I haven't grown turnips before, and to be honest, wasn't sure I'd like them. My experience with turnips was as starchy, softball-sized root vegetables that were a component of "New England Boiled Dinner," Not my favorite meal by any means. Anyway, "saladette" turnips were said to be a different animal. And they were right! We picked one just to see how they were sizing up.
This was sliced thinly and added to salad. Delightfully crunchy and spicy. So a few days later we took more:
The purple one is "Royal Crown" and the others are "White Egg." The Royal Crown is not as spicy, but the White Eggs seem to grow more robustly. The greens were delicious, too. Turnips will definitely make the cut for next year.
Next, we took a few beets:
Beets are not my thing, but The Kitchen Goddess loves them. I planted two varieties: Red Ace and Pronto. But did I label which was which? Of course not. Too bad, because one group grew a lot faster than the other.
Next was the first harvest of chard:
These are "Peppermint" and "Fordhook." I haven't grown Peppermint before, and not only is it lovely, it grows robustly.
Then there was the first harvest of long-anticipated snow peas, which we were craving. Delightful!
Other harvests (not firsts) were the last of the radishes:
More salad (I can't say enough good things about Baker Creek's "Rocky Top" and "European Mesclun" mixes):
And finally more tatsoi and ching chang:
And here's a delicious use of Asian greens. TKG used her homemade chicken stock and whipped up a batch of soup with the greens, egg, garlic scapes, and udon noodles, topped with fresh basil. I can't get enough of this.
Thank you for reading my post. Please head back to Our Happy Acres, hosted by Dave, for more Harvest Monday treats.
Great harvest, wish I had a pile of snow peas like that. I agree, turnips can bring up unwelcome childhood memories but the small varieties available now are quite nice. You might try Hakurei for a white turnip, round, mild and very consistent. I also grow Golden Ball turnips, a little larger and slower to mature.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave. I'll check out those turnip varieties.
DeleteI'm glad you like the turnips - they were a revelation to me last year as well. Last year, however, they were all sweet and not spicy. This time round, the heat is getting to them as they are much spicier and not as sweet (same variety). Still good though. That soup looks amazing, btw - Asian soups are a favourite of mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret. I was not expecting the spiciness in the turnips, but I like it.
DeleteI'm a big fan of the salad turnips too. They are really in a league of their own I think, and good for 'pickles' too, either the quick vinegar kind or fermented ones. I can see me eating that soup too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave. I didn't grow enough turnips to justify pickling (germination was spotty), but that's an idea for next year.
DeleteI discovered the mild salad turnips a couple years ago and ever since I alway make room for some of them in my spring garden. And Peppermint chard is a favorite also. Actually, the one I grow is Peppermint Stick but I'm pretty sure they are the same. The soup looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle. Yes, the chard is probably the same. Pinetree Seeds calls it just Peppermint. I wish these guys would all agree on names.
DeleteA great mixed harvest this week. Ooh, I can't wait for some beets! And that soup sounds really good, I don't know why I don't make simple soups like that more often.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susie. The soup was delicious, but TKG says it was not simple!
DeleteAdding basil to the soup is a fantastic idea, it looks so delicious with those fat udon noodles. You're getting lots of spring greens, turnips, and snow peas. I have never been able to get beets to size up, but yours look exceptional.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Phuong. The Asian greens are finished, and the turnips are not far from that. Maybe it was trick photography, but the beets were not all that big.
DeleteOK I'm almost convinced that I should get some salad turnips in the seed order this winter. That soup sounds great. I had a recipe for Tatsoi soup in the drawer that used much the same ingredients and I never got around to trying it out. I think of tatsoi as pak choi with better tasting leaves.
ReplyDelete