Harvest

With two nights of freezing temperatures predicted, I did my final harvest on Sunday. My garden did pretty well this year, given how little energy I really put into it. I only got three zucchini which is kind of embarrassing. Who can't grow zucchini? My bell peppers were pretty much a bust, too. I wanted to wait for them to ripen to red peppers, but most of them rotted on the vine before they got that ripe. I got gobs of jalapenos, though. I had most fun with the eggplant. My two plants provided a steady, but not overwhelming, supply of small to medium eggplants, mostly used in grilled eggplant and salsa and eggplant scramble.

My big project on Sunday was making pesto from the rest of my basil. I made pesto last year just before a freeze, too. That's a nice seasonal tradition -- I like having a reason to pay attention to first frost warnings. I am amazed at how much basil grows at the end of the growing season. We pretty well decimated my three plants in July and August during tomato season, but I had enough basil this week to freeze four batches of pesto!

I used the pesto in an apple salad I took to a gathering Sunday evening and it was a hit.

3 Gold Rush apples from Centennial Farms, chopped and tossed with lime juice

1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts

All tossed with a made-on-the-fly dressing of pesto, yogurt cheese, and apple cider. It was yummy, especially with the chicken that my brother marinated and grilled.