Using my dry shell bean harvest added delight to the week’s menu. I gathered the remaining beans from last year’s harvest, combining with beans from this year that I won’t grow again for a sumptuous Fagioli al Fiasco soup from 101 Cookbooks. Heidi’s photos are stunning and she nuances the recipe to near perfection.

The various beans cooked well together making a full-bodied broth with the simple additions of olive oil, garlic, fresh sage, red pepper flakes and sea salt. I added toppings of diced red onion and bell pepper, roasted pistachios, lime juice, asiago cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. My neighbor graced us with a loaf of her sourdough bread which I toasted and rubbed with olive oil and garlic. Apple-rhubarb sauce from the freezer made a light finish.

Earlier in the week I made a simple meal of Yellow Indian Woman beans or Buckeye beans. Wanting to experience the flavor of these prolific beans, I added no seasonings as they cooked. On the side I combined red onion and bell pepper strips from the garden, sautéed in olive oil to top the beans. The beans were very flavorful and held their shape well. I saved enough seed to double my planting next summer.

My nectaplum-lavender shrub concocted two months ago is almost gone. I’ve found it refreshing mixed in a one to three ratio with sparkling water. New England colonists used their excess and marginal ruit for drinking vinegars. Following the practice of “use what you have” I considered rhubarb which is still robust after a mid-summer replanting.

I found a rhubarb shrub recipe made with lovely red rhubarb. Mine is green, so I added frozen mixed berries, also on hand.

Fruit and sugar combined and day one of two days as the syrup forms. Details on the method and recipe in an upcoming blog post.

The first big shake of the strawberry guava tree produced an easy three pounds. Loads more to come but more on guavas next week. I wonder about a strawberry guava shrub.

As summer flowers diminish, I made a “this-and-that bouquet” for the church entry table while I await the asters next week.

Check the What I’m Planting Now page as I plant the cool season garden. Then head to Harvest Monday, hosted by Dave at Happy Acres blog and see what garden bloggers around the world harvested last week.

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