Autumn Bounty

I am presently house sitting for my parents and my father has an extremely green thumb, so I thought I'd include some pictures of his vegetable garden, of which I, quite fortunately am reaping the benefit.


This is a picture inside the greenhouse. I think the tomatoes must be the most babied plant my father grows. They are so fleshy and tasty...just the perfect variety for salsa. You'll probably also notice the basil. Pesto is a great favorite of our family. For the first time this year, he also tried eggplant, which lightly sauted is very delicious.

Here is a close up of the tomatoes. These plants actually grow to over six feet tall and are of course strung up so that they can support their weight. As of last year, I quit eating fresh tomatoes in the winter months because I just can't stand what the grocery stores try to pass off as good tomatoes. I'm most content to wait for these or use those that I have canned throughout the summer.

The beets have done very well this year. I'm actually thinking of pickling some of them later this week.

Despite the fact that it feels like fall is well on its way, the eggplants are still flowering like crazy. I love the bright purple flowers on these plants, quite lovely.

Chard grows very well in this region, much better than spinach because of our latitude. It can be used in many of the same dishes. It is also very nice lightly steamed with a bit of butter and vinegar.