Something Unusual this Year

[digitS']

What are you growing that is unusual for you in the garden and kitchen? And, what are you doing with it?

For me, it is escarole.

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A few years ago, I would have said Portuguese kale . For many years, I have eaten Scotch kale in beef and barley soup. I wanted to try the different kales and had eaten Portuguese kale soup ... somewhere (probably a restaurant . It's often made with potatoes but I like it made with beans.

When I told a friend about the kale soup he remembered his Italian American mother's soup made with escarole. I'd eaten escarole as a salad ingredient but never cooked.

I grew broadleaf escarole the last 2 years and think it is great in the bean soup - just using it rather than kale, altho it cooks quickly .

Because it cooks quickly, I decided to have escarole with kimchi ramen. By now you have the idea that I'm a greens guy . Yeah. I usually have ramen for a summer meal with an Asian leafy green, sometimes broccoli.

So, I'm all mixed up with my ethnic dishes ... and, loving it ! Have you enjoyed something out of your ordinary this year??

Steve

[theforgottenone1013]

I never had mizuna before this year. It's pretty good. Haven't attempted cooking with it though. I saved a ton of seed and will be planting a lot more next year.

And I am going to try forcing some Belgian endive roots this winter. They've been growing since spring and I've yet to dig them up.

-Rodney

[imafan26]

I have some komatsuna in the garden that grew as part of the Asian greens mix. I haven't tried it yet. I am thinking it will be like mustard cabbage.

[!potatoes!]

grew senposai this year, which is a mustard/cabbage. good for leafy wraps. and did okinawa spinach for the first time. beyond that, nothing too unusual for me. groundnut, yacon, arracacha, perennial ground cherries, turkish rocket...all normal for me now. bought the property and moved this spring, so I grew about 1/2 of my usual volume. next year...

[digitS']

It's interesting that the 3 unusuals are Asian greens.

I have grown the 3. Mizuna sure is pretty, especially that red variety. I have a few plants in the greenhouse beds now to see how they do in generally cold, low light conditions.

The first year I grew Senposai I thought, "boy, this is great stuff!" The next time, I must have given it too much shade; it had mildew problems. Third time, it bolted quickly!

Komatsuna develops into a useful green quickly. Whereas I was hoping for more of a summer green from senposai, I appreciate komatsuna very early harvest. Probably, mizuna would be competitive but I especially like komatsuna in stir-fry where it shows up a couple of weeks before my bok choy varieties.

And, variety of conditions have to play into the successes and failures of choices. The climate here is one of hot dry summers. I had a white beet this year with good greens after a very hot (record-breaking) late June. Beets often have leaf miner problems in my garden. Not this year! ... on any of the beets. So, I don't yet know if these white beets have any resistance. DW doesn't like red beets staining the other foods in her plate so the white beets were something of a hit. There's that individual taste factor, too .

Steve

[jal_ut]

Tomatillos. I have never grown them, but this year one came up in my garden. I let it grow and it had a good harvest. No, I don't know where the seed came from. On the wind, in the water, or perhaps a bird?

[HoneyBerry]

I guess my Honey Berries are unusual. I bought them at a fund raiser plant sale at the WSU extension a few years ago. I picked them because they are different from what I typically find at the garden stores. The plants are established now and I love the Honey Berries they produce in the spring . Cute bell-shaped blue berries, a little bit tarter than regular blueberries. And the plants are nice looking so I have them in the front yard.
I am a greens person too and hope to grow some next year. Thank you for the great ideas.

[erins327]

Ground cherries!

I planted them last year but didnt have alot of success. Mainly my fault. But this year I have whittle bitty cherries growing all over it that I just stand out there and eat. They rarely make it in the house.

I see alot of people trying mizuna. I could never get that going because the flea beetles ate it all.

[imafan26]

I have mizuna seedlings to pot up. Mizuna is popular here for New Year. At midnight it is traditional to eat ozoni, mochi soup. The mizuna leaves are in the soup. It also makes a good crunchy salad green. I did not try stir frying though. When I have it in the herb garden the Filipino staff has asked to take some of the leaves to eat but I don't know how they are cooking it.

Good to know about komatsuma. I have read about it but did not try it since I have other mustard cabbages. This one grew from a package of mixed Asian greens. It also had hon tsai tai, which I do like.

I have had tomatillos before, but except for salsa I don't know what else to do with them.

I am trying different varieties of radish this time. I usually grow the long minowase but I am trying tae baek, short top and a long top daikon from Fukuda seed. The Korean daikon are supposed to stay crunchier longer for pickles. I usually grow them and give them to my friends, they make the pickles. I make terrible pickles....way too salty.

[digitS']

. . . And I am going to try forcing some Belgian endive roots this winter. They've been growing since spring and I've yet to dig them up.

-Rodney

Rodney, about 15 years ago, I tried just what you are doing. I don't know what I was thinking!

I don't like radicchio. I didn't really like the escarole in salads. I'd never tried the Belgian endive but liked the "forcing in winter" idea .

I had a great big box of roots and sand in the basement. (I could carry sand better in those days .) The plants grew well - I couldn't eat them.

Now, I've learned that you can cook them. That must cut down on the bitterness.

I did try something else that was fun. I found out that they are a chicory, so I roasted diced roots and brewed coffee with them! At 50:50, they made a flavorful beverage. I needed to add the ground coffee. I had tried coffee with chicory (commercial product) before and it was fairly close .

Steve