Colorful fall greens

With just a bit of coddling, beautiful greens still linger in my southern New Hampshire garden.

Chinese cabbage and baby beets

Kale and escarole under row cover

Swiss chard and arugula

Bright Light Swiss chard is as tasty as it is beautiful. In the garden it grows easily and abundantly, and need only to be picked to keep it producing. I harvest it by the armloads from early summer to late fall. Both leaves and stems are edible but I prefer only the leaves and the stems get composted.

Here are two never fail Swiss chard recipes.

Sautéed Swiss Chard with Garlic and Oyster Sauce

3 lbs Swiss chard, leaves coarsely shredded, stems discarded

3 Tbs olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbs oyster sauce

Heat oil and garlic in a large heavy pot over medium heat, add salt and pepper. When garlic turns slightly golden add chard leaves in batches, stirring until wilted before adding next batch and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a serving bowl, toss with oyster sauce and serve. Makes 8 servings.

This chard ball recipe is adapted from an old spinach ball recipe. Whether you make them with spinach or Swiss chard the accolades will be the same, and will leave your guests begging for more.

Chard Balls with Hot and Sweet Mustard

4 cups cooked Swiss chard, squeezed dry, or 2 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry.

2 cups herb stuffing mix, crushed

1 cup grated parmesan cheese (5 oz wedge)

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

5 scallions, finely chopped

3 eggs

Dash of freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls. Cover and refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set balls on ungreased baking sheet and bake until golden brown about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with Hot and Sweet Mustard.

Makes about 50 balls

Hot and Sweet Mustard

½ cup Coleman dry mustard

½ cup white vinegar

¼ cup sugar

1 egg yolk

Combine mustard and vinegar, cover and let stand at room temperature 4 hours.

Mix sugar and egg yolk in small sauce pan. Add mustard and vinegar mixture and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Cover and chill. Serve at room temperature.

My garden in September

Morning fog rolling in from the Connecticut River

While tomatoes are waning, wonderful swiss chard will keep on producing until first frost. Fall lettuce, successively planted, will keep our salad bowls filled through the shortened days of fall.


Keep zucchinis picked and pick them small. Tiny zucchinis are more tender, crisper and sweeter than the great big ones that got away. I pick mine between six and ten inches.


Hungarian Wax peppers

These yellow Hungarian Wax peppers have a permanent place in my garden, I just love them. They're quick and easy to grow and produce an abundance of mildly hot peppers. I use them instead of bell peppers. They have just the right amount of heat with a hint of sweetness and freeze beautifully. To freeze, I cut them into half inch rings and pop them into one gallon freezer bags. All winter long I grab a handful and add them to soups, stews and stir fries.

Just as quickly, they can be pickled. Fill pint or quart jars with sliced peppers, cover with distilled vinegar and seal. They keep all winter long in my pantry and are great on nachos and anywhere you like a little heat.

Hot stash


No vampires here!