An August Harvest and My Newest Book
This time of year is always fun at the farm because there’s so much to harvest in the vegetable garden. I look forward to having a new supply of farm-grown produce to use in cooking and in salads.
Today, I am also bringing a lot of vegetables to our New York City offices for my next Facebook LIVE at 430pm ET. Be sure to join me - I'll be making blistered eggplant with tomatoes, olives and feta cheese from my NEW cookbook, “Martha Stewart’s Vegetables". And, I'll be giving away several copies to select followers and viewers. I am so excited about this new book - it is an indispensable resource for selecting, storing, preparing and cooking your favorite vegetables. It will be in bookstores September 6th, but you can also pre-order your copy today!
My vegetable gardens at my Bedford, New York farm are looking great. Here are photos from yesterday's harvest. Enjoy - and get your questions ready for today's Facebook LIVE!
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- It’s time for another hefty harvest in the vegetable garden. Our summer crops are doing very well despite the warm days and sporadic rainfall.
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- Tomatoes are heat loving plants, so all the tomato vines are laden with fruit.
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- This season’s tomatoes look so beautiful, and so tasty fresh off the vine. During this time, I always have a large tray of them on my kitchen counter.
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- Tomatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene, vitamins C and K, calcium, potassium, folate, and of course – lycopene.
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- We harvested several eggplants. I prefer to pick them when they are smaller – this one is perfect. This year, we also planted a striped Italian eggplant variety.
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- This one is also a good size. Pick eggplants when they are young and tender. Picking a little early will encourage the plant to grow more, and will help to extend the growing season.
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- “Eggplant” is the common name in North American and Australian English – the British English call it “aubergine”.
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- The peppers are coming in nicely. Sweet peppers have a mild, sweet flavor and crisp, juicy flesh.
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- The globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, is popular in both Europe and the United States. Artichokes are actually flower buds, which are eaten when they are tender.
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- Choose those that feel heavy for their size, with compact leaves, and avoid those that seem too large.
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- When harvesting, use a sharp knife, and cut them from the plant leaving an inch or two of stem. Artichokes have very good keeping qualities and can remain fresh for at least a week.
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- I love okra, but for some, okra is too slimy when cooked. Okra is very healthy, however – it’s high in fiber, vitamin-C and full of antioxidants, so give it another try! There are many to be picked, both red and green varieties!
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- Harvest okra when they are still small, about three-inches long. A common mistake is harvesting the pods when they are six to eight inches long, when most will have a woody taste.
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- This okra, Abelmoschus esculents, is a good size and ready to be harvested.
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- I prefer small to medium sized cucumbers. Cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, are great for pickling – I try to find time for pickling every year.
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- This cucumber needs just a little more time to grow.
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- One of my biggest crops includes the brassicas, such as cabbage. To get the best health benefits from cabbage, it’s good to include all three varieties in the diet – green, red and Savoy.
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- Savoy cabbages are very distinctive in appearance – they are the ones with the crinkled texture. And, although they don’t look it, the leaves are very tender.
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- And, don’t forget, cabbage can be eaten cooked and raw. Red or purple cabbage is often used raw for salads and coleslaw.
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- The kale looks so delicious. Kale can be curly, flat, or even have a bluish tint mixed in with the green.
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- And I am so pleased with the lettuces – my family loves salad, so we use up quite a bit of fresh lettuce.
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- Swiss chard always stands out in the garden, with its rich red stalks. This leafy green vegetable is often used in Mediterranean cooking.
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- There was an abundance of beans. I like to plant my beans in succession, which keeps the garden productive longer.
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- We planted many red, yellow, and white onions. These are almost ready to harvest.
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- Onions are ready when the long leaves start to flop over and brown. This signals the plants have stopped growing and are beginning to prepare for storage.
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- We harvested a tray of onions – red, yellow and white – and soon, there will be lots more.
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- I often bring vegetables to the office. Today, I am bringing in a good amount of vegetables for my next Facebook LIVE at 430pm ET – please join me!
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- On the list – hot and sweet peppers in all different colors.
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- We harvested a big bag of hot peppers.
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- And a big bag of raw fresh green beans. when picking string beans, they should be tender, long, stiff, but flexible and should give a snap sound when broken.
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- Here are those beautiful artichokes.
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- And look at all our colorful eggplants.
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- Everything is bagged and stored in the refrigerator in my flower room, ready to go to our New York City studio for today’s Facebook LIVE at 430pm ET, when I share recipes from my newest cookbook, “Martha Stewart’s Vegetables” – talk to you then!
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