All around my neighborhood, I see several apple trees laden with ripe fruits, ready to be picked. Apple harvest season has begun. Usually, the best apples get eaten fresh or cooked into pies and sauces. But what does one do with the misshapen ones or the slightly bruised ones?
Good news! The cherry tomatoes in my yard are starting to ripen. I plucked one off the vine today and tasted it. Yum-O!! The red ‘Sweet 100’ stands up to its name – crisp, sweet and juicy. The ‘Yellow Pear’ looks gorgeous. It has a milder taste and is a little soft on the inside. I am waiting for more tomatoes to ripen so I can make this Cherry Tomato Orzo Salad with my own harvest.
In the midst of sowing radish and carrot seeds, we harvested our first crop of the season – Purple Sprouting Broccoli. It is so beautiful, so fresh and so tender that I did not use my bamboo steamer. Instead, I sautéed it lightly in butter along with some garlic, salt and pepper. It turned green upon cooking and paired up beautifully with lentils and rice. Yum-O!