That’s Quite a Garden Haul

Holy Moly.

This is the harvest from the garden on one day!

We went into the garden to clean up some rows and remove plants (like cucumbers) that have been dying off. Apparently the cucumbers have been playing HIDE and seek and they were winning. Just look at this!

So… what do you do with all of those Cuc-Zillas and green tomatoes that came off the vine during the garden clean up?

Well, pickles for sure… but also Cold Cucumber Soup and Green Tomato Chutney. I’m telling you folks, if I could do this for a living, I would.

First up, Green Tomato Chutney. This is made with the green tomatoes (from the garden), onion (also from our garden), apple cider vinegar, garlic, raisins, etc. It’s based on this recipe from Lovely Greens (link). We didn’t use red onions, but the New York Early Onions from our garden.

Now, doesn’t that just look pretty? Bubble bubble!

Into the jars you go! All jars went into the fridge. We did not can them, so we will consume over the winter. Will be good on sandwiches – think turkey or chicken. Maybe a burger. Hmm.

Next up, Pureed Cold Cucumber Soup.

Why not? With a lot of big cucumbers (too big for pickling – well, sort of), I’ve been looking for other ideas.

So think gazpacho, but with cucumbers and garlic… and heavy cream, and avocado, and Penzey’s Berbere powder (link) – which gives this chilled soup some heat! Little bit of fresh Thyme (from my kitchen plant grown from seed), and viola!

Quite decadent with cream stirred in, too.

I cannot find the recipe I based this recipe on… But there are many online to choose from if you Google “cold cucumber soup.”

The point is, we are trying to be as creative as possible so that we can harvest as much as possible from our bountiful garden. Sometimes, you just have to try new things. 🙂