- Herbs Are Your Friends
You can take the traditional route and stir some fresh sage into your stuffing, finish your potatoes with parsley, and add some rosemary to your ham’s glaze. Or get adventurous and tear some cilantro over roasted sweet potatoes, maybe toss some Mexican mint marigold (AKA Texas tarragon) with your green beans. Either way, be generous with the herbs. You and your guests will taste the difference.
- A Stunning Salad
This is the best time of year to create a showstopping salad mix. A blend with equal parts thick-stemmed green lettuce, daintier red-leaved varieties, and young mustard greens is a great place to start. From there you can add some arugula or sorrel, maybe a few varieties of mint, and all the other vegetables your heart desires! For the holiday table, definitely finish off your mix with some edible flowers like calendula, borage, or even pansies.
- Cooked Greens
Cool-weather greens are one of the easiest and most satisfying sides you can make straight from the garden this time of year. Mustards, collards, kale, and swiss chard are best friends with garlic, a little acid like vinegar or citrus, and some good olive oil. Dress them up with bacon, currants, pine nuts, chile flakes, and more! Just remember that all greens cook down a lot during cooking, so harvest more than you think.
- Use Your Freezer
Some advice for next year: freeze your spring and fall harvest and bring them out for Christmas. Sweet potatoes, bush beans, maybe even a homemade tomato sauce–all of these will defrost beautifully for the holiday table.