Name that green!

We understand that there has been some confusion of late with the proliferation of greens in your orders. Not surprising, given the abundance that is to be found in the garden! Below are some photos of some of this week’s veggies to help you identify them.
First: Kale. I mentioned it last week but did not include a photo. This is what our kale (red russian kale) looks like. It is less curled that the kale variety commonly found in stores, but just as delicious!!

In the same bag with your kale are a few bunches of Swiss chard, which is making its first appearance of the season. Chard is best eaten cooked, and while it is not a favourite in our household, we find that lots of cheese helps it goes down!!

A new item in your herb bag this week — and a new veggie for all of us — is rat’s tail radish. I learned about these while helping at Prairie Garden Seeds’ Seedy Saturday booth last year. They are radishes where you eat the seed pod (which looks rather like a rat’s tail) rather than the root. No more wormy or woody radishes! We aren’t sure they’re quite ready yet, but were very curious to give them a try. You’ll find a couple in your herb bags, along with what are probably the last of the French breakfast radishes.

Arugula has been in your herb bags for the past few weeks. This green has a bit of bite, and I find that finely chopped arugula makes a wonderful addition to salad!

This week we are introducing a new green: perpetual spinach. This green has a flavour similar to spinach, but is more closely related botanically to chard and beets. It was a favourite of ours in Saskatoon, where the patch could be picked continually from early summer until snowfall. It is new to the farm, and we are curious to know what you think!
Most of you will have a full bag of loose spinach leaves (as distinguished from the chard, which has been cut off at the roots and placed in a bag with kale).

Another item that you have been receiving in your herb bags for a few weeks now is cress. It looks somewhat like parsley but has a much more pungent flavour. As far as I know, it is generally used in salads or sandwiches, but do let us know if you have other ways to enjoy it!

Also in your bags this week, but needing no photo, are the first baby beets of the season (complete with more greens!), rhubarb, dill, onions, and lettuce (the usual prizehead, plus a bit of red lettuce from seed I had brought to the farm and didn’t want to waste! think the variety is red deer tongue.

Bon appetit!