Oh, winter - that dark season of depressing storms and huddling inside, marking time until spring comes! Unless, of course you planted a snow garden, back in the late summer, as an act of faith. Then you can enjoy these tasty delights.
The leeks:
These will go into our Thanksgiving stuffing and add their subtle flavor to cock a leekie soups. The greens are saved in the freezer until we make a batch of stock and then are added to deepen its flavor.
The Brussels sprouts:
Peer into its heart and you'll see the sprouts at the center. These grace the Thanksgiving and Christmas tables, and many others through January or February. We've already eaten the Brussels tops as steamed vegetables; those were taken off in late September to encourage the sprouts to form. When the sprouts are all harvested, the stems are roasted for a couple of hours, split open and pithed. The pith makes a cream of Brussels stem soup, which is clearly in the Brassica family of flavors but unique. We only get enough to make it once a year. The roasting makes the stems compost far, far better too.
The kale:
We like kale in many forms, but it takes on a sweeter, milder flavor after frost. These are drooping a little, but they will stand up when the temperature rises a little, just as the rhododendrons do. Good in kale calzones.
The parsley:
It was a very good year for parsley. We have a big bunch in the frig and several packages frozen, but the garden patch (about six still standing) should be good down to about 10 degrees.
The arugula:
Dear arugula! One of the first in the spring, one of the last in the winter. I cleared the snow off one plant but lots more sleep under their blanket. We're having a winter salad tonight, with garden arugula, tomatoes and onions. The tomatoes came in just before the first frost, and ripen in the breezeway; the onions were braided back when their tops dried.
The carrots:
These come out of the ground just before it freezes. Caramelized carrots for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and whenever else we please and they hold out.
The endive:
This is a second planting; the first was eaten back in June and July. I brushed the snow off a baby but the larger one near it is just discernible. We eat a good deal of this in a lentil blue cheese salad.
The purple kale:
Not really different in flavor but oh so pretty! I am tempted to bring some in as a bouquet.