Treasures from the Garden

After lunch today, we all ventured down to the orchard and garden to see what was new and exciting.  It's been warm the last few days and with the added sunshine, we are seeing good things happen in the garden!  Here's a look at our treasure after we brought it back up to the house....

Tomatoes!  I was so happy to find some of the larger tomatoes finally changing color.  We've been enjoying the cherry tomatoes for over a week now, but haven't seen any action on the big plants in the garden.... until now.

Zucchini!  I have a lot of it.... lots and lots!  We have been eating it several nights a week and every muffin or quick bread I make has zucchini in it.  I've decided that I am going to freeze it, so stay tuned for a blog post on how I managed to do that.

Gladiolas!  Aren't these beautiful?  My father in law brought these in for me and I am enjoying having fresh cut flowers in the kitchen.  I noticed some bright pink Glads beginning to bloom in the garden, so it looks like I will have more to enjoy.

Green Beans!  Over 40 seeds were planted this spring and we didn't think we were going to end up with any beans at all.  Surprisingly, we saw these pop up a few days ago so today we gathered lots for dinner.  The boys picked them and snapped them... they were really good.

Kirby cucumbers and Herbs!  We have 3 pickling cucumber plants and they are starting to really produce.  I'm not going to do full on pickle production this year, but I am trying a jar of quick spicy sweet pickles.  I'll let you know how they turn out.  Here are a few of the herbs I am growing.... Garlic chives, sage, rosemary and thyme.... sounds like a song, doesn't it?

Blackberries!  Ray risked it all to pick about 3 cups of blackberries.  The thorns are really brutal on the bushes and all the good berries were surrounded by yellow jackets and hornets.  My hero did great though and got us enough fresh blackberries for Gluten Free/Dairy Free Blackberry Buckle for dessert tonight.

Here's a sneak peek at the Blackberry Buckle... I will post the recipe later in the week.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!