Spring Harvest and Two Meals

Here's a good pic of the different kinds of radish I grew this spring. White Icicle, Easter Egg (white, pink, purple, maroon) & Red Globe. Most of the White Icicles ended up taking a bit too long to mature, so by the time they were big enough to eat, they had bolted and gotten woody. I think they'll be better in the fall. The Easter Egg & Red Globe, on the other hand - were fantastic - I picked about 100 more that aren't pictured here.



Now here's a picture of the Mustard Greens. I picked at least 3 more armfuls as big as this one. They were so tender and delicious. The trick is to saute them with a little maple or agave syrup to bring out their sweetness. I will definitely grow these again.






This is a big pile of Arugula. I also picked about 3 more piles this size. It is great sauteed like spinach. I like to mix the sauteed Arugula in with a tomato bean sauce and put it on pasta. It's also good just raw as a salad green. I love the nutty taste.

I even used the arugula flowers in a meal one evening. They have the same nutty taste as the leaves, delicious! You can see them at the top right corner of this picture:

It is cajun-spiced seitan on a bed of radish & mustard greens (sauteed w/ garlic, smoked paprika & red pepper flakes), dirty rice, and a wonderful salad composed of thinned baby turnips and beets, plus radishes w/ chive & arugula blossoms and a light herb vinagrette. I really do like the taste of the chive blossoms. I sprinkle them on everything now.

But that meal was nothing compared to this brunch! Grilled Vcon smoky tempeh w/ black-eyed pea salsa & grilled smoked rosemary potatoes + mustard greens sauteed in the leftover tempeh marinade. It is all sprinkled with chive blossoms and also dollops of oregano pesto. (I had to make something with the oregano since I have sooo much of it. The pesto was tasty!). More purplish-pink easter egg radishes on the side, with a bit of the pesto on the end + chamomile flowers. The yellow flowers by the pile of greens were actually mustard green flowers. Spring is great!