It’s nice to be back to the garden after almost two weeks in the Pacific Northwest (PNW to locals) visiting family. Several storms brought welcome rain to SoCal while I was away. Our seasonal total here in San Diego is over four inches since October 1 which is about twice the usual. We have almost 900 gallons of water stored on the property though that won’t be needed for some time. We’ve distributed some water to fruit trees, perennial edibles and native plants so we can collect more rainwater.

While away, my Tuscan baby leaf kale surged—no longer baby leaf but still very tender and mild-flavored. It grows well in a 12-inch container for cut-and come-again harvests and thrives in the cool weather. The heirloom seeds, imported from Italy are from Renee’s Garden.

I sheared the mesclun lettuce for my son who, in past years, has tended a winter garden on the roof of his century old loft in Downtown LA. No garden this year as he bought a home in Joshua Tree which he is remodeling.

The romaine lettuce didn’t mind all the rain and the parsley would like to be a bush. More radishes to pull before they get too large.

Peppers don’t mind the cool weather either. I snip off the blossoms to prompt the fruit to ripen. Red bell peppers from the garden taste especially sweet and crunchy this time of year. I’ve almost forgotten I lost four of them to critters.

I made a small pear, apple and cranberry crisp using some of our apples. After decades of using a favored apple crisp recipe, I’ve landed on a new one from Ina Garten in the last year. It’s a remarkable blend of flavors and textures. For the winter holidays, I often skip apple pie and make a large apple crisp. Faster and I think I prefer the crisp.

On my return, I cleared the remnants of Thanksgiving and began the season with a bouquet of seeded eucalyptus and grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon.’ Christmas tree this week.

See what other garden bloggers harvested last week at Harvest Monday hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres.