This Homegrown Food Challenge recipe was suggested by Art and Lemons, in addition to their suggested recipe for Homemade Pasta with Butternut Squash and Fried Sage Leaves.

I used fresh kale as well as Swiss chard.

I sprinkled chives and parsley over the eggs for extra flavor.

The walnuts and dressing.

I was laughing at myself for putting black walnuts on my ingredients list. The ones I used were actually harvested 2 years ago, but I never got around to eating them, the main reason for that being that the shells are extremely difficult to crack. For these, I used a table vice and some vice grips, well above the average tools needed for liberating nut meats from their shells. It was a good exercise nonetheless so I at least know what I’m in for next time I want to eat some black walnut. If anybody has a better method of opening them, please share.

To Download a PDF of this recipe card, click here: Walnut Kale Salad with Fried Eggs and Toast

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Kale chips have been all the rage in my kitchen lately, and previously I had really only been cooking kale in meals. I was really surprised at how wonderful kale tastes raw in a salad. Thanks so much to Locavore in the City for suggesting this Homegrown Food Challenge recipe for Raw Kale Salad with Black Beans.

To download a PDF of this recipe card, click here: Raw Kale Salad with Black Beans

I used dehydrated tomatoes in the dressing, which gave the salad a nice tangy taste. This salad is great as both an accompaniment to a nice hearty meal or as a light refreshing meal itself. I’ll definitely be making this until old man winter takes away my fresh kale. Thanks again Suzanne!

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Not bad for an October weekend harvest. From left to right: kale, parsley, sage, chives, arugula, broccoli, ancho poblano pepper, radish, yellow tomato, leeks, red tomato, habanero, jalapeno and fennel.

Not pictured here are some Jerusalem artichokes and alpine strawberries that we also harvested.

We typically would be expecting the frost any day now, but looks like we’re clear for the entire week. Do you think we can make it into November?

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The Jerusalem Artichokes are growing tall. I can’t wait till they bloom.

The Nasturtiums are starting to bloom.

The edible leaves make a great addition to salads and sandwiches.

The brussel sprouts were nearly eaten away to nothing by the two rabbits that hang out shamelessly in the garden. Luke fenced them in and they are finally coming back.

The pole beans are still climbing away, while the bush beans that were planted at the same time have already flowered and are producing.

Bush beans:

The herb spiral is the most useful spot in the garden. I use herbs in pretty much every meal.

All of the asparagus crowns we planted this spring are growing.

I haven’t counted, but we already have a ton of pumpkins growing. Some of the pumpkins came up in their own from the compost.

Another pumpkin growing on a piece of slate.

Broccoli was another favorite of the rabbits until we fenced it off with bird netting. We haven’t harvested any broccoli yet, but it seems to be growing well now.

The three sisters bed. The pink corn silk is so festive.

A neighbor gave us clippings from his grape vines to root. They are starting to grow leaves and will be transplanted to our new mini vineyard next year.

The eggplant had such a slow start but finally seem to be growing.

The cucumber trellis is working out great! The vines are safely up off the ground and the cucumbers are easy to harvest.

Little pickle:

Kale is prolific. It feeds us from spring till winter and is so good raw, cooked, and thrown in with just about any meal.

Like kale, the swiss chard is another green that feeds us from early spring to late fall. It is so glossy and pretty.

I’d like to stuff and fry this little guy.

Zucchini overload is upon us.

Egyptian onions are a favorite from my childhood. My mother’s garden was filled with them. She brought us some this spring.

Our first attempt at growing cabbage:

Spaghetti squash about ready to be harvested:

This is what we picked for dinner tonight:

cilantro, kale, cucumber, spaghetti squash, green beans, yellow beans, and zucchini

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The plants are glossy and the stalks are almost like celery. This was one of my first edible plants in the spring and has proved to be one of the last. I will surely grow swiss chard every year.

The kale leaves are like green lace:

The parsley is vibrant and hardy. It is doing really well in the herb spiral I built this past spring.

The mint has exploded to the point of invasive. I’ll have to make a bunch of mojitos!

We save all of our cardboard and use it as sheet mulch in the garden:

Luke lined the paths of the mandala garden with cardboard:

And finally, the garlic we planted about 6 weeks ago has sprouted:

Does anyone know how to protect these scapes over the winter so I’ll have garlic next year?

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