A peek at my garden in January

I have been busy reading my upcoming book’s first layout. I can't believe it's almost done! I always feel that not a whole lot happens in my garden in the winter months, as things grow fairly slowly compared to summer, but if you look back to the November post you will see that indeed a lot has happened. The peas are on their way up; in the photo below you can see the peach tree prunings that my father uses as their stakes. The netting is to keep the birds away.

The fennel is doing quite well:

The fava beans are starting to produce flowers, which will soon turn into pods:

Right after I took the picture below of my broccoli rape I picked a bunch of them. One of my favorite ways to cook it is to sauté it with olive oil, garlic and peperoncino.

Here is a picture of the cavolo broccoli; you can see the broccoli starting to come out.

The escarole is thriving in this cool weather.  I will pick these later in the week for my soup class.  One of the minestra (hearty soup/stew) we are making in the class is scarole e fagioli!

The citrus trees are loaded with fruit.  I have oranges, Satsuma mandarins and more Meyer lemons that I can use.  Take a look at the pictures below!  If you are wondering where I was hiding my citrus trees: they fill in the space between my house and my neighbor’s.

Satsuma mandarins:

My Meyer lemon tree:

A close-up of the gorgeous Meyer lemons:

I have some work coming up soon, making candied orange peel and limoncello.