Friday, March 23, 2012

Garden to Kitchen


It was pure joy to be outside on a day like yesterday.
Time to clean out the box beds and get them ready to plant.

But how could I pull up these lovely Confederate violets, peeking out from the garlic chives?  
,
I couldn't -- even if they are weeds, even if they're all over the place.
Some Red Russian kale made it through the winter along with a bit of broccoli and spinach. So I picked a mess of greens and their flowering shoots, along with some garlic chives,  and stir-fried them in chile infused sesame oil. 
  
With the addition of some garbanzo beans (chick peas), they were a delicious side dish for turkey legs roasted in Ponzu sauce. I'd made this greens dish in the past, using chard, but had totally forgotten it till I saw it mentioned in my friend Louise's blog .  How nice to rediscover it! 
 
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12 comments:

Ms. A said...

Can't say I've ever had red Russian kale.

Merisi said...

Spring served for dinner! :-)

Martin said...

Greens to purify the blood. It all looks and sounds very tasty.

dannie said...

What a great idea for another way to fix kale. Adding the chick peas really is excellent!

Kath said...

Like forsythia and red bud, I look forward to the Confederate violets!

Barbara Rogers said...

Greens are so great, and must be picked in a "mess". Love the idea of chick peas with them...yum.

Brian Miller said...

dang...dinner sounds nice....it was a beautiful day to be outside yesterday....

Frances said...

Thank you for the photo of those little violets I remember from childhood.

Your stir fry recipe looks great...it might even encourage to try kale again (the one vegetable I couldn't quite stand as a child.)

Best wishes.

Inger said...

Looks like spring has arrived in your part of the world. Here it's a bit iffy still. I have to try some kale and chard. Don't know why we never it it.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I've not tasted kale, but with my DH's new diet, I 'll have to check it out- Confederate violets are so pretty and so abundant!

Vicki Lane said...

Red Russian Kale tastes like regular kale but has pretty magenta stems and veins. I'm a sucker for pretty vegetables. And kale tastes much like collards but not nearly so sharp as turnip greens.

This would be good also with chard or spinach or beet greens. Some toasted sesame seeds on top would be good too.

100 Thoughts of Love said...

can you believe spring is this far advanced in March??? Earliest I remember in many years...