I have been busy reading my upcoming book’s first layout. I can’t believe it’s almost done!
I always feel that not a whole lot happens in my garden in the winter months, as things grow fairly slowly compared to summer, but if you look back to the November post you will see that indeed a lot has happened. The peas are on their way up; in the photo below you can see the peach tree prunings that my father uses as their stakes. The netting is to keep the birds away.
The fennel is doing quite well:
The fava beans are starting to produce flowers, which will soon turn into pods:
Right after I took the picture below of my broccoli rape I picked a bunch of them. One of my favorite ways to cook it is to sauté it with olive oil, garlic and peperoncino.
Here is a picture of the cavolo broccoli; you can see the broccoli starting to come out.
The escarole is thriving in this cool weather. I will pick these later in the week for my soup class. One of the minestra (hearty soup/stew) we are making in the class is scarole e fagioli!
The citrus trees are loaded with fruit. I have oranges, Satsuma mandarins and more Meyer lemons that I can use. Take a look at the pictures below! If you are wondering where I was hiding my citrus trees: they fill in the space between my house and my neighbor’s.
Satsuma mandarins:
My Meyer lemon tree:
A close-up of the gorgeous Meyer lemons:
I have some work coming up soon, making candied orange peel and limoncello.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow – I only wish! (As I type this in Michigan). You’re so lucky to have this bounty in January!
Elaine,
We are blessed to live in the Bay Area and able to grow all the vegetables and fruits that we were used to have in Calabria.
Lovely citrus! Comparison pictures for winter gardens are a must. I’m struck at how much faster my beds in sun grow than those in the shadow of the house (although really, it’s elementary). Your soup sounds delicious. I’ve got to get a bean pot going, if the weather is going to continue this rain.
I have access to both Meyer and regular lemons and have used the latter to make limoncello. What would the difference in taste be in limoncello made with the two different types of lemons? Grazie.
Mary,
I use Meyer lemons to make limoncello because that is what I have and Iove the juice of Meyer lemons. It won’t make much difference whether you use the regular lemons or Meyer lemons to make Limoncello as you are only using the peel of the lemons. The difference between the two lemons is in the taste of the juice, the Meyer lemons are sweeter less acidic.
My thinking was that there would also be a difference in the how the peel tastes (i.e., how the alcohol would pull that taste out of the peel). BTW: What alcohol do you use? I haven’t found grain alcohol in California. Grazie ancora.
Rosetta,
Do you have a Limoncello recipe you share?
Bill,
I do have a recipe for making limoncello and I will share it as I will make limoncello in the next week and write a post about it.