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winter vegetables

Delicious garden kale — it’s what’s for dinner

While I was out in the garden this morning figuring out what to do about the impending freeze and miserable weather, I decided to bring in some things from the veggie garden for dinner tonight.

I covered a few things – the lettuce and the chard that I just planted. 

I brought in some parsley and sage and lettuce and the whole head of red Russian kale.  (Kind of liked thinking of the punitive theme for the Russian in my garden.)

Isn’t it just gorgeous?  I admit, I plant this one year after year because of its colors.  I looks beautiful in the garden.  The red colors disappear when you cook it, though.

I sauteed a little bit of onion with a smidge of bacon drippings and then just steamed the still-wet leaves after cleaning.  They cooked for about an hour on low heat with the lid closed.  I seasoned them with truffle sea salt, pepper, a little poultry seasoning and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar upon serving.  Delish!

Oh – and notice my pretty new ceramic olive oil bottle and spoon rest – birthday gifts from my Mom and Dad.  It was all color coordinated on the stove tonight!

What are you eating out of your veggie garden right now?  Any kale on the menu?

By |2016-04-14T02:39:27-05:00March 2nd, 2014|Blog, kale, lettuce, parsley, Red Russian kale, sage, Sharing Nature's Garden, vegetable garden, vegetables, veggies, winter vegetables|0 Comments
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Winter vegetable harvest — grow delicious kale

Vegetable gardening feeds my desire to buy and grow unusual plants. I love watching interesting varieties of common plants put on a show in my garden. 

This year I grew kale for the first time — Red Russian, which boasts beautiful red leaf stalks and tender twisting intricate green leaves, and Red Ursa — which is red all over and has tight, tiny curls like a perm left in too long!

If you’ve been wanting to add edibles to your perennial landscape beds – these varieties are the perfect addition.  If you don’t have to worry about deer or other critters getting them, that is.

They look so pretty in the garden.

And even better picked an in a bowl ready for washing!

I sauteed a leek from the garden with a little bit of bacon drippings, then added the washed and wet kale.  I put a little salt, pepper and chicken base in the pot with a little extra water and covered them and let them steam for a while — maybe 30 minutes. 
They were delicious.  I think we can get another meal or two out of the plants before I pull them to make room for the four tomatillos biding their time in the greenhouse until our danger of frost has passed.
What are you eating out of your garden now?

By |2017-11-29T23:27:14-06:00February 25th, 2013|Blog, cooking, edibles, kale, leeks, recipe, Red Russian kale, Red Ursa kale, Sharing Nature's Garden, vegetable garden, vegetables, veggies, winter vegetables|0 Comments
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Sweet dreams of seeds to come from gardening catalogs…

We’re having our long winter’s nap here in Central Texas.  I can’t really call it cold here, but it is time for a break in the garden.

And that means…seed catalogs.

They’ve started arriving and I’m making a pile for a cold night, curled up in my chair with a cup of hot tea and a roaring fire.

Never mind that I already have a collection of seed packets large enough to start my own seed catalog, there are new varieties out there that are calling my name.  Seeds that are faster to germinate, bolt slower, have sweeter fruit, are more drought tolerant, produce more vegetables, flowers, you name it. 

If it’s new, a gardener’s gotta have it, right?

Right now, broccoli, cabbage, kale, strawberries, chard, lettuce, leeks, parsley, cilantro, and onions are taking up most of the veggie garden space.  But I’ve always got room for bulbs and cutting flowers (I think!).

Room or not, there are seeds in my future — are there seeds in your future?

By |2017-11-29T23:27:15-06:00January 7th, 2013|Blog, cutting garden, seed catalogs, seeds, Sharing Nature's Garden, winter, winter vegetables|0 Comments
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Broccoli brings back blogging…


After my holiday hiatus from blogging, reading blogs and pretty much anything that didn’t have to do with a kid birthday, Thanksgiving & travel, a holiday party for 160 for which I cook, company for New Year’s, and another kid birthday, I’m baaaaaack!

And this broccoli brought me back. This pretty, fresh and delicious green goddess adorned our dinner plates last night. Only a few of the winter veggies I planted actually survived our fall attack of the critters. Specifically, 2 broccoli plants, 1 green cabbage, 1 red cabbage and 1 cauliflower. The broccoli was the first to ripen.

I know sometimes there isn’t a lot of difference in the flavor of a few of the home grown vegetables and those you buy. But for some veggies, it’s a world of difference — like tomatoes, or last night’s broccoli.

And that was it. All gone. Makes me mad at the critters all over again.

But it sure was tasty.

And it makes me want to plant some more winter veggies this week…and blog about it!

By |2017-11-29T23:27:19-06:00January 9th, 2012|Blog, broccoli, hiatus, holiday, Sharing Nature's Garden, vegetable garden, vegetables, veggies, winter vegetables|0 Comments
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Escape in the garden

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