Today's Harvest

Today was 78 degrees and overcast in Central Texas - perfect gardening weather.  While playing in the garden, I decided it was time to harvest some of my continuing fall and early spring crops.  Today's harvest included a bunch of Curly-Leafed Kale (planted in the fall), Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard (planted in the fall), and Cherry Bell Radishes (planted 3 weeks ago).

I didn't have anyone to cook for this evening, so I decided to use my harvest in some fresh juices.  I made two types of juices, and enough to last the next couple of days (about 60 ounces of each kind of juice).  My juices included:

Green Pineapple

• 1 pineapple
• 6 cups kale
• 1/2 head romaine lettuce
• 1 cucumber
• 8 stalks celery
• 3" ginger root
• 1 large Granny Smith apple
• 1 large lemon
• 1 lime

Green Radish

• 10 radishes with greens
• 10 stalks swiss chard
• 3 stalks celery
• 2" ginger root
• 5 medium apples (Granny Smith and Gala)
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• bunch of cilantro
• 1 1/2 cups water

I've never juiced radishes before, but the concoction I put together was pretty good.  It has a mild, yet refreshing bite to it, similar to ginger root.  I'll have to add this to my standard juicing recipes.

Cool Weather Kale

I've had some kale growing in the garden since late fall and finally went out to harvest some of it today.  This kale has been extremely hardy - going from temperatures in the 20s up to the 80s and still looking great.  I've unfortunately forgotten the particular variety, but I know I will definitely plan to grow kale every year now since it is so easy to maintain, and such a super food that I love having in my diet.

This harvest went into making a few green juices that I whipped up along with some celery, cucumber, romaine lettuce, green apple, and lemon.  Mmmm, delish!