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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Rigatoni with Zucchini, Lemon and Mint

We have started to harvest some of our topweight carrots that were sowed end winter (August) on the sunniest patch in the garden. It is grown on hard clay soil. So we got a funny looking roots but the roots are strong enough to grow through hard soil. Before we have some several days of hot weather it will be best  to harvest all those carrots before it become bake carrot in the soil. The exposed carrot root are becoming blackish instead of normal greenish. We harvested our last florence fennel as it is not growing that much due to the warm weather we have during the day. The location that I planted them was too sunny and dry for them I reckoned. Contemplating at the moment to try growing them in container during this summer.
Yellow currant tomatoes are still very prolific. It takes a long time to harvest them. There are also many self-sowed yellow currant tomatoes near this plants. Our volunteer yellow pear cherry tomato plants also has some ripen fruits. But it did not make it to the harvest basket as it is consider as rare item in the garden at the moment. So it is always pick and pop in the mouth.
Harvested some Lebanese zucchines and Lebanese eggplants last week.
Just for fun, the total cost for us to make this dish is less than AUD5.00. It says that it is for 4 servings. But it was quite a lot that it was for lunch and dinner for us. This is the first time we tried zucchini with pasta.
Rigatoni with Zucchini, Lemon and Mint ( The Australian Women's Weekly-The $ Smart Cook)
Ingredients:
500gram rigatoni pasta (coles brand AUD1.00)
60ml olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed (home-grown)
3 medium zucchini (~360gram), grated coarsely (home-grown Lebanese zucchini)
180 gram ricotta cheese (I used less from leftovers for leek and fetta triangles)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint (home-grown used less 1/2 cup cos not many leaves at the moment)
70gram roasted slivered almonds, if desired ( in a rush I forgot about them)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (from neighbour)

(1) Cook pasta in large saucepan of boiling water until just tender; drain.
(2) Meanwhile, heat oil in large frying pan; cook garlic and zucchini, stirring, 2 minutes. Add cheese; cook, stirring, until just heated through.
(3) Combine zucchini mixture and pasta in serving bowl with remaining ingredients.

We harvested all our Nero Black kale and Red Russian kale leaves last week as I wanted to clear some patch for warm loving vegetables. My husband seems to be allergic eating Red Russian kale but not Nero Black kale. Do you know whether this allergy to particular kale is common? My hand itch too when I harvest Red Russian Kale especially at the part that has been cut probably from the oozing liquidy thing.
I am only successful at growing small cabbage head. 
Some potatoes, leeks and kohlrabi harvested yesterday.
Visit Daphne's Dandelions to see different kind of harvest from different season such as winter or summer and the all year round tropical climate.

21 comments:

  1. Lots being harvested for you right now. Your meal looks really good.
    Cher Sunray Gardens
    Goldenray Yorkies

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  2. I've never heard of anyone being allergic to Kale. Parsnips, yes, but not Kale...
    Mind you I am allergic to leaf Coriander, which most people love.

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  3. Great harvest and so many sorts of vegetables. The recipe is new for me, but I must wait the next summer to try it ...
    Hugs !

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  4. Love your yellow currant tomatoes. Pasta dish looks delicious.

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  5. Great harvest. Nothing like that is happening around here. That's for sure. Zucchini and pasta sounds delicious. Speaking of odd and new recipes, Belle has been putting spaghetti squash in our spaghetti noodles. That's pretty good too.

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  6. You have very colorful vegetables.

    They are as colorful as those beautiful flowers.

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  7. YUM! I love zucchini in pasta too!
    Your harvest is amazing! The Kohlrabi is huge!

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  8. The yellow current tomatoes looks so juicy! SO much of them waiting to be plucked! wow!
    Your garden is still so productive!

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  9. Your tomatoes looks so juicy and delicious! Love to have them fresh with 'Penang kuah rojak'! You should try ;)

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  10. lumayannya penuh bakul dengan hasil kebun..suka sangat tengok tomato kuning tu...eh tak pernah seumur hidup ni makan Nero Black kale...apa rasa ya?

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  11. oh lupa..pasta tu..yum yum..kegemaran kami sekeluarga.

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  12. I don't think I could pick that many little yellow tomatoes without eating at least as many. That pasta recipe looks inviting. And I'm so pleased that the boys liked the card.

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  13. I love the way the vivid yellow of the currant tomatoes is brought out by the dark, blackness of the eggplant. I definitely will plant more cherry tomatoes next year. They were my favourites in this year's vegetable garden. The pasta dish sounds delicious. I would not have thought to add the mint and I happen to like nuts in salads and pasta dishes.

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  14. that basket of veggies sure is a lot to serve for 4 person. so do you like the zucchini with pasta? i do think any simple stir fry zucchini would taste good in pastas.

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  15. Beautiful harvests and that recipe sounds delicious. I am going to snag it and save it for when we are in our summer harvest period and have some fresh zucchini on hand to try it.

    Never heard of a kale allergy before but I am sure it is quite possible.

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  16. you have wide range of vegetables.wow!

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  17. Your harvests look terrific! I haven't heard of anyone being allergic to kale but I do have a friend that is allergic to any green onion part. She can eat regular onions as long as they are not beginning to sprout but she cannot eat green onions or chives; she breaks out in horrible hives if she does. so something that is only in the one and not the other.

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  18. hi diana, wow as usual, my eyes simply got glued to your beautiful harvest. with varieties too..

    i can imagine the satisfaction when gathering them in your baskets..then goes right onto the pan and to your dinner plate, so sweet and nutritious... a fulfilling meal for the family. have a nice day

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  19. Cher~I am afraid this week harvest is not as generous as last week.

    Mark~It is really interesting that different component of plant can affect individual reaction differently.

    Dani~Hope you harvest many zucchini next summer.

    Norma~Those yellow currant tomatoes were harvested from one plant.

    Jody~I can't wait to try spaghetti squash with pasta. We have one that look promising.

    Apa saja yang boleh dikongsi~Kalau rumah dekat boleh je kongsi tomato tu banyak stock dalam peti ais.

    Rainfield61~We have colourful ladybug as well. I spotted a yellow and a brown one the other day.

    Phoebe~The kohlrabi not that huge. It is just actually a medium size. The camera trick.

    Marinahunny~Kalau boleh nak minta tolong petikkan tomato kuning tu...hehehe...

    Malar~Harvesting those yellow currant tomatoes takes a long time. Kena banyak bongkok-bongkok keliling pokok nak petik.

    Orchid de dangau~Lama tak makan Penang kuah rojak.

    Cikmanggis~Rasa seakan macam makan kubis kut. Cuma daunnya ambik masa nak layu masa masak.

    Catmint~Ah yes those tomatoes make a great snack while working in the garden. The boys like the card very much.

    Jennifer~This is our first time added mint in pasta.We can't wait for our other cherry tomato variety to fruit.

    Lena~Zucchini with pasta is nice. But I have to get use with ricotta cheese. I am thinking of using cream next time as substitute.

    KitsapFG~Hope you will enjoy this dish!

    Loveforfood~We like to try different variety to grow each season.

    Mary~Maybe it probably due to genetic or blood something like that cause reaction.

    Cookingvarieties~By harvesting our own vegetables we never can plan early our dish one week before. It is all by observing what is ready a few days before.

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