August 10, 2015

At last, a harvest other than arugula from the vegetable garden. ‘French Emerite’ pole filet beans on the right are especially productive. 

I’m very fond of the ‘Royalty Purple Pod’ heirloom bush bean. This year they are close to the Japanese eggplant for added color drama. The beans are so easy to find on the plants. Though they turn green with cooking, I like to pick them very thin and chop for crunch and color in salads. 

I suspect their purple hue comes from anthocyanins. Another reason to eat them raw since this antioxidant pigment may be degraded with heating.

I eat some of the strawberry guavas right off the tree for the intense flavor and the antioxidants. We picked an estimated ten pounds of guavas this week. I’ll know later today when I weigh and process them. 

And the zinnias are blooming in front of the green beans. All is well.

To see more garden harvests from around the world, follow the link to Daphne’s Dandelions.