We have been enjoying spinach, cilantro, parsley, collard greens, Swiss chard and strawberries for a few weeks now. A little disappointed in the strawberries, I must admit - I was expecting sugary sweet morsels, but they're just kinda okay. And one of the early ones had the weirdest looking pointy worms in it...ick!
However, with all the rains we've had (yes, it has rained in Arizona!) everything is blooming, and there are honey bees everywhere! I think they like the lavender the best.
If someone had told me last fall that I would fall in love with Swiss chard, I doubt I would have even known what it was. However, I am now a devotee of this luscious, obscenely vibrant leafy green that mysteriously started growing in my flower bed last fall.
I've put it in soups, replaced it with lettuce in sandwiches, and stir fried it naked. Yummy and good for you. Who knew!
March 14 2010
We had our first carrot today, sweet and strangely spicy. I think they're related to radishes, therefore just a few degrees separated from wasabi (and Kevin Bacon?). Might need to wait longer to pull the others out. Our 8-year old, now wants to have "wascally wabbits" (she's a recent Bugs Bunny fan) in our yard...
Apparently collards get bitter once they bolt, so I decided to harvest them all. Here's what we got from 3 plants, plus some lemons, parsley and a handful of strawberries:
That same 8-year old then proceeded to help with the tedious task of de-spining the collards for cooking. We found two caterpillars as we were cleaning the leaves, and we put them back on the remaining plants. There's enough to share...and who knows what those caterpillars may turn into.
Collards ready to be julienned and cooked. Thank goodness for our dear friend Jean who suggested adding a splash of sugar to cut the bitterness (worked like magic) and freezing some of them fresh in baggies (nothing like good cooking tips from the South) ...or I'd still be cooking collard greens, hours later.
Instead of finally posting SOMETHING on this blog.
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