These are the hours in the year when my wellspring is doubly renewed. Yes, it is exciting to tend green living things in the middle of January and February in a greenhouse. It is also energizing to peruse the seeds those months as dreams of warmer nights create a distant vision of gifts from the field. I even get warm fuzzy feelings when plunging my fingers into little fertile soil pots as seeds get awakened to the coming mission… “Hello! welcome to the world…thank you for your companionship on this journey…”, my mind might interject. But then the fruits of our labors actually grow before our eyes and i get a bit like a child, becoming fascinated even more and my anticipation grows. Bringing it fresh cut to the mouth is like nothing else. Then the call to further explore, preserve, and create in concert with this moment in the kitchen comes a’ callin:
These veggies became a steamed meal for us that evening as well as a refrigerator marinade or “pickle” garnish for my spring rolls. The cruciferous vegetables were lightly steamed until colors brightened and rolled in butter. These tasted so good that we ate the entire lot that we steamed and kept adding more…mostly broccoli became my dinner that night.
I had cold infused some rose petals in a vinegar base that Mike made with allspice, giving it a nice color, and this became the marinade for small slices of all the veggies you see in the photos. The cabbage became pink; the purple cauliflower and chartreuse romanesco all bounced off of each other nicely. I cut the stalks of the Bright Lights chard like diced celery and the slices of the multi-colored carrot rounds were about the same size. All together it made a nice chilled salad that was ready to adorn any plate.
