From the garden to the kitchen...

It's July. Getting hot, muggy and the garden is starting to produce many wonders destined for my kitchen table. The corn is done and Gloria is going to put in a second planting that should be ready in September along with the mission figs which are gaining size every day. Today is the day I decided to harvest some beets in the upper bed. I went out with my basket and surveyed the site to see what was available. It didn't really look like too many but heck, I started pulling. One thing led to another and when I was done I was amazed to find I had around 15 beets of various sizes. More than enough for what I wanted. I quickly grabbed my camara to verify my haul.

I love the shot of the bed with the giant sunflowers just starting to bloom. The basket was full of fresh beets. There is now more room for the other vegetables to expand their growth since I thinned things out a bit.

I took the beets to the sink where I trimmed their roots and tops.

Cut to the proper similar size, the vegetables were doused with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and placed in a bowl to await roasting.

The oiled beets are seasoned with salt and pepper and layed on a piece of heavy aluminum foil to be sealed in a pouch and put into the oven.

The pouches are set on a sheet tray and roasted in the oven at 375 degrees for nearly an hour.

These beets have been cooked "en papillote", which is to roast vegetables or fish in a paper or foil pouch in the oven. This is the result when I opened the pouch. Delicious and ready to eat or cool off and used any way you want. I cooled them and made a beet salad with homegrown red onions and an avocado with some Italian dressing that I made.

Gloria does most of the planting, weeding and just about everything garden related, bless her heart. She does it for me because she knows I like to harvest and prepare our own vegetables. It's a lot of work to take care of when her project schedule is already full. Thanks sweetie. You're the best...