Look what I found once the frost killed off all the foliage — a zucchini as big as my leg! I thought I’d done a pretty good job keeping up with them but this one was lurking in the back, hidden by the cucumber trellis. I may try to save some seeds from it — for now I just pose it places and take pictures.

The garden is pretty much done. My other big surprise of the season was these beautiful raddiccio heads. I took them to a party where first we admired the pretty colors, and then the visiting chef cut them into wedges, drizzled them with very good balsamic vinegar and roasted them in a hot hot oven. They were delicious, and a wonderful surprise because I’d given up on them about half way through the summer — they just didn’t look like they were ever going to form heads. So I thinned them out, and just ignored them. The cool weather set in and one day, when I was watering I noticed they’d formed heads! Quelle suprise. They were probably the loveliest things I grew all summer.