Wasabina

Since the baby greens in the variety trial are big enough to distinguish, it's time to look at each of them in greater detail.  Today's green: wasabina!

I ordered these seeds from Kitazawa Seed Co.  Mainly because of the name, but also because I ordered everything described as 'cold tolerant.'   The seed company describes wasabina as:

"This light green serrated leaf mustard brings a delicious, spicy, wasabi-like flavor to a salad mix of baby leaf greens. The large, tender mature leaves are ruffled with curly edges and are best cooked. Very cold tolerant."

So far, the leaves are serrated and have fine hairs on the edges and veins.  The hairs aren't prickly like those found on old mizuna leaves.  So wasabina would be ok to add in a salad mix.  Right now they just taste like a mild mustard green and aren't spicy at all.  Probably the spiciness will increase as the plants mature.

New seeds are here!

In the fall I'm going to try out a number of more obscure greens.  Most of them are brassicas that are cool weather hardy.  I'm pretty excited.  In less than a month I'm going to start planting.  Not these particular varieties, but more common greens like spinach, lettuce and mizuna.

Home made green pasta

Last week I went to a pasta making class.  It was really fun, and I discovered that hand shaping pasta is pretty easy.  Of course, when I tried doing it at home I put in some greens to make green pasta!  I have lots of pureed mustard greens in the freezer.  I defrosted some and added it to the flour and water right at the beginning of dough making.

I have very little pasta making experience, but my green pasta seemed to work really well.  I cut it into short strips because I was doing it by myself and was lazy.  Topped with pesto it was a pretty good lunch (and dinner)!

The brassica family

Many of the greens I grow come from the huge brassica family.  By no means is this 'family tree' of brassica's complete.  It's mainly the greens I have grown, the greens I'd like to grow, and some other branches that are substantial/important.  Have I gotten anything wrong?  Anything you would like to see added? 

tree picture

Stuffing myself full of greens

If you remember, a few weeks ago I was lamenting that I have too many greens and was searching for new ways to eat them.  Coincidentally, a few nights ago there was a "Super nourishing greens cooking and wellness" class a few towns over.  (It was held at the Blue Moon Cafe.  I've never eaten there before, but the menu sounded amazing.)  Now I'm full of ideas how to use up all our greens.

Last night we had mustard green pesto for dinner.  I guess pesto isn't really that original.  For whatever reason I didn't think that I could use mustard greens to make it.  Maybe because no one else does?  Mustard greens (all five varieties!) have been the hardest to get rid of because they can't be put into a smoothie.  We tried, but it just didn't taste very good.

My mustard green pesto with sunflower seeds and LOTS of garlic tasted pretty good.  It didn't photograph so well, and just looked like green goop.  You'll just have to believe me when I say it tasted good.

Scarlett and Ruby

Meet Scarlett and Ruby, two of the mustard greens that are being measured and weighed during the next few weeks.  During the summer I hated harvesting this kind of green because they were always frilly, bolting and never amounted to very much.  

I thought these two greens would be pretty much the same thing: dark red frilly mustard greens.  But they are definitely not!  Scarlett Frills is darker with skinny leaves.  Ruby Streaks is reddish and bright green.  It's far 'frilly-er' (and I think prettier).