July 2015 Harvests

Production in the veggie garden started to slow in July as we started hitting the upper 90's and into the 100's.  That didn't stop the garden from producing over 25 pounds of food in July - plenty more than my household could consume, so again, I had ample goodies to give away to friends and coworkers.  The cukes and tomatoes were especially abundant!  Peppers just didn't take off this year, and eggplant was not as productive as last year either.

With July's addition, I'm just a few pounds away from hitting my 100 pounds of fresh garden produce goal for the year, and we still have the full fall season ahead!  Granted, veggie produce will slow drastically in the next couple of months as I transition from my summer to fall garden.

Here are the July 2015 harvest tallies (25 lb 11.5 oz total)!

• 9 lb 15.2 oz pickling cucumbers (13)
• 3 lb 14.9 oz slicing cucumbers (7)
• 1 lb 8.7 oz Black Beauty eggplant (2)
• 0.8 oz Gypsy pepper (1)
• 2.1 oz Yellow pepper (1)
• 8.6 oz Cherokee Purple tomatoes (2)
• 1 lb 6.2 oz Better Boy tomatoes(4)
• 3 lb 9.9 oz Early Girl tomatoes (20)
• 13.0 oz Grape tomatoes
• 8.4 oz Juliet tomatoes
• 1 lb 8.4 oz Pear tomatoes
• 7.0 oz Roma tomatoes (3)
• 1 lb 4.3 oz Okra

2015 total harvests to date (93 lb 13.5 oz):

• 1 lb 13.5 oz blackberries
• 1 lb 1.2 oz broccoli
• 5 lb 13.9 oz Fordhook chard
• 5 lb 13.2 oz Ruby Red chard
• 7.1 oz cilantro
• 6 lb 10.3 oz Flash collards
• 20 lb 9.2 oz pickling cucumbers (32)
• 11 lb 5.6 oz slicing cucumbers (21)
• 5 lb 0.6 oz Black Beauty eggplant (5)
• 1 lb 6.8 0z Ichiban eggplant (5)
• 7 colanders salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula)
• 2 lb 0 oz Blue Lake green beans
• 3 lb 13.9 oz kale
• 1 lb 2.9 oz Meyer lemons (5)
• 6.5 oz parsley
• 0.8 oz Cayenne peppers
• 5.5 oz Flavorburst yellow pepper (2)
• 7.9 oz Gypsy peppers (6)
• 0.8 oz Mariachi pepper (1)
• 2.9 oz Pablano pepper (2)
• 7.5 oz Cherry Bell radish
• 4.0 oz spinach
• 12.5 oz Beefmaster tomatoes (1)
• 1 lb 13.7 oz Better Boy tomatoes (5)
• 6.2 oz Brandywine tomatoes (1)
• 3 lb 1.3 oz Celebrity tomatoes (8)
• 3.5 oz Cherry tomatoes
• 6 lb 9.1 oz Early Girl tomatoes (32)
• 2 lb 0.4 oz Grape tomatoes
• 2 lb 1.6 oz Juliet tomatoes
• 4 lb 4.4 oz Pear tomatoes
• 1 lb 6.8 oz Roma tomatoes (10)
• 8.6 oz Cherokee Purple tomatoes (2)
• 1 lb 4.3 oz Okra

June 2015 Harvests

Looking back on my June veggie and fruit harvests, I can see it was a very productive month.  Of course, I don't need to look at the pictures to figure that out.  I can just open my fridge to see it overflowing with cucumber and tomatoes to see that I have more produce than my household can consume.

I was especially proud of my blackberry harvest.  I planted 6-7 blackberry plants about three years ago, and didn't get a single blackberry harvest until this year.  Unfortunately, only one of my plants survived the last few hot and dry summers, but I still got a decent harvest from the one plant.  I planted another three plants this year, which seem to really be taking off, so hopefully I'll get some good harvests in the coming years, maybe even enough to make some jam.

With our continued heavy rainfalls, I've only had to supplement watering about once or twice this season, which is drastically different from prior years, when my garden required daily watering.  I recently learned from a Central Texas Gardener episode that some stress on plants by not getting daily watering is actually good for them and makes them more productive, so I now only water the garden about once or twice a week, if there is no rainfall.  The garden seems to be doing well with that method.

I am constantly cooking old and new recipes with the produce.  I use as much as I can fresh, as well as dabbled in some of my first canning attempts.  And my family, friends, and co-workers are willing to let me unload any excess produce on them.

Here are some of the ways I've been using my produce:

Breakfast

• Tomatoes and peppers chopped and added to egg dishes
• Blackberries on top of cereal or with yogurt and granola for a parfait

Lunch

• Tomatoes and cucumbers added to every sandwich
• Cucumber soup
• Caprese salad, with fresh basil from the garden

Snack

• Sliced cucumbers dipped in hummus
• Blackberries with crackers, cheese, and charcuterie

Side Dish

• Tomato and cucumber salad with lemon juice, salt and pepper
• Fresh babaganoush with garden eggplant

Dinner

• Eggplant rollatini

Here are the June 2015 harvest tallies (37 lbs 7.8 oz total)!:

• 1 lb 13.5 oz blackberries
• 10 lb 10 oz pickling cucumbers (19)
• 7 lb 6.7 oz slicing cucumbers (14)
• 2 lb 10.3 oz Black Beauty eggplant (3)
• 1 lb 6.8 0z Ichiban eggplant (5)
• 4.5 oz Blue Lake green beans
• 0.8 oz Cayenne peppers
• 4.3 oz Gypsy peppers (3)
• 12.5 oz Beefmaster tomatoes (1)
• 7.5 oz Better Boy tomatoes (1)
• 6.2 oz Brandywine tomatoes (1)
• 3 lb 1.3 oz Celebrity tomatoes (8)
• 3.5 oz Cherry tomatoes
• 1 lb 13.5 oz Early Girl tomatoes (8)
• 1 lb 1.6 oz Grape tomatoes
• 1 lb 9.2 oz Juliet tomatoes
• 2 lb 7.8 oz Pear tomatoes
• 15.8 oz Roma tomatoes (7)

2015 total harvests to date (68 lbs 2.0 oz):

• 1 lb 13.5 oz blackberries
• 1 lb 1.2 oz broccoli
• 5 lb 13.9 oz Fordhook chard
• 5 lb 13.2 oz Ruby Red chard
• 7.1 oz cilantro
• 6 lb 10.3 oz Flash collards
• 10 lb 10 oz pickling cucumbers (19)
• 7 lb 6.7 oz slicing cucumbers (14)
• 3 lb 7.9 oz Black Beauty eggplant (3)
• 1 lb 6.8 0z Ichiban eggplant (5)
• 7 colanders salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula)
• 2 lb 0 oz Blue Lake green beans
• 3 lb 13.9 oz kale
• 1 lb 2.9 oz Meyer lemons (5)
• 6.5 oz parsley
• 0.8 oz Cayenne peppers
• 2.4 oz Flavorburst yellow pepper (1)
• 7.1 oz Gypsy peppers (5)
• 0.8 oz Mariachi pepper (1)
• 2.9 oz Pablano pepper (2)
• 7.5 oz Cherry Bell radish
• 4.0 oz spinach
• 12.5 oz Beefmaster tomatoes (1)
• 7.5 oz Better Boy tomatoes (1)
• 6.2 oz Brandywine tomatoes (1)
• 3 lb 1.3 oz Celebrity tomatoes (8)
• 3.5 oz Cherry tomatoes
• 2 lb 15.2 oz Early Girl tomatoes (12)
• 1 lb 3.4 oz Grape tomatoes
• 1 lb 9.2 oz Juliet tomatoes
• 2 lb 12.0 oz Pear tomatoes
• 15.8 oz Roma tomatoes (7)

May 2015 Harvests

There was a bit of a lull in my veggie production during April as the fall/winter veggies wrapped up and I was waiting for the spring and summer veggies to mature.  Now that we are nearing the end of May, my warm season veggies have started to produce, despite the cooler than average temperatures.

I got some of my first peppers of the season:  gypsy, pablano and mariachi (pictured above), as well as a flavorburst yellow pepper.

This week, I saw my first eggplant, tomatoes, as well as green beans.  The beans are going strong, but the tomatoes are splitting a lot more this year than I remember last year.  Maybe it is from the excessive rains we've been having?  Since I planted many more tomato plants than usual this year, I'm hoping for a bumper crop.  We'll see if that happens.

Finally, there has been plenty of Swiss Chard this year, more than I and the hubby can eat, so I've given quite a bit away to neighbors and friends.  Swiss Chard is certainly a Texas Superstar veggie in my book, at least, based on my last two successful years with it.

My family was in town over Memorial Day weekend, so they were able to help me eat a bit of the abundant chard.  We had sauteed chard with garlic, lemon juice and red pepper flakes (recipe here).  My mom used the chard stalks for a cream of chard soup, which she combined with some garlic, onion, potatoes, chicken stock, black beans and left over jalapeno cheddar sausages.  It was delicious, but unfortunately I do not have the exact recipe to share, as it was really just a left-over concoction soup and I was not involved in the process (besides growing the chard).

Hopefully May is an indicator of the productive warm-weather season ahead.

My harvest totals so far this year include:

• 7.5 oz Cherry Bell radish

• 3 lb 13.9 oz kale (several varieties)

• 6 lb 10.3  oz Flash collards

• 5 lb 13.2 oz Ruby Red chard

• 5 lb 13.9 oz Fordhook Giant chard

• 7 colanders salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula) 

• 1 lb 2.9 oz Meyer Lemons (5)

• 1 lb 1.2 oz Broccoli (5)

• 7.1 oz cilantro

• 6.5 oz parsley

• 4.0 oz spinach
• 2.9 oz Pablano pepper (2)
• 2.8 oz Gypsy pepper (2)
• 0.8 oz Mariachi pepper (1)
• 2.4 oz Flavorburst yellow pepper (1)
• 13.6 oz Black Beauty eggplant (1)
• 1.8 oz Grape tomato
• 4.2 oz Pear tomato
• 1 lb 1.7 oz Early Girl tomato (4)
• 1 lb 11.5 oz Blue Lake green beans

Collard and Kale Preservation

The greens that were planted last fall have started to bolt, so it was time to bid adieu to them and get ready for the spring and summer beds.

But first, I harvested a bunch of the collard and kale leaves that remained on the plants (at least the ones that had not yet been infested with aphids).

I ended up harvesting 3 pounds and 13.5 ounces of the Flash collards and 2 pounds and 0.2 ounces of several kale varieties.

I was certainly not going to be able to eat this many fresh greens in the next few days, so I had to think about longer-term food preservation.  I have never done any canning, and very little freezing (usually just of soups or ratatouille), so I had to do some investigating to see what made sense.

I determined it would be best for me to freeze the greens, but first, I had to blanch them to get rid of the enzymes that break down food so that the veggies will last longer and retain more of their nutritional value.

STEP 1 - First, I had to thoroughly wash the collards and kale

STEP 2 - Next, I de-ribbed the leaves by removing the tough stem

STEP 3 - Give the greens a rough chop

STEP 4 - Bring a pot of water to boil (about 2/3 full) and cook the greens in the pot for 2-3 minutes (3 minutes for collards and 2 minutes for other greens).

STEP 5 - Remove leaves from boiling water and submerge in ice water (in a large pot) for 2-3 minutes (I had a lot more ice in the pot to begin with, but most melted once I was on my third batch of blanching).

STEP 6 - Thoroughly drain the greens to remove excess water

STEP 7 - Put the greens in Ziplock freezer bags or seal with a vacuum sealer

It's kind of crazy how much greens cook down to.  Almost six pounds of leaves made about nine cups of blanched greens.  But, if I did everything correctly, these should last in the freezer for up to a year...much better than making myself sick of collards and kale in the next day or two.

If you have any great recipes that call for frozen collards/kale, let me know.  I will likely find myself in need of a new recipe, or two!

My harvest totals so far this year include:

• 7.5 oz Cherry Bell radish

• 3 lb 13.9 oz kale (several varieties)

• 6 lb 10.3  oz Flash collards

• 1 lb 7.7 oz Ruby Red chard

• 14.2 oz Fordhook Giant chard

• 7 colanders salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula) 

• 1 lb 2.9 oz Meyer Lemons (5)

• 1 lb 1.2 oz Broccoli (5)

• 7.1 oz cilantro

• 6.5 oz parsley

• 4.0 oz spinach

Today's Harvest & Kale Chips

The winter veggie garden is still growing strong.  Today I harvested another full colander of salad greens, several more heads of broccoli, as well as plenty of kale, collards and chard.

I used the lettuce, arugula and spinach to make several salads, the broccoli became a side dish, and the chard and collards went into some green juice drinks.  But I thought I would try something a little different with the kale this time...kale chips.

I de-ribbed the kale, cut it into about 1.5 inch pieces, coated it in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, spread it on a baking sheet, and sprinkled some of my home-made herb salt on them, then popped them in the oven at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping the kale pieces about halfway through.

I love kale tossed in a salad or steamed as part of a side dish.  However, I've never actually had kale chips before.  I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but the kale chips didn't quite meet my expectations.  I think they were a bit more bitter than I anticipated.  They were also extremely light and airy and didn't satisfy any snacking cravings that I had.

 Or, maybe I just didn't prepare them quite right, in which case, I would be happy to hear about any tips or tricks you have in baking kale chips.

My harvest totals so far this year include:

• 7.5 oz Cherry Bell radish
• 1 lb 9.7 oz kale (unknown variety)
• 2 lb 6.8 oz Flash collards
• 11.7 oz Ruby Red chard
• 6.4 oz Fordhook Giant chard
• 4 colanders salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula) 
• 1 lb 2.9 oz Meyer Lemons (5)
• 1 lb 1.2 oz Broccoli (5)
• 7.1 oz cilantro
• 6.5 oz parsley

Today's Harvest: First Broccoli

Today I harvested my very first garden-fresh broccoli!  About half of my broccoli plants already bolted (which the bees are absolutely loving right now), and about 1/4 of the broccoli has some very small heads that won't amount to much.  But I got three decent sized heads that went into a delicious quinoa side dish that we had with a fancy seabass dinner my husband made me.

I also harvested another large bowl of salad greens:  several types of lettuce, spinach, and arugula which was used for two large, delicious grilled chicken, tomato, avocado and goat cheese salads.

My harvest totals so far this year include:

• 7.5 oz Cherry Bell radish
• 12.5 oz kale (unknown variety)
• 1 lb 2.2 oz Flash collards
• 5.1 oz Ruby Red chard
• 2.9 oz Fordhook Giant chard
• 3 colanders salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula) 
• 1 lb 2.9 oz Meyer Lemons (5)
• 10.8 oz Broccoli (3)
• 3.1 oz cilantro
• 2.5 oz parsley

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I just harvested five beautiful lemons off my first Meyer lemon tree.  So that begs the question... when life gives you lemons, what should you make?  

The old saying suggests lemonade, but I certainly don't have enough lemons for more than a couple of glasses of lemonade.  Plus, it isn't quite hot enough to enjoy a refreshing glass of lemonade.  So, I opted for a delicious treat of Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins instead - a perfect pairing with coffee on a "chilly" Texas winter morning.

I used a recipe from Miss in the Kitchen which was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend:

Ingredients

for muffins:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

for glaze:

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, combine butter, eggs and sugar, beating until creamy.  Add lemon juice and combine.  Add flour, baking powder, lemon zest, salt and poppy seeds and stir just until combined.  Do not over mix.

Scoop or spoon into lined or greased muffin tins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean.

Meanwhile combine powdered sugar and lemon juice for glaze and brush over baked muffins as soon as the come out of the oven.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  Store cooled muffins in an airtight container.

The muffins were absolutely scrumptious.  Next year, hopefully I'll be able to make them with poppy seeds harvested from my own garden as well.

What is your favorite Meyer Lemon recipe?

Foliage Follow-Up: January 2015

Normally at this time of the month, I participate in Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.  Unfortunately, I could not find a single bloom in my Zone 8 Central Texas garden right now.  While I'm bummed that there are no blooms to share right now, it made me realize that there is plenty of foliage to admire instead.  That is why I'm partaking in my first Foliage Follow-Up, hosted by Pam over at Digging.  This month's foliage is not only beautiful, but also EDIBLE - they are my winter veggie greens!

There are the collards...

(Flash)

...the Swiss chard...

(Ruby Red and Fordhook Giant varieties)

...the broccoli...

(Sun King Hybrid)

...the kale...

(Toscano and unknown varieties)

...the romaine lettuce...

...and the arugula.

There was such an abundance of these delicious greens in the garden today that I harvest almost a full pound of them and juiced them into a healthy drink along with some celery, apples, and lemon.

My harvest totals so far this year include:

• 7.5 oz Cherry Bell radish
• 4.8 oz kale (unknown variety)
• 5.9 oz Flash collards
• 1.3 oz Ruby Red chard
• 2.9 oz Fordhook Giant chard
• 2 colanders salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula) 

Thanks for stopping by my first Foliage Follow-Up.  Be sure to stop by Digging to see what other gardeners have to show.

Fall Veggie Transplants & Today's Harvest

Fall is here, and so is the beautiful Texas weather that I live for.  Every moment that I can spend outside in the garden, I do.  

A few days ago, I bought some fall veggie transplants and got them into the ground.  First, I had to clean up one of the beds for the veggies.  It wasn't too difficult, since before South Africa, I had turned the beds and tried to plant some seeds, which never really came up.  I also tore out all the dead marigolds.

Then, I planted the transplants, along with a few seeds.

From left to right I planted:

• 1 Toscano Kale (transplant)
• Dwarf Blue Curled Vates Kale (seeds)
• 2 Gypsy Broccoli (transplants)
• 2 Calabrese Broccoli (transplants)
• 1 Marathon Broccoli (transplant)
• 4 Brussel Sprout - unknown variety (transplants)
• 1 Long Island Brussel Sprout (transplant)
• 1 Nautical Brussel Sprout (transplant)
• Lacinato Kale (seeds)
• 3 Kale - unknown variety (transplants)
• and along the trellis - Mammoth Melting Sugar Peas (seeds)

While it may be fall, I still have a few summer veggie plants (peppers and eggplant) that are still producing, so they will stay in the beds until the are no longer fruitful.  Today I harvested the below.  I'm not quite sure why the eggplant turned yellow, but I assume it has something to do with staying on the plant for quite awhile, since this is my first harvest after being away from home for almost 3 weeks.

Harvest Totals (since April)

• 5 lbs Cherry Bell Radishes

• 3 lbs Giant Fordhook Swiss Chard

• 3 lb 5.5 oz Pic-N-Pic Summer Squash (5 squash)

• 5 lbs 6.3 oz Black Beauty Zucchini (3 squash)

• 13.7 oz Mammoth Melting Sugar Peas

• 11.6 oz Mucho Nacho Jumbo Jalapeno (13)
• 15.7 oz Jalapeno (9)

• 2 lb 2.4 oz Bush Blue Lake 274 Green Beans

• 1 lb 8.7 oz Gypsy Sweet Peppers (14)

• 1 lb 15.9 oz Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato

• 2 lb 7.5 oz Juliet Roma Grape Tomato

• 3 lb 12.0 oz Early Girl Tomato (12)
• 1 lb 10.4 oz Big Boy Tomato (3)
• 1 lb 7.3 oz oz Bradley Heirloom Tomato (4)
• 2 lb 2.3 oz Roma Tomato (22)
• 5 lb 4.0 oz Long Eggplant (21)
• 11 lb 0.1 oz Black Beauty Eggplant (12)
• 1 lb 10.2 oz Pablano Pepper (22)
• 1 lb 2.0 oz Acorn Squash (1)
• 1 lb 1.0 oz Butternut Squash (1)
• 1 lb 6.6 oz Spaghetti Squash (1)
• 1 lb 10.1 oz Green Bell Sweet Pepper (10)
• 2.1 oz Cayenne Pepper (9)
• 11 lb 11.1 oz Marketmore 76 Cucumbers (11)
• 3 lb 7.9 oz Okra (63)
• 3.8 oz Serrano Pepper (14)

Today's Harvest: Veggies, Flowers, and Seeds

The summer veggies have slowed down their production, but I don't mind too much since work has been busy and I haven't had as much time as I would like to try new recipes with my fresh produce.  This weekend, I got one pepper, a few okra, a Black Beauty eggplant (that has more yellow than purple/black coloring), several cherry tomatoes and a couple of the last cukes off my summer vines.  I'm starting to look forward to some new veggies, and with it new recipes, from the fall garden...but that's a few months away.

While clearing out some of the summer veggie beds to make room for the fall planting, I cleared out some of the zinnia plants that were taking over the beds, or that had seen better days.  I saved the nicest blooms for a nice bouquet for the kitchen.  Zinnias add so much color to the veggie beds, attract pollinators, and make great cut flowers.  I love these flowers so much, and so do the hummingbirds, who I see flitting around the flowers multiple times a day.

I want to be better about collecting my own seeds for future use and to share with friends, so while I was clearing the beds this weekend, I also gathered some seeds.  There were a few dried green bean pods of Bush Blue Lake 274 that I collected.  There weren't many, so I'll have to make sure to leave more pods on the plants for seed collecting next time around.  The marigolds are dropping their seed pods like crazy right now too, so I collected more than enough for myself and for my friends for next year.

Harvest Totals (since April)

• 5 lbs Cherry Bell Radishes

• 3 lbs Giant Fordhook Swiss Chard

• 3 lb 5.5 oz Pic-N-Pic Summer Squash (5 squash)

• 5 lbs 6.3 oz Black Beauty Zucchini (3 squash)

• 13.7 oz Mammoth Melting Sugar Peas

• 11.6 oz Mucho Nacho Jumbo Jalapeno (13)
• 11.9 oz Jalapeno

• 2 lb 2.4 oz Bush Blue Lake 274 Green Beans

• 1 lb 4.6 oz Gypsy Sweet Peppers (10)

• 1 lb 15.9 oz Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato

• 2 lb 7.5 oz Juliet Roma Grape Tomato

• 3 lb 12.0 oz Early Girl Tomato (12)
• 1 lb 10.4 oz Big Boy Tomato (3)
• 1 lb 7.3 oz oz Bradley Heirloom Tomato (4)
• 2 lb 2.3 oz Roma Tomato (22)
• 4 lb 4.4 oz Long Eggplant (16)
• 7 lb 1.5 oz Black Beauty Eggplant (6)
• 10.9 oz Pablano Pepper (5)
• 1 lb 2.0 oz Acorn Squash (1)
• 1 lb 1.0 oz Butternut Squash (1)
• 1 lb 6.6 oz Spaghetti Squash (1)
• 1 lb 3.1 oz Green Bell Sweet Pepper (6)
• 1.1 oz Cayenne Pepper (3)
• 11 lb 11.1 oz Marketmore 76 Cucumbers (11)
• 3 lb 7.9 oz Okra (63)

Today's Harvest: Cukes & Creamy Cucumber Soup

When life gives you cucumbers, make creamy cucumber soup!

While the veggie garden production has slowed somewhat in the high-90s weather here in central Texas, the cucumbers are still going strong.  I had so many cukes that I knew I had to find a recipe to use them up before they started to go bad.  I didn't want to pickle them, so I opted for a creamy cucumber soup instead, and I'm glad I did!

CREAMY CUCUMBER SOUP

Makes:  4 servings, about 1 cup each
Prep Time:  35 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 cups peeled, seeded and thinly sliced cucumbers, divided
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt

PREPARATION

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 1 to 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook for 1 minute. Add 3 3/4 cups cucumber slices, broth, salt, pepper and cayenne; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook at a gentle simmer until the cucumbers are soft, 6 to 8 minutes.

1. Transfer the soup to a blender. Add avocado and parsley; blend on low speed until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Pour into a serving bowl and stir in yogurt. Chop the remaining 1/4 cup cucumber slices. Serve the soup warm or refrigerate and serve it chilled. Just before serving, garnish with the chopped cucumber and more chopped parsley, if desired.

TIPS & NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 173 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 8 g mono); 2 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 5 g fiber; 494 mg sodium; 544 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (30% daily value), Potassium (16% dv).

As usual, I made a double-batch of the soup to have for meals for the rest of the week.  We served this alongside a rack of lamb - the flavors really complimented each other for a very Mediterranean flare.  My husband stated this was his favorite out of all the soups I've ever made.  Looks like we'll be cooking this one again!

Harvest Totals (since April)

• 5 lbs Cherry Bell Radishes

• 3 lbs Giant Fordhook Swiss Chard

• 3 lb 5.5 oz Pic-N-Pic Summer Squash (5 squash)

• 5 lbs 6.3 oz Black Beauty Zucchini (3 squash)

• 13.7 oz Mammoth Melting Sugar Peas

• 11.6 oz Mucho Nacho Jumbo Jalapeno (13)
• 11.9 oz Jalapeno

• 2 lb 2.4 oz Bush Blue Lake 274 Green Beans

• 1 lb 3.6 oz Gypsy Sweet Peppers (9)

• 1 lb 11.8 oz Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato

• 2 lb 7.5 oz Juliet Roma Grape Tomato

• 3 lb 12.0 oz Early Girl Tomato (12)
• 1 lb 10.4 oz Big Boy Tomato (3)
• 1 lb 7.3 oz oz Bradley Heirloom Tomato (4)
• 2 lb 2.3 oz Roma Tomato (22)
• 4 lb 4.4 oz Long Eggplant (16)
• 6 lb 3.5 oz Black Beauty Eggplant (5)
• 10.9 oz Pablano Pepper (5)
• 1 lb 2.0 oz Acorn Squash (1)
• 1 lb 1.0 oz Butternut Squash (1)
• 1 lb 6.6 oz Spaghetti Squash (1)
• 1 lb 3.1 oz Green Bell Sweet Pepper (6)
• 1.1 oz Cayenne Pepper (3)
• 10 lb 13.0 oz Marketmore 76 Cucumbers (9)
• 3 lb 4.1 oz Okra (59)