11-09-09

A beautiful day here. 

We have finished the harvest except for a few heads of late cabbage. It's still growing, so I let it go until it freezes for more than 2 nights in a row, then up she comes, roots and all. We brush off the roots and hang them upside down in the root cellar. 

This was a wonderful year for cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and all the members of the kohl family. I'm still getting a few late leaves of kale, it makes a real tasty kale/potato soup. Cook the potatoes and the kale, then chop the kale real fine and put the potatoes in with 2 to 4 cups of milk, add the chopped kale, salt and pepper and heat and eat.  We made a great beet leaf soup this year. Create it just like borsch.  This is a Russian beet soup recipe.  It's really good.  

We just used the last of the baby beets that were done growing and threw in the leaves so they wouldn't be wasted.  Yummy. Other than that, this is the time of the year to pick up the stones, throw  all the garden waste in the mulch pile and till for next year.  We should have enough dill next year to last a lifetime. I had so much that 12 plants went to seed in the garden and flung their seeds all over the place.  I won't plant any next year.  Herbs are cut back and the berry canes are almost done.  Other than that, getting ready for Thanksgiving and teaching AARP safe driving courses.  Life is good after this year of the 'summer of no summer'.  Kathy