First Peppermint Swiss Chard for the season
Peppermint Swiss Chard
The Peppermint Swiss Chard was so fresh and tender I just did a simple saute in garlic and ginger infused oil, S&P to taste, garnished with dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts, served as a side.
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First Golden Sweet Snow Peas and Little Snap Peas Crunch for the season.
Left, Golden Sweet Snow Peas. Right, Little Snap Peas Crunch
In the above photo the Golden Sweet Snow Peas on the left are from the garden, the Little Snap Peas Crunch on the right are from the foam ice chest (photo below).
Little Snap Peas Crunch in Foam Ice Chest
Photo below: more Little Snap Peas Crunch from foam ice chest.
Little Snap Peas Crunch
Combined all the harvested peas in a stir-fry with chicken, tofu, kolibri (from last week’s harvest), garlic scapes, onion (last of the stash from last year’s harvest), carrots (from store) and roasted garlic (from freezer).
Did not use a recipe just kind of toss everything together as I was lacking time.
Thinly sliced the chicken, cut tofu into cubes and placed into separate containers. Seasoned (eye-balled all the seasoning ingredients) both with soy sauce, S&P, ginger, pale dry sherry and sesame oil.
If you need a recipe check out the following posts April, 12, 2013 & October 7, 2011. Use them as a guide and substitute what’s in the garden or the fridge.
Chicken, Tofu & Veggies Stir-fry
The Little Snap Peas Crunch were really crunchy and sweet, liked them a lot. Saving seeds for next year.
The Golden Sweet Snow Peas are OK, thought they would be more golden. Not sure if I will grow them again next year, they really do nothing for the finished dish.
NOTE: My chicken and tofu are very pale as I marinated both using light color soy sauce, for a darker color use mushroom dark soy sauce or dark soy sauce.
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Above photo: left, transplanted long beans, right, snow peas and sugar snap peas.
The untrimmed Golden Sweet Snow Peas (in the back of the row of peas) are doing a lot better than the trimmed Golden Sweet Snow Peas (front of the row of peas). Reason: the trimmed pea plants sent out many new tender shoots that were just the right height for the critters to feast on, the untrimmed pea plants were higher on the trellis and out of reach. Will have to try the experiment again another time.
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The Red Noodles Long Beans and Green Chinese Long Beans I direct sowed only 2 of the 98 made it. Not sure what happened, guessing chipmunks ate the seeds. There seem to be many more chipmunks dashing about in the garden this year, both live-ins and visitors.
Had to resow (hope it is not too late) both Red Noodles Long Beans and Green Chinese Long Beans but this time in containers out of reach of critters. I find the 1-lb size strawberry plastic containers with lids to be the right size and depth.
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More window box lettuce.
This is the last of my container lettuces. Will be sowing more at a later date. The container lettuces were not damaged by slugs and other bugs like the ones in the garden. So from now on I will be planting all my lettuces in containers.
Harvest but no photo: Garlic scapes, Chinese chives, goji leaves and more Win Win Choy from window box.
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Copyright © by Norma Chang. All Rights Reserved. Do not use/repost any photos and/or articles without permission.
Do visit Dave at Our Happy Acres for more Harvest Monday
Garden to Wok 
That is a huge basket full of lettuce and your Swiss chard and peas look so good. I can’t get over how well the snap peas did in the foam chest. Pretty amazing.
Hello Phuong,
Thanks, I AM surprised at how well the snap peas are doing in the foam ice chest, too bad I do not have extra seeds to try for a fall crop.
I grew Golden Sweet last year because I wanted a tall snow pea and I couldn’t get Green Beauty. But I didn’t care for it. The color is washed out and the pods are very thin. And it does look dull when cooked in dishes. Have Green Beauty this year but will be awhile before I get peas because they were planted late.
Hello Dave,
Look forwarding to reading about how you like Green Beauty, hope you get a good harvest.
What a great harvest!
Hello Angie,
Thanks.
Beautiful peas Norma! They are so nice to have to throw in mixed stir-fries. Mine are about done for the season but I will plant more for fall. Your chard is pretty too, I wish I liked to eat it. I am growing beets in a container, inspired by you and your container plantings, but for the roots and not the leaves.
Hello Dave,
Thanks. Chard is an acquired taste veggie, I know a number of people who dislike it. Just curious, how come you do not eat your beet leaves?
You are way ahead of me – neither my chard nor my peas will be ready for a few weeks still. Sounds like the Golden Sweet peas are hit or miss – some people seem to love them, others not. Now I’m really curious to find out how I feel about them.
Hello Margaret,
Are you growing Golden Sweet peas too? Can’t wait to learn how you like them.
Yup…they are just starting to flower, so it won’t be too much longer 🙂
The netting is a great idea of supporting snap pea vines. Are the golden peas just as sweet as the snap peas?
Hello Balvinder,
The Golden peas were not as sweet and crunchy as the snap peas.
Hi Norma, your snap peas look wonderful. I had to buy enough snap peas for 2 cups for the recipe for Chef David Rocco on City Line a couple of weeks ago, it was close to $20, making them well worth growing them at home.
Does the peppermint swiss chard have a peppermint flavour?
Hello Eva,
Ouch, close to $20 for 2 cups of snap peas, that less than a pound, sure is pricey.
No, the peppermint Swiss chard does not have a peppermint flavor, wouldn’t that be cool if it did!!!!! Too bad it is just the looks not the flavor.
Still a good harvest, I think. All of my presoaked long green beans, I sowed a while ago, all 44 of them, none came out because of the bad weather, too wet! So, I can relate but we don’t have chipmunks that ate the peas.
Hello Sophie,
Hope you had time to plant new seeds.