Welcome to a stroll in my garden with my garden buddies.
As the harvest comes in, it’s time for an update on some of the new plants:
Asparagus Beans
We love these for cooking fresh! With a taste reminiscent of asparagus these long smooth beans were great for saute. We will definitely be planting more of these next year so we can use them fresh during the late Summer and early Fall saving more of our pole beans for canning and dilly beans.
Turkish Eggplant
Fun color and shape. The round shape made these eggplants perfect for stacked eggplant Parmesan and tiny stuffed boats. We found that they seemed to stay a bit firmer than the traditional purple eggplant and have a earthy flavor when ripe. The adults enjoyed eating them, but the kids still prefer a squash option instead.
Red Malabar Spinach
Beautiful Plant! One provides plenty of leaves for the spinach needs of our family; the plant took over the trellis and looks like something from a fantasy world with its curling stem, tiny flowers, and purple berries. Worked perfectly as a substitute for spinach in our favorite steak rice bowl. We don’t eat spinach raw, but I think these leaves would be a bit thick/slimy for my taste.
Garden Huckleberries
Still learning about these; the process will continue into next year as we try some additional varieties. This year we grew a variety called Chichiquelite. The plants have produced lots of berries and they seem to be getting bigger and more flavorful as we move further out of the mid summer heat. These are a sticky mess to harvest but turned into some tasty baked treats. Remember if you choose to grow these, only eat fully ripe berries. Love the purple color!