvest Monday - August 15, 2011

2011-08-15T13:08:00.003-06:00

I harvested total of five cantaloupes this week, they range from 3.3 lb to 4.9 lb each.
This is the only picture of the two cantaloupes, the other three were eaten rather quickly.

First cantaloupe.

This is all I have to show you this week, sorry I didn't get around to take pictures of the usual harvest today.

Visit Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more harvest by other gardeners.

First Cantaloupe and Some Fall Seedlings

2011-08-12T13:30:00.001-06:00

First Hales Best Cantaloupe weights in at 3.32 lb

A bit overripe, should check on it 2 days earlier.

I use part of the fruit to make kefir smoothie.

I' m following Michelle's method to start beans in paper pots, this method is much simpler and easier to germinate beans than direct sow, no worries about rotten seeds or critters munch on the sprouts.

Thank you Michelle for sharing the idea.

Transplanted Royal Burgundy bush bean seedlings 2 days later.

I lost 2 weeks time due to rotten seeds (or some critters ate them) from direct sow, this is an experiment to see how far I can push the envelope, hopefully I'll get couple meals from the fall crop.

Here I have 3 rows of winter radish (white daikon) and 1 row of choy sum.

Harvest Monday - August 8, 2011

2011-08-08T07:54:00.000-06:00

Varieties of sweet peppers and hot chili peppers.

Basil, bitter melons, garlic chive flowers (scapes).

Carrots, Bitter Melons, Summer Squashes.

Tomatoes and Spanish Rojas garlic.

Eggplants - Ichiban, Mazhu, and Little Fingers.

(Are you tired of looking at them?)

I have been collecting garlic chive flowers in the past few days, it taste just like garlic scapes, I'll be making pesto with the harvest, or maybe use some for a stir fry dish. This particular variety of garlic chive is bred to produce tender edible flower stalk. I take about 3 cuttings of chive leaves in spring when it is most tender and mild, as summer temperature heats up the chive sends up flower stalk, I pick the chive flowers before they become woody and use it as garlic scapes.

Stop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more garden harvests by other gardeners.

Hummingbird - Zipp 2011

2011-08-06T01:13:00.001-06:00

This is Zipp, my hummer girl from last year, she found the feeders I set out for her, yay!

(Please indulge me to fantasize this is the same girl, thank you.)

Sometimes you can see the colorful jewel like coat when sunlight hits at certain angle.

Fruits and Vegetables Growing in Early August

2011-08-04T23:45:00.003-06:00

Butternut is the only winter squash I have at this time, unfortunately all my winter melon seedlings die and I didn't have any backup plants. There is a Thai winter squash Kang Kob pumpkin growing, but the male and female flowers don't seem to open on the same day, I'm not sure I'll get any squash from it.

Ripening Hami Melon, first time in growing this variety, I can't wait to taste it.

Cluster of 2 Hami melons, there are few more hidden among the foliage.

There are 7 Sierra Gold cantaloupes in this cluster.

First trial in growing Hales Best cantaloupe, this one should be ripened soon.

First watermelon, I bought the start from a local nursery, don't know the variety.

Two more babies like this, I suppose one plant produces approximately 2-3 fruits.

Sunscald peppers.

Zephyr Squash

White Bitter Melon

Green Bitter Melon

Korean hot pepper Seng Seng

Two years and 3 packet of seeds later, I finally got the last 4 seeds of Rocoto hot pepper to germinate.

They are growing in containers, 2 plants grow in full sun, and 2 plants grow in afternoon shade, I'm hoping to harvest some ripe red peppers with black seeds this year.

Recently I sowed a 4x4 bed with romano bush beans, only 1 seed germinated, I dug around and found no traces of other beans, maybe the critters got to them, maybe they rotted. This is the second time that happened, enough is enough. I decided to sow another tray of beans in paper pots following Michelle's method, hopefully I can transplant the seedlings without much trouble and the critters leave them alone.

This is pretty much of what's growing in my garden now, I'll spare you from the eggplants, tomatoes, beans, and more squash photos. Yes, yes, and yes, I have eggplants, and squashes coming out of my ears, I don't mind the beans and tomatoes though. What's growing in your garden now?

Is This A Grasshopper?

2011-07-28T09:51:00.002-06:00

I've never seen one like this before.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is a Katydid in American English

紡織娘 in Chinese

Bush-cricket in British English

Thanks to Anonymous, Web, and Rita.

Harvest Monday - July 25, 2011

2011-07-25T11:06:00.000-06:00

Cucumber, Carrots, Beans, Summer Squashes, Tomatoes, Peppers.

First carrot harvest -- Red Dragon, Parisienne, and Imperator.

Dragon's Tongue Beans, Long Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, Summer Squash, Eggplants.

Eggplants--Ichiban, Mazhu, Little Fingers, Summer squashes--Italian round and Zephyr.

Left: Padron Peppers Right: Pimento Peppers

Left to right: Amish Paste, Cherokee Purple, Mystery Plum Tomato

The last tomato on the right is bland and firm, wonder it's one of those super market variety.

Korean style spicy pepper side dish made with Padron and Pimento peppers.

Korean style spicy eggplant kimchi side dish made with Ichiban eggplants.

Stop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more harvests by other gardeners.

Crab Cake and Cherry Tomato Salad

2011-07-24T11:57:00.002-06:00

Crab Cake

Ingredients

1 lb cooked crab meat

1 pkg Old Bay Crab Cake seasoning

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup matzo meal (plain)

1 large egg

Salt and pepper to taste

Harvest Monday - July 18, 2011

2011-07-18T12:41:00.000-06:00

Basil, Dragon Tongue Beans, Long Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, and Squashes.

The big squash got away for couple days and weights in at 3.27 lbs.
The long beans are from volunteers, no complaint.

I have to pick squashes, peppers, tomatoes, and beans every other day.

Zephyr yellow squash is beginning to produce, it's about time to pull the round green squash,
two plants are good enough for a small family.

More eggplants, squashes, tomatoes, and peppers.
The green leaves in the background are volunteer long beans.

Armenian Cucumber, Zephyr Squash, Ichiban Eggplant, Mazhu Eggplant,
Hungarian Spice peppers, Chocolate cherry maters, Sungold cherry maters,
and a mystery paste tomato.

Growing Now

Rear: Sierra Gold and Hale's Best cantaloupes, Hami melons, Dragon Tongue bush beans.
Front: Variety of peppers + couple pots of eggplants.

Tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Amish Paste, Chocolate Cherry, Sungold Cherry, and mystery tomato.

Others: Kwintus pole beans, carrots, and Spanish Rojas garlic.

Hami Melon -- I saved the seeds from a super sweet storebought Xinjian Hami melon,

If the fruit grows true to its parent I'll have seeds to share with other gardeners.

Armenian cucumber is actually a melon, but we like the taste and texture of it,
it's a permanent resident in our garden.

Skinny Taiwanese eggplant Mazhu is grown in container, I sauteed it for dinner last night
everyone loves the taste and texture of this eggplant, it's creamy and non bitter.

Japanese Ichiban Eggplant is loaded, very productive,
I've picked close to 40 fruits from just 2 plants, and it is still going strong.

Cantaloupe -- this one is Hale's Best, Sierra Gold is beginning to set fruits.

Unknown butternut squash variety from purchased seedling.

Ground cherry, unknown variety from freebie sample seeds.

Dragon Tongue bush wax beans, good producer.
It's much easier to spot the beans when they are not green.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions
head over there to see more harvests from other gardeners.

Wordless

2011-07-15T10:15:00.000-06:00

Ground Cherry Blossom

Where Are the Bees?

2011-07-13T19:27:00.000-06:00

I have not seen many bees now-a-days, our neighbors, HOA, and the city has been spraying chemical pesticides to control weeds and pests. I believe I'm the only homeowner in this sub-division with an organic garden, this is the least I could do to help the beneficial bugs.

Harvest Monday - July 11, 2011

2011-07-11T08:26:00.000-06:00

Squashes, Beans, Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, Eggplants.

Basil, Eggplants, Peppers, Squashes, and Cherry Tomatoes.

(Last week's photo)

Eggplants, eggplants, eggplants in every photo.

(Last week's photo)

My two Ichiban eggplants are rolling out fruits faster than we can eat, I have been harvesting them at least twice a week, sometimes more. I like them small to medium size and try not to let them grow too big. We've been eating eggplants -- grilled, roasted, sauteed, and fried, future plan includes salad, kimchi, dip, and casserole etc. How do you prepare your eggplants?

Stop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday for more harvests by other gardeners.

Mystery Tomato Plant

2011-07-07T17:19:00.001-06:00

No idea what I have here, I thought I was growing Green Zebra, it is not GB. Two years in a row I started seeds from the same packet with a GB picture-label, and I got this red tomato. Last year I thought the seedling labels were mixed up, this year I was extra careful with the seeds and labels. I'm very sure I did not made a mistake this time, I still got a red tomato plant and I don't know which variety it is. This is the second time I bought seeds that were label incorrectly from two different sources.

I'm not disappointed that this tomato is not Green Zebra (although I really want to grow one), it gives me a ripe fruit on July 4th, the first tomato to ripen not counting the cherry matoes. The fruits grow in clusters and the plant is 1/2 the height of all other mato plants, a determinant variety?

Here's my first Cherokee Purple, I've heard CP is a good producer, but it didn't performed well last year, I got only a handful of fruits from it, I'm trying again this year, if our climate is too hot and dry for its comfort I might have to call it quits and look for a different variety for next year.

Can you recommend a / some good tasting heirloom tomato for me to try?

Wordless

2011-06-29T10:53:00.000-06:00

Jasmine Sambac -- Grand Duke of Tuscany (虎頭茉莉花)

Harvest Monday - June 27, 2011

2011-06-27T13:54:00.001-06:00

Ichiban Eggplants, Italian Round Squashes, Hungarian Spice Paprika, Alma Sweet Peppers,

Sungold and Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes, Celtuce, Napa Cabbage.

Crimson Flower Fava Beans

Seeds shared by Michelle, thank you.

Left: Shandong garlic (northeastern China)
Right: Xian garlic (southwestern China)
Center: Spanish Rojas garlic scapes, the bulbs are not quit ready for harvest at this time.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see what other gardeners harvested this week.

Fava Bean and Squash Salad

2011-06-26T14:36:00.000-06:00

In this salad: cooked fava beans, summer squash, and apple.

Fresh herbs: pepper, cilantro, shallots, and garlic.

Seasoning: evoo, fruity wine vinegar, lime juice, salt, and pepper.

Grilled Fava Beans

2011-06-24T17:02:00.000-06:00

Grilled Fava Beans Seasoned with Himalayan Pink Salt.

Harvest Monday - June 20, 2011

2011-06-20T14:01:00.000-06:00

Napa Cabbage and Celtuce (aka Celery Lettuce, Asparagus Lettuce)

Peppers, Fava Beans, Ichiban Eggplants, Summer Squashes, and Beet.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions drop by there to see more garden harvests by other gardeners.

Celtuce 萵筍

2011-06-17T19:38:00.001-06:00

Celtuce grows like lettuce with the same culture requirements.

After a while the stem starts to elongate and the lower leaves are removed.

As daytime temp warms up the stem grows taller.

Thinning for taste test, the tender leaves can be eaten.

I decided to use the most tender top leaves for my salad.

After trimming and peeling they are ready for salad or stir fry.

For salad -- salt the celtuce for about 3-5 minutes and rinse thoroughly with water.

Now the vegetable is ready for salad dressing.

In this salad -- celtuce, squash blossom, sansho pepper leaves (crushed and minced).

Dressing -- Dijon mustard, wasabi, Moscatel wine vinegar, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper.

(Sorry, I did not measured the dressing ingredients.)

Spring Vegetable Salad

2011-06-14T16:59:00.001-06:00

Odds and ends from the frig: Japanese turnip, radish, carrots, snow peas, and yellow squash.

This salad is inspired by and adapted from Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors" cookbook.

This salad is dressed with Asian style vinaigrette:
Sesame oil, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, fresh grind pepper, and a pinch of sugar.

Briefly blanch vegetables in boiling salt water, drain and let cool.

Dressing: olive oil, sea salt, fresh grind pepper, and some good wine vinegar such as chardonay or moscatel (or your favorite vinaigrette).

Harvest Monday - June 13, 2011

2011-06-13T13:23:00.001-06:00

Beets, Chinese mushroom kale (gai lan), eggplants, basil, fava beans, and squashes.

I have to pick the baby squashes because there's no male flower to pollinate them.

Some folks ask how I take my harvest pictures, do I use props special light setup etc.

The answer: A kitty helper, a utility table next to a window, and natural light from the window.

I like to use a flat basket for the produce because it's easier to take pictures when they are together.

Fava beans finally set pods last week.

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Celtuce and carrot seedlings.

Celtuce is a lettuce grown for its stem, the lower leaves are removed as it grows,

the leaves are not salad quality, but some people use them for soups or stir frys,

but the stem is sweet and tender good for salad, stir fry, and pickle.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more garden harvests by other gardeners.

Smokey Sky

2011-06-12T17:34:00.000-06:00

Hollyhock

If this picture is taken on a normal day you can see mountains and blue sky in the background, but the last ten days were not so normal for us here in north central New Mexico, the background of this photo shows how thick the smoke was from the Wallow Fire in Arizona -- smokey white sky and invisible mountains.

Beets with Grilled Shrimp and Bacon Salad

2011-06-07T20:32:00.000-06:00

Ingredients -- lettuce, roasted red and yellow beets, grilled shrimp, and bacon.

Dressing -- raspberry and walnut vinaigrette.

Harvest Monday - June 6, 2011

2011-06-06T08:59:00.001-06:00

Japanese Turnips, Red and Yellow Beets.

Chinese Mushroom Kale (Gai Lan) and Mix Lettuces.

Chinese Mushroom Kale (Gai Lan)

Check out the size of the stems as compare to size D battery and quarter coin.

This particular variety of Chinese kale is bred for its tender stem and flower tip, the leaves are coarse and not meant for eating. I stir fried the stems with scallion oil and minced garlic briefly, finished the dish with a dash of sesame oil and oyster sauce. Wow, it was the most tender and sweet Gai Lan I've ever had in a long time. The dish was so good I had to harvest more for a second serving the next day (sorry didn't take picture), this is a keeper, I'll have to find out where to buy the seeds in the states, the packet I'm growing from now is a gift from a Thai friend.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more harvests from other gardeners.

Pickled Asian Greens - Xue Li Hon 雪裡紅

2011-06-05T21:11:00.000-06:00

Some readers ask what I do with all the Asian greens I harvested and how to preserve them. There are numbers of ways to preserve the greens depending on intended use, sometimes I preserve them by salting or pickling, sometimes lacto-ferment as in kraut or kimchi, sometimes the greens are blanched and sundry etc. etc.

Reader Ikea wants to know how to make xue li hon (雪裡紅). Traditionally xue li hon is made from mustard greens, but there's no restriction that says one cannot use any other greens to make the pickle. We gardeners sometimes have so many mustard and brassica greens in the refrigerator and couldn't possibly consume all of them before they are spoiled, why not put up some of the excess produce for later use, pickling would be an easy way to preserve them, here's what I have in the refrigerator:

Misome and Mibuna

Turnip Greens and Mibuna

In a large bowl sprinkle salt over greens and rub in gently.

The greens look like this after salting, put them into a clean jar and keep refrigerated until use.

Or the whole plant can be pickled and refrigerate for later use.
(Pickled greens can be stored at room temperature, but it's more involved, let's not go there now.)

* * * * *

There are number of ways to use pickled greens, my favorite is to stir fry the pickled vegetable with thinly sliced pork, baked tofu, bamboo shoots, and chili pepper. Here's how to prepare the dish:

First - soak pickled greens in water to allow salt to leach out,

change water couple times and taste for saltiness.

The dish -- baked tofu, bamboo shoot, pickled greens, and chili peppers.

I skipped the meat and substitute baked tofu because I didn't want to mess with it.

(Traditionally the dish is made with -- pickled greens, pork, and bamboo shoots.)

Baked tofu -- very dense (semi hard cheese density),

it can be julienne to toothpick size without falling apart.

Stir fry each vegetable separately and then toss them together, (do not add salt, it's already salty),

finish off with a dash of sesame oil before plating. Add marinaded pork if you like

but make sure the meat is cooked before mixing in with all other vegetables.
This is a salty dish, best serve with noodle soup or rice.

Roasted Spring Vegetables

2011-05-31T11:03:00.000-06:00

Roasted Carrots Snap Peas Green Garlic with Saute Pea Shoots

Blanch snap peas before roasting, I'm surprised that the purple peas retain most of its color.

This dish is adapted from Nate Appleman's cookbook A16 "Roasted Carrots and Snap Peas with Green Garlic and Mint". The recipe is quite simple, toss carrots in olive oil, salt, pepper, and roast until half cook, then add green garlic and blanched snap peas, roast few minutes more until the green garlic has lost the raw bite. The original recipe calls for mixing in chopped fresh mint with the roasted vegetables before serving, I don't have mint on hand and substitute saute pea shoots instead, the dish turns out fine without the minty flavor.

Harvest Monday - May 30, 2011

2011-05-30T08:52:00.002-06:00

Shandong Garlic Scapes, Purple Snap Peas, Green Snap Peas.

Garlic Chives and Mibuna

I've been snacking on strawberries from the garden in the past 3 weeks, I get 2-3 fruits here and there, but they never made it to photo opt for Monday Harvest, I thought I should save one for show and tell this time.

I'm growing four different varieties of garlic this year, Shandong, Xian, Spanish Rojas, and an unknown name from Gilroy CA. Shandong garlic was planted after Christmas last year, it appears to be an early variety, it took exactly 5 months from seeds to scapes, maybe the garlic bulbs will be ready for harvest in another month or so.

Some folks are confused about garlic chives and green garlic, here's the difference:

Garlic chives grow in clumps, narrow flat leaves, it is a perennial,

cut and come again, propagate by root division or seeds.

Green garlic is immature garlic plant, each plant grows individually from a garlic clove, it has large flat leaves and grown as annual, harvest the entire plant or cut 1" above soil level, the leaves will regrow again but smaller and less tender than the first cut.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more garden harvests by other gardeners.

Wordless

2011-05-27T10:34:00.000-06:00

Kopper Kettle Itoh Peony

Harvest Monday - May 23, 2011

2011-05-23T10:14:00.002-06:00

Baby Beets and Misome

Some of the Veggies Growing in the Garden Now

Red and blue potatoes in half barrel, I'm cutting back on potatoes this year.

Tomatoes are in, I have 7 plants altogether, the celtuce on the right need to be thinned out soon.

Fava beans have been flowering the last 7 weeks
no pods in sight, wonder what they are waiting.

Check out Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more harvests from other gardeners.

Roasted Japanese Turnip Kabu and Carrot

2011-05-16T17:41:00.000-06:00

Roasted Japanese Turnips and Carrots.

Kabu, a Japanese turnip also known as Shogoin, Hakurei, and Tokyo Market in the US, a friend who lives in Japan told me this is the first time she heard of these varieties (names), they simply call it "kabu" (turnip) in Japan.

This dish is super easy to make and delicious, you might change your mind about how turnip tastes if you try this dish once, here we go:
Small JP turnips - cut into halves or quarters, some carrots (if using).

Seasonings: olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a dash of maple syrup.

Toss vegetables with seasonings and roast at 400F until tender.

JP turnip is very tender, it cooks fast, roasting time is quite short, probably 10 minutes or less, I was doing something else while cooking and forgot how long it took, sorry folks.

Harvest Monday - May 16, 2011

2011-05-16T11:20:00.002-06:00

Kabu (JP turnip), mibuna, Shanghai bok choy, and dwarf white stem bok choy.

Lettuces, green onions, purple sugar snap peas.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more garden harvests from other gardeners.

Harvest Monday - May 9, 2011

2011-05-09T13:53:00.000-06:00

Edible Chrysanthemum Greens (Shungiku).

Large leaf chrysanthemum, a cool weather crop,

often seen in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean hot pots.

Sugar Magnolia Snap Peas

Day 1 -- the pea pod is green.

Day 2 -- the pod color darkens as it exposes to light.

I have a large harvest this week, but I won't bore you with my usual photos of Swiss chard, piracicaba broccoli, spinach, chives, and green onions. I pulled all the cool weather crops last week, and my daughter helped me planted tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and melons. I still have a lot of seedlings to transplant, they may or may not make it to their final destination as I'm recovering from surgery, some will have to wait, and some will have to be abandoned, c'est la vie.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more garden harvest.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T18:35:00.000-06:00

Harvest Monday - May 2, 2011

2011-05-01T23:06:00.002-06:00

Spinach, garlic chive, lettuce.

Frittata -- garlic chive, bacon, mushroom, shrimp, and eggs.
Include some shredded cheese would be nice if you're not lactose intolerant.

Spinach side dish (or appetizer) with roasted almond butter dressing.

This dish is quite simple and easy to put together -- briefly blanch spinach and mung bean noodles (if using) in boiling water, drain and squeeze dry, season with salt, white pepper, and shallot oil, garnish with crispy fried shallots. Serve warm or cold with roasted almond butter dressing or toasted sesame butter dressing.

Ingredients for almond butter dressing -- roasted almond butter (or toasted sesame butter), shallot oil (or sesame oil), rice vinegar (or balsamic vinegar), light color soy sauce (or salt), and a pinch of sugar. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, taste to adjust seasoning, if the dressing is too thick add 1-2 tbsp of shallot oil (or warm water) to the dressing.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more harvests by other gardeners.

Wordless

2011-04-27T09:30:00.000-06:00

Beard Iris

Harvest Monday - April 25, 2011

2011-04-25T09:51:00.000-06:00

Green garlic will regrow after haircut.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more garden harvests by other gardeners.

Wordless

2011-04-19T09:54:00.000-06:00

Sugar Magnolia Pea Flower

Harvest Monday - April 18, 2011

2011-04-18T08:49:00.000-06:00

Swiss Chard & Green Garlic (left - whole plant, right - cut 1" above soil level from a container).

Spinach & Green Onions

The two bunches of garlic are from the same bag of California garlic I bought from Costco, I'm experimenting to see how many times I can cut green garlic before the bulb stop producing leaves.

The whole garlic will be grilled to serve with BBQ, the cut garlic might be good for potato or fava bean soup, or I'll make something else with it later.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more garden harvests by other gardeners.

What's New and Growing in Mid April?

2011-04-13T14:18:00.001-06:00

Crimson Flower Fava Beans one month after transplant (thank you Michelle.)

The Lady is working hard to mop up aphids on the favas.

Sugar Magnolia Purple Flower Peas (thank you Michelle).

Glad I didn't planted these in ground and lose them to the critters.

Spanish Rojas Garlic, of all the garlic this one is a slow starter,

it didn't pricked through the soil until early March, I thought I lost them to voles.

Salad Bowl

24 tomato seedlings -- Cherokee Purple, Sungold, Green Zebra, Amish Paste, Chocolate Cherry.

I'll keep 2 slicers, 2 pastes, and 2 cherries tomatoes, the rest will be given to friends.

Mainly warm weather crops -- melons, squashes, peppers, eggplants, herbs, and flowers.

Some experimental crops -- broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, and ground cherries.

Where Are the Hummers?

2011-04-12T15:13:00.000-06:00

Buzz and Zipp were here in late March of last year,

the feeder has been up since mid March, and I even bought

red flowers to attract their attention, where are my garden buddies?

I hope nothing bad happen to them and wish them well.

Harvest Monday - April 11, 2011

2011-04-11T10:14:00.000-06:00

Green Garlic

Piracicaba Broccoli and Green Garlic

Shangtong Garlic

Stir fry green garlic with Chinese sausage.

Garlic Chive and Shrimp Pancake Korean Style

(Recipe here.)

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions hosts of Harvest Monday to see more harvests by other gardeners.

Wordless

2011-04-07T10:53:00.000-06:00

Which Critter Did This?

2011-04-06T13:41:00.000-06:00

Every morning I see 2-3 holes in the pea patch and some seedlings disappear, I don't know which critter is eating my peas, there are only 3 seedlings left. I'm afraid this bad guy is going to attack the adjacent fava beans, could it be lizard? I've seen lizards come in and out of vegetable beds before, but they never attacked my plants, what's going on?

Harvest Monday - April 4, 2011

2011-04-04T09:50:00.000-06:00

Rainbow Chard

Goji Vine Tips (枸杞芽), Garlic Chives (韭菜), Carrots.

I picked all the overwintered chard leaves and left the new spring leaves to grow, they weight in at just under 6 lbs. Early spring garlic chives and goji vine tips are most tender, mild, and delicious as they emerge from dormancy. There are a number of ways to use these "wild greens", we like goji leaves in soup, garlic chives for dumplings and savory pancakes.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more harvests by other gardeners.

Harvest Monday - March 28, 2011

2011-03-28T11:49:00.002-06:00

Brussels Sprouts, Spinach, Piracicaba Broccoli, Green Onions

I'm still harvesting overwintered greens, the Brussels Sprouts and green onions are showing signs of bolting and I pull all of them. I still have spinach, broccoli, and chard to harvest maybe for couple more times and the overwintered veggies will be finished.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more harvests by other gardeners.

Learning to Grow Caper

2011-03-24T23:44:00.003-06:00

My daughter brought me 2 bare root caper plants (unknown variety) from CA earlier this month, they started to sprout about 2 1/2 weeks ago, the small seedling in the white cup is a tiny broken stem. I was curious to see if the soft stem can be rooted, it was dipped in rooting hormone, potted up in seed starting soil, kept warm and moist in the past 10 days. Today I pull on the leaves and felt a slight resistance, it appears the stem has rooted. Yay~~~ (more caper propagation in the future?)

The challenge is to keep these plants alive and healthy, the leaves look a bit anemic now, they probably can use some fish emulsion, I'll have to check out Michelle's Caper Obsession for more information on how to grow and care for these plants. This is a school year for caper growing, I don't expect to "harvest" any berries from these plants at all, my main goal at this point is to keep them alive! Wish me luck.

Early Spring Flowers in Our Garden

2011-03-21T21:01:00.000-06:00

Flowering Quince

Daffodils

Flowering quince and daffodil are first to bloom in our garden,

they usually show up about a week to ten days before Spring Equinox.

Daily Seedling Shuffle

2011-03-16T21:14:00.001-06:00

Onions, brassicas, lettuces, Asian greens, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beets,

Alpine strawberries, edible chrysanthemum, and butterfly pea flowers.

Tomatoes -- Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Chocolate Cherry, Sungold Cherry, and Amish Paste.

Peppers -- 16 different varieties, mostly sweet peppers for making paprika powder,

there are 3 more (difficult to start) varieties in ICU not shown here.

Eggplants -- Fairy Tale and Malaysian,

Little Fingers and Ma Zhu are not shown here.

Beets -- Yellow and Red

Alpine Strawberries -- Red and Yellow

Ground Cherries

Transplanted crimson fava beans, I sowed some in ground 3 1/2 weeks ago, none have sprouted yet.

Seeds from Michelle, thank you.

Last year I tried to grow Alpine strawberries and ground cherries, none lived past the seedling stage due to various reasons, hopefully I have better luck this year, I really really want to grow some small fruits other than melons and cantaloupes.

I started a bunch of Asian greens, the choy sum seedlings bolted, I'm not sure why, could it be long daylight or is it too cold? Maybe they prefer sow in situ? Couple years ago I had one good harvest of choy sum, unfortunately I did not recorded anything about the planting, duh~~~.

Piracicaba Broccoli with Mushrooms

2011-03-16T00:50:00.000-06:00

I really enjoy growing and eating this broccoli, the flower head and side shoots are always tender and sweet, I've grown it through fall and winter, it tolerated our cold climate well, next test is to see how it behaves in desert heat.

Harvest Monday - March 14, 2011

2011-03-14T11:48:00.000-06:00

Overwintered radish -- not worth the trouble, it's 1/4 the size of what it should be.

All greens again -- spinach, tatsoi, piracicaba broccoli, and a lone asparagus.

I know I shouldn't be picking the asparagus so soon, but I couldn't help myself, gotta snap one off.

Head over to Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more garden harvests.

Asparagus and Peas

2011-03-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Oops! I wasn't careful and broke a spear.

Seeded Feb 18th, sprouted 6 days later on Feb 24th at room temp, no bottom heat.

Transplanted on March 2nd into large container.

Nine days after transplant, March 11th.

Thank you Michelle for the Sugar Magnolia Purple Flower Pea seeds.

Thanks to spring like weather I'm working the garden again, yesterday I removed some straw mulch to check on the asparagus bed and was pleasantly surprised to see new growth poking through the soil. Last spring I planted some 2 year old crowns, this is first year asparagus for me --- does it mean I can harvest every other spear this year or I should wait until next year to harvest? I'm confused.

I've always direct sow peas outdoor, this time I decided to grow seedlings indoor and transplant them later, after checking with some experienced gardeners they all told me they've done it one time or another, one gardener said she grows pea and bean seedlings indoor every year due to short growing season in her area.

Three weeks ago I took the plunge --- sowed some seeds outdoor and some indoor, there's no sign of germination from the outdoor seeds at this time, but the indoor seeds were up and growing fast in no time. The first two pea seedling pictures were taken on the day of transplant, and the last photo was taken this morning, I'm happy to report the peas did not suffered from transplant shock or stunt growth, that means I'm ahead of the game by at least 3 weeks.

Harvest Monday - March 7, 2011

2011-03-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Tatsoi, Spinach, Carrots, and Brussels Sprouts.

Overwintered Jade Cross Brussels Sprouts

Tip burn, January was too cold despite double layers of frost blankets.

Maybe there's a chance it will continue to grow after the dead leaves are removed.

Overwintered Piracicaba Broccoli

Stop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more garden harvests.

Signs of Spring

2011-03-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Bulbs popping out from the ground, flowering quince

is always the first to show off its color in our garden.

Closer look.

Please Help ID This Bug

2011-03-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

This bug was found in Thailand (name unknown),

do we have anything bug similar to this in the states?

Harvest Monday - February 28, 2011

2011-02-28T16:08:00.001-07:00

I don't have a harvest this week, but I'll show you how I use some of my preserved harvests from last year. Here's a Chinese green been dish that's quite popular among Chinese, I use filet beans instead of the usual yardlong beans, but the taste is same.

Frozen and pickled green beans from last year, one pickled pepper and one fresh.

Green beans, red chile, saute seasoned ground pork, saute chopped onion.

Cook green beans with chile until tender, then toss all ingredients together and stir fry 2-3 minutes.

(Optional: finish off with a dash of oyster sauce and sesame oil.)

Serve as side dish, goes well with rice and noodles.

Drop by Daphne's Dandelions host of Harvest Monday to see more garden harvests.

Spring Seedlings for 2011

2011-02-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

These are ready to be planted out, but there's a snow storm coming our way,

hopefully it's not a big one so they don't have to wait too long for their permanent home.

The lower left corner is Cherokee Purple tomatoes, the seeds were from SSE 2007.

It amazes me that 100% germinated, some good seeds!

Harvest Monday - February 21, 2011

2011-02-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

Tatsoi and Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi Kimchi

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions, head over there to see more garden harvests by other gardeners.

The "Other Pasta" - Green Bean Vermicelli, Noodles etc. 粉絲﹐粉皮

2011-02-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Dried bean vermicelli, sheets (cut), and noodles. Some people call them "glass noodles".

They look something like this depending on the brand.

Soften the noodles in cold water for about 10-20 minutes or drop the dried noodles into soup/stew.

Look like this after boiling in water/soup, neutral taste as in any plain pasta and rice.

Bean noodles are frequently used in hot pot (Asian fondue), soups, stews, stir frys, and salads.

Vermicelli can also be used as filler and binding agent in meatballs, dumplings, meat loaf/pie etc.

Recipe for this mixed mushroom salad or appetizer is here.

Harvest Monday - February 14, 2011

2011-02-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Spinach and Carrots

Mustard greens from last week's harvest.

Xian Garlic and sad looking Beauty Heart radishes on the right.

Shangdong Garlic

Big brother kohlrabi, there are couple smaller ones still hanging in there.

Tatsoi, overwintering this vegetable is so easy, I have to grow more of it later.

Our weather is finally warming up a bit after 3 weeks of frigid cold air, most of the brassicas did well, some of the chards came through, and some die. All of the garlic planted in containers or under covered tunnels have sprouted except Spanish Roja, maybe it has to do with early/late varieties? Maybe some garlic require more heat?

I pulled all those sad looking Beauty Heart radishes, it was too cold for them and show signs of bolting, the roots were small and hairy. The winter radish daikon seems to be fine for now, with the weather warming and longer daylight they probably will bolt soon. Note to self: start winter radish seeds in late summer and harvest before hard freeze. (Duh~~didn't gardening books mention this already?)

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions head over there to see more garden harvest.

Wordless

2011-02-09T15:49:00.003-07:00

Paper White Narcissus

Happy Chinese New Year 4709 - Year of the Rabbit

2011-02-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Traditional savory cake - daikon cake

To serve - slice, pan fry, serve warm with or without homemade sauce.

Traditional sweet new year cake, with or without red beans.

To serve - slice, dip in egg batter and pan fry, serve warm.

Tea with sweet red bean cake, serve warm or at room temp.

Mini sweet red bean cake.

To serve - warm or room temp.

Click here to read more about Chinese New Year.

Winter Garden - Late January 2011

2011-01-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

Upper left: Shangtong (Chinese) garlic Right: Piracicaba broccoli, winter radishes

Lower left: Xian (Chinese) garlic Beauty Heart and white daikon.

I plant garlic as I harvest Napa cabbages, the Shangtong seeds were planted about a month ago, they sprouted rather quickly, and now the leaves are about 3"-4" tall. Two weeks ago I harvested the last 2 cabbages and planted the Xian garlic, you can spot couple of the new sprouts from the first picture. This is the first time I plant garlic in tunnel and they seem to like it, maybe these are early varieties, maybe they will not develop bulbs later, it'll be interesting to see how they grow, I wouldn't mind having some green garlic for early spring harvest.

Here I have kohlrabi and mustard greens, the mustards are beginning to bolt, they must be sensitive to longer daylight, I decided to pull all the greens and left the kohlrabi there for now. Last week I planted some Spanish Roja garlic undercover in the adjacent bed, none has sprouted at this time.

High Desert Garden

Harvest Monday - January 30, 2012

Egg Tart 蛋塔

Egg Custard Tart (from April 2006 album)

Happy Lunar New Year 龍年快樂 花開富貴

Harvest Monday - January 9, 2012

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Napa Kraut 酸白菜

Creamy Napa Cabbage 奶油白菜

Harvest Monday - December 12, 2011

Brussels Sprouts Salad

Japchae - Korean Style Vegetable Beef Vermicelli

Radish Kimchi

Harvest Monday - December 5, 2011

Fall Garden Salad

Harvest Monday - November 28, 2011

Harvest Monday - November 21, 2011

Butternut Chiffon Cake (Gluten Free)

Harvest Monday - November 14, 2011

Butternut Squash Flour

Butternut Squash Fried Rice

Harvest Monday - October 31, 2011

Brandied Kumquat

Harvest Monday - October 17, 2011

Pickled Beauty Heart Radish

Harvest Monday - October 10, 2011

Green Bean and Farro Salad

Harvest Monday - October 3, 2011

Early Fall Garden 2011

Harvest Monday - September 26, 2011

Mioga Ginger 茗荷

Mid August Garden 中秋菜園

Hummingbird - Buzz 2011

Harvest Monday - September 5, 2011

Hummingbird Loves Scarlet Pineapple Sage Flowers

Harvest Monday - August 29, 2011

Hummingbirds - Buzz and Zipp 2011

Please Help, What Do I Have Here?

Harvest Monday - August 22, 2011

Seedlings for Fall Garden 2011

Harvest Monday - August 15, 2011

First Cantaloupe and Some Fall Seedlings

Harvest Monday - August 8, 2011

Hummingbird - Zipp 2011

Fruits and Vegetables Growing in Early August

Is This A Grasshopper?

Harvest Monday - July 25, 2011

Crab Cake and Cherry Tomato Salad

Harvest Monday - July 18, 2011

Wordless

Where Are the Bees?

Harvest Monday - July 11, 2011

Mystery Tomato Plant

Wordless

Harvest Monday - June 27, 2011

Fava Bean and Squash Salad

Grilled Fava Beans

Harvest Monday - June 20, 2011

Celtuce 萵筍

Spring Vegetable Salad

Harvest Monday - June 13, 2011

Smokey Sky

Beets with Grilled Shrimp and Bacon Salad

Harvest Monday - June 6, 2011

Pickled Asian Greens - Xue Li Hon 雪裡紅

Roasted Spring Vegetables

Harvest Monday - May 30, 2011

Wordless

Harvest Monday - May 23, 2011

Roasted Japanese Turnip Kabu and Carrot

Harvest Monday - May 16, 2011

Harvest Monday - May 9, 2011

Happy Mother's Day

Harvest Monday - May 2, 2011

Wordless

Harvest Monday - April 25, 2011

Wordless

Harvest Monday - April 18, 2011

What's New and Growing in Mid April?

Where Are the Hummers?

Happy Lunar New Year 龍年快樂花開富貴