Harvest Time!

I finally got around to picking all the rest of the vegetables from our garden before the frost hits and here's our bounty! I had picked a lot of tomatoes over the last month or so and made salsa with them but these ones never turned red so I thought I would just have to throw them away. But then I found out from my SIL that if you wrap them in newspaper, they will ripen indoors. So I did that and already, a week later, I've got 4 red ones and 2 more yellowish red ones that are almost ready to eat. Anyone up for more salsa?

As for the carrots, they tasted marvelous, so much better than store bought ones. I made a beef stew last weekend with half of them and we could totally taste the difference. Then yesterday I made this delicious carrot cake with the other half and oh my gosh, it was the best carrot cake ever! Try this recipe if you have carrots you're trying to use up, even if they are store bought.

Carrot Cake
4 eggs
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Cream Cheese frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 3 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.


Because this was our first year of having a successful garden and actually getting something out of it, I thought I'd show it's progress from start to finish. We did a row of corn and carrots and then sections of tomatoes, green beans, and lettuce. This is planting day, May 31st, 2008.


1 month later, July 3rd

2 months later, Aug. 3rd

2 1/2 months later, Aug. 22nd

3 months later, Sep. 4th

4 1/2 months later, Oct. 18th

It's sad to see our little plot all barren and dead but we're excited for the spring when our tulips will come up and we can start it all over again!