Fall has arrived here in California and the summer garden is slowly dying.  I recently, pulled out most of our summer garden - the cucumbers, zucchinis and green beans are all gone.  The eggplants and peppers will go this weekend.  About the only thing left is a few tomatoes that haven't decided if they are going to ripen this year or not.  I'm always a bit sad when the summer garden goes but I've been sick of cucumbers and zucchinis for a good two months now so I'm not really upset to see them gone.  Besides we still have a surplus of cucumbers in the fridge.  

The green beans, however, will be missed.  We grew tiny French haricot verts style green beans this year called Nickel.  They were exactly as haricot verts should be thin, relatively short, and very tender.  I can't wait to grow more next year.  As I pulled out the plants I picked the last bunch of beans which meant I had a small amount of green beans to cook into the final summer vegetable garden meal.  I made the easiest of all green bean dishes - mix some oil, salt and pepper with green beans place on a hot baking pan and cook 20 minutes.  Viola! Roasted green beans.  Yummy.  To bad it’s the end of the summer garden.

But summer leads to fall and that means it's time for the winter garden.  Not being a native Californian it has taken me several years to learn how to winter garden.   I think my biggest problem, initially, was starting too soon - it seems in gardening the early bird doesn't always get the worm - you have to wait for the weather to cool some or the winter plants bake in the lingering summer heat.  Last year was my first moderately successful winter garden with a rather large harvest of Onions and a few heads of garlic. 

While I only recently planted this years fall garden, I'm already dreaming about what I'm going to make with my harvest of Walla Walla onions, snow peas, garlic, and Fava beans.  The Fava beans are doing particularly well having already reached about 10 inches in height.  I think I may have to search for more Fava bean recipes because right now I only have one - Fava bean risotto.  In fact that's why I am growing the Fava beans.  But for a Foodie that's the fun of gardening, picking your bounty and finding recipes to use it in... 

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