Garden party 1: The harvest

This past weekend was my annual garden party. I thought I should do a series of posts about the party from the planning to the end. I am having a wonderful growing season in the kitchen garden this year.  My family enjoys all the vegetables from the garden throughout the growing season. Since the kitchen garden is at its peak, I wanted to plan my annual garden party. I wanted all my friends to enjoy the garden and its bounty. This is the time I entertain with farm to table dinners. My annual garden party begins with planning the menu using the bounty from the garden. 

The first task of the party begins with harvesting all the vegetables.

This vegetable is called tindoora. They do look like miniature watermelons. I fried them with spicy powder.

The following vegetable is called bitter melon. Like the name suggests, it is bitter. But it is a delicacy for many Indians. This vegetable is popular in many Asian countries. It also a very healthy vegetable to eat for people with diabetes. Even the leaves are edible in stir fry.

This is called ridge gourd. It tastes more like zucchini with a little harder skin. I made curry with chana dal. Very tasty!

I harvested many baskets of tomatoes

I harvested gongura, a sour leaf vegetable which is very popular where I come from. I made chutney with it. Calyces from this plant are used to make herbal teas. 

I harvested many baskets of jewel-toned cherry tomatoes.

This is called opo squash, also known as loki in India. I made koftas with tomato gravy.

 I also harvested butternut squash and made curry with it. I forgot to take a picture (not a good blogger).
After harvesting all the vegetables and planning the menu, it was time to plan the centerpieces. The next post is all about centerpieces. 

For more memorable centerpieces, tablescapes, and recipes (including vegetarian, gluten free and vegan recipes),please check out my books, Entertaining From an Ethnic Indian Kitchen and Trader Joe's Simply Indian at my website komalinunna.com.

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