The Harvest

Kale harvest on December 1st

We had a record low of 14 degrees (F) on November 24th, 2010. December 1st, I harvested a good bunch of this Dwarf Siberian Kale from the back veggy garden. No, it's not growing under a sheet or plastic. It was insulated by about 6 inches of snow at the time of the record low. They say kale is sweeter after being touched by a light frost. I wasn't sure it would survive such cold, but it did. I used the leaves to make a kale pesto. You know, so the kids would actually eat it.

Here's my "December kale pesto pasta with peas and chicken" recipe:

Ingredients:

Kale, roughly chopped, enough to fill a 2 quart pot
2 Tbsp. dried basil, or 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
salt to taste-I like it salty so about 1/2 tsp.
Cooked pasta from 12-16 ounces dry pasta
1 cup warmed peas (from fresh or frozen)
1 pound chopped, cooked (warm) chicken, if desired
fresh ground pepper
extra Parmesan

Directions:

1. Steam chopped kale. I used the steamer pot over my 3 quart sauce pan and steamed the kale for about 15 minutes. I steam the kale because if you don't, it is a gritty pesto sauce.
2. Place steamed kale, basil, Parmesan cheese, salt and garlic in your food processor and pulse. Drizzle olive oil in a few batches and continue to process until it is smooth. Now you have pesto sauce.
3. Put half of the pesto in the fridge or freezer for later. Mix the other half with hot cooked pasta (from a full package of about 12-16 ounces dry-I used a gluten-free quinoa/corn flour macaroni). Add warmed peas and cooked chicken and mix. Add more olive oil if it looks dry. Serve with freshly ground pepper and more Parmesan cheese on top.

The great thing about the macaroni and peas and feeding kids is that the peas get stuck inside the macaroni, so the kids can't pick the peas out. : -)

October 25, 2010 Gypsy and Miniature Bell Peppers

October 25, 2010 Kohlrabi and Spaghetti squash. It was the year of the tiny squash.
Kohlrabi tastes like a cross between broccoli and green cabbage. I peel, slice, and stir-fry.

Sugar Pie Pumpkin and Jack-be-Littles. October 25, 2010

Kale, tomatoes, peppers, Rosemary. October 25, 2010. It was a good day for harvesting. I have lots of 12-ounce bags of chopped tomatoes in the freezer, just waiting to be made into Mexican rice for the coming year. Should be enough cilantro stored away too. That recipe is worth sharing too. Maybe next time!