Foraging in the Garden for Vegetable Soup

Back in late December I had some left over ham and broth that needed to be used up in some kind of meal. Surprisingly to me, we still have a few things growing in the garden and herb bed, so I went foraging to see what I could come up with.

Our fall/winter garden has surprised me with the bounty it still yields. It's not a lot, mind you, but it is a bit of a harvest on these cold, cloudy, winter days. And it's a first for us. So here is my foraging tour.

First, I stopped off at the turnip bed. I didn't think it would continue providing any greens let alone turnips through the winter, but it has. I even covered some of the them up with frost cloth for the last week or so of temperatures down to 13* and they are still producing.

November 23rd

December 21st

January 2nd

January 12th without frost cloth

I was really surprised at the difference the frost cloth made.

The carrots aren't growing much, but I sure get a kick out of going out a picking a few for a meal here and there. I decided to sneak some greens into this meal and tell Frank afterwards. So I picked a few leaves from the turnips, kale and mustard.

Kale, December 21st

Mustard, December 21st

After I gathered up this garden produce, and dug around in the refrigerator, I decided this would make a good vegetable soup. Sounded yummy for a cold winter day.

Ham broth & ham with veges from the store.

The results of my foraging trip.

Some of the squash we canned.

Yum!

The funny thing about sneaking greens into the soup was this. As we sat down to eat Frank told me this would be a good meal to add some greens to. I laughed and told him he was right, and that I already did. It was a really good soup.

We didn't really plan on having a winter garden. It's the first time we've ever tried one and it's worked surprisingly well. We're not only enjoying the greens, so are the chickens, and we like the turnips, too. The carrots are just a great bonus. Frank has always liked turnip greens, but he used to only get them at the church potlucks. Now, I've learned to cook them as well. Do you have anything you are harvesting from your garden? Now is a good time to start planning for your spring garden. The seed catalogs are here and more arrive every week.

I'm grateful to have some slow, peaceful days of winter. The pace is slower, there is more time to read, and ponder, and plan for spring when the pace will be faster with more things to get done for the coming growing/preserving season. It seems rightly so. A season of work and harvest followed by a season of rest and rejuvenation. But, you know what? I'm starting to itch for spring already. I'm ready for baby goats, milking, cheese making, planting seedlings and digging in the dirt. Ah, spring. It's just around the corner. Can you smell it in the air? Soon new life will be bursting forth across the earth with it's promise of good things to come. Even in the midst of the trials and darkness across our globe in these dreary days of winter, there is always hope.

Until next time - Fern