Day Six of Our Quest

Today has been really busy! With the news that it is going to get very cold and may snow next weekend, we have to get everything harvested from the garden quick! Now mind you, we only have a small lot in the middle of town but I can grow an unbelievable amount of edibles here!

I harvested a bushel basket of swiss chard. After soaking it in the sink, I separated the stems from the leaves and washed again. I then cut up the stems in 1-2" pieces blanched and froze to use in lots of dishes. I will use this in the place of celery in dishes such as roasts, stir-fry and Chinese type meals. Next I washed the leaves again, placed them on a cutting board, rolled then cut them in 1/2" strips. We eat these leaves fresh all summer in our salads but we will eat them all winter cooked like spinach! I blanched those and froze in bags as well. Swiss chard is delicious and very rich in vitamins! There is probably another three bushel out there that could be harvested but these can handle cold temperatures so we will focus on the vegetables that can't.

Next I had the acorn squash sitting on my counter waiting for my attention so I cut them in half, cleaned out the seeds and got those ready to bake. I cleaned the seeds, some to dry for next years garden planting and the rest as a yummy baked snack! I covered the squash with foil and baked the squash. After they cooled I scooped them out and mashed with some brown sugar and maple syrup. My kids love them just as much as my mashed sweet potatoes! I took all the rest of the mashed squash and of course put it in the freezer (we have three upright freezers). Now those squash are out of my way to focus on peppers and tomatoes!


Dakota picked a bushel of hot peppers (I like hot peppers so I grow about seven varieties) for me to get put up. I don't let the little ones handle the hot peppers so I will be doing this all by myself. I will have to get those done later this week.