Each harvest season is unique, and this year's abundance is leafy greens. Everywhere around us, from the prolific weeds to the leaves on the trees in the forests, this August is an intense green.

With a new raised-bed garden under construction, we planted late: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, green beans, broccoli, kale, escarole, arugula, lettuce, and herbs. For some reason, we love Italian vegetables and herbs and often order seeds from http://www.growitalian.com/.  Each bed had volunteers from previous years since we didn't add all new soil, hence lots of sunflowers and amaranth. Only one bed was intentionally devoted to flowers.

 While tomatoes succumbed to fungus, unable to set fruit in the wet, cool weather, the Genovese Basil planted as a companion crop around the tomatoes took off.

 Today, I am making Pesto alla Genovese: Pesto, Genoa Style which is made with fresh basil and served over pasta or as an ingredient in soups such as Minestrone. Genoa is the hometown of Christopher Columbus and the capital of Liguria, the popular northwest coastal region of Italy. In Genoa, they say that their basil has a far superior flavor to that grown elsewhere in Italy, so of course, Pesto Genovese is the best in all the world.


Today's Basil Harvest for Pesto

 

Here's a good recipe using fresh basil Genovese from Northern Italian Cooking by Francesco Ghedini, Hawthorn Books, Inc., New York, 1973.

Pesto Alla Genovese
1/2 c. pine nuts
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil (dried basil is not a suitable substitute)
2 T. chopped raw spinach leaves
2 t. finely minced garlic
1/2 c. freshly grated Fiore Sardo cheese or 1/4 c. freshly grated Romano and 1/4 c. fresh parmesan
6 T. butter, softened
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. freshly ground pepper
 
Use mortar and pestle to mash pine nuts, basil, spinach and garlic to smooth paste. Stir in cheese and butter. (Being lazy, I just use the food processor.)



Arugula left and Baby Romaine right

All the greens we planted did well whether direct-seeded into the garden or started in the greenhouse and transplanted in. Using light-weight row covers keeps the flea beetles from riddling the leaves with dozens of bite-holes. We enjoy arugula in salads but recently discovered a recipe for Arugula-Pesto which is also delicioso on pasta. (While young, the Romaine is good wilted with a hot olive oil dressing, but I will let some plants mature for a crunchy Caesar Salad.)

 

First Escarole



Washed Escarole

 



 

Keeping with the Italian theme, escarole is excellent in soups such as this Escarole and Bean Soup. I grew Cannellini beans too but they also failed due to fungus. The trick is to be happy with what you get.

Eating from the garden is healthy and tasty! And all the hard work has to be good for us! Then in the snowy months, we can pull out pesto or soup with greens, Minestrone, vegetable soup. There's just an intense period now trying to put it all away without any waste. So, back to work...

Eat fresh! Buy local! Happy harvest.