maybe i shouldn't be so impressed by how much more interesting fresh bay leaf is than it's dried version. because most things when parched long enough to turn to powder aren't as good as fresh. but still, after three years of having the little bay growing just outside the kitchen door, i get stoked when i'm braising/brothing/whateva-ing and think bay! and go out and snip.
ok, so i've snipped too much because you can barely see it. (look dead center)
celery pulled thru the funky summer 2011 weather pretty well, coming on strong in the fall. kind of by convenience and thrift i never picked whole bunches of celery, rather just plucking a few nice sticks here and there, basically leaving most of each plant intact. that turned out working pretty well all the way into january when almost all stalks had a funky translucent rubbery texture but the leaves looked fine. in february i dug up a whole root ball and cleaned it up so i could flavor a lentil stew dish...there just wasn't much else to choose from. my first celery root excursion and i love the stuff.
next year i'm going to plant a much bigger celery crop early Fall and harvest them young during the Winter. (as my bro Mark describes in his Lucky Peach mag article, Spring 2012)
next year i'm going to plant a much bigger celery crop early Fall and harvest them young during the Winter. (as my bro Mark describes in his Lucky Peach mag article, Spring 2012)
 these guys survived months of cold and snow, leaving me with some nice root balls.  |  trimmed out i'd call them petite and very flavorful. master gardener/friend Sandy Strehlou hooked me up with jerusalem artichoke seed last year (and again this year). they grow really well here. cut the tops late fall and those chokes stay happy underground until you need them... all winter long. then they started sprouting like crazy late february. i like to chop them up and add to bean, lentil, pea soups. |
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