The lettuce continues to provide tasty goodness (the aphids like them too!). The home-grown romaine has a different texture than the ones from the store. My lettuce is a little bit more...leathery and has stronger flavors. I wish they were a little bit more crispy, but I do like the flavors. I've been making salad with the lettuce and bok choy leaves...mixed in with some store bought tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. And I have to say, it is absolutely delicious!
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| Romaine lettuce and snap peas - the sun makes the red romaine bright red |
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| Blanching snap peas brings out the color, it is really beautiful to watch. There is one pea in this picture that is raw. To the naked eye, it is clear to see, but in the picture it may be harder to spot... |
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| Romaine lettuce, bok choy and snap peas |
The sugar snap peas are getting sweeter?! I am getting about a handful every day, and they are a perfect snack for when I get back from work. I think this Fall, I'm going to try to grow more containers of snap peas. I read that peas are used as cover crop to get nitrogen back into the soil...I understand the concept, but don't quite get it yet. I'm still researching into this....if they are truly good at rejuvenating soil, then it would be really cool to grow a whole bunch of them just for the pea shoots, which are just as delicious as the peas.
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| A handful of mint |
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| Delicious mint tea! |
I've also harvested some mint. I absolutely adore mint tea, but I had never been able to make a good cup of tea. My mom showed me how to do it...it turns out it is much simpler than what I was doing. I was crushing the mints and pouring hot water on it, like I saw once at a Turkish coffee place. This made the tea bitter and brown with little to no flavor of the mint - I guess too much oxidation or something. What my mom showed me was to simply throw the mint into some water and boil it for a while. This creates a gorgeously green and fragrant mint tea. I can get used to having this every day:)
I am linking to Daphne's
Harvest Monday - I really appreciate her hosting this every monday for us to share our harvest. I'm also linking to Wendy's
GTTC with mint tea...it is not much of a recipe but I was so excited about this, so for me, it is a delightful garden recipe.
Yummy harvest! My peas have yet to flower! Try soaking your lettuce leaves in cold water for a little bit to rehydrate and make them nice and crispy. I made some mint tea too! I added some lemon verbena to them for a nice zap.
ReplyDeleteYeah! I saw your post on the mint tea. I'll have to try mixing herbs too...I've never heard of lemon verbena, but sounds really great!
DeleteYum, I may have to try that mint tea. I've had trouble making it in the past too.
ReplyDeleteSo strange that simple is best in this case. Give it try, it is very good!
DeleteI love mint tea too, sometimes I do it your way and other times I add the leaves to a cup of normal black tea. Lemon balm and mint is also a nice combination.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a coffee drinker but I've switch to tea these past few years. I love the great variety in the tea out there. I'll have to look into making combination tea.
DeleteI love knowing how easy it is to do the mint tea, I think I would have chopped it too. Thanks for the tip :)
ReplyDeleteI was surprised too! so easy and so delicious!
DeleteMy mint was lush and gorgeous until I cut some the other day. Lots of speckled damage. I always thought it was basically pest free! I was looking forward to making tea too... Good tip about not crushing the leaves.
ReplyDeleteI had some damage in the mint too - I guess I didn't water it enough...but they seem to bounce back pretty quickly
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