Call Any Vegetable

Tonight was last call for many of the frost-tender crops, as tonight marks Fall's first "frost advisory" for outlaying areas, with a forcast overnight low of 37 degrees. Remembering what happened the last time there was a forcast low of 37 degrees, I thought it best to err on the side of caution and haul in every tomato, green or otherwise, and eggplant, pepper, swiss chard, beans, okra, and I also gathered all the winter squash to spend a cozy night in the wheelbarrow in the garage. I probably could have left the squash outside without much damage, but they store much longer if they're not exposed to frost first. Noticing that the long term forcast has about 2 more good weeks after tonight's frost, I thought it wouldn't hurt to cover the pepper and eggplant beds with plastic, to try to force a few more weeks of production. The tomatoes are probably done for though, as there is no easy way to cover the seven-foot-tall trellises. Looks like I'll be spending good portion of tomorrow afternoon blanching and freezing. I need an appropriate soundtrack for such work.

Pink and Purple Potatoes

Tom Wagner's Paint Jar and Skagit Beets as french fries:

Skagit Beets were on the small side, and the skin had some sort of scab, but pared and cooked up they were creamy inside, crunchy outside, perfect for frying. Paint Jar, on the other hand, although the large smooth picturesque tubers lent themselves well to slicing, when fried they were disappointingly dry and mealy.

Which led me to believe that Paint Jar would be more suited for baking:

Technicolor dinner a few nights later: Salmon, baked potato and green beans. Talk about a feast for the eyes.

and yes, it tastes just like a baked potato!