Stowaway

Knowing that we were getting a freeze, I did a fairly thorough forage of the greenhouse and garden.  It's the time of year, while they are young and most tender, to eat weeds, so those weren't forgotten, and I managed a very nice harvest of greens and roots to pair with my Farmer's Market tomatoes for salads over the next couple of days.  After washing, they turned out so pretty that I just had to share a picture.

The roots included onion, garlic, radishes and carrots.  The carrots are actually supposed to be that small.  I chose that variety for the greenhouse because I don't have infinite soil depth in there.  They have an interesting taste and texture, not as sweet as the last carrots I grew, Scarlet Nantes (I think), but have a delicate substance that is truly enjoyable.  The radishes were so sweet, typical of radishes grown under cold conditions.  I nearly ate them both before saving a few, thin slivers to sprinkle over the salad.  The onions are bunching onions, a delicate treat after eating the more robust Egyptian Walking Onions all winter.  The garlic is what I might call spring garlic.  Without exaggeration, I have hundreds of these.  It's not as strong as a clove, and I chop it like an onion, green top and all. 

The storage container is mixed greens, pictured close-up further below.  In the 6 o-clock position of this first pic is a plate of lamb's quarters.  If pushed to describe them, I would say they are neutral in flavor and texture in a salad.  I want to try steaming them with onion and garlic, which is why I gathered them separately.

 The close-up below is of the mixed greens.  It includes baby beet top, pea shoots, sorrel (the lawn weed), cilantro, a tiny bit of parsley, and Buttercrunch lettuce.  I didn't bother picking spinach because it's so cold-hardy.  The peas are from a single row in the greenhouse that I use just for tender shoots.  The crop of snow peas is outside on a fence.

The little guy in the picture below (sorry for the fuzziness) decided to tag along with a lettuce leaf.  He found my dirty tea cup while I was washing greens.  Eventually, I tossed him into the pile of carrot tops to be taken out to the compost pile.  He'll be fine out there unless the cold got him last night!