This is our second year of serious gardening. I have always had tomato plants (even back when we lived in an apartment, on our balcony), but last year, Mr. Handsome stepped up our game by building two large raised beds.
In our big beds, we planted lettuce, sugar snap peas, spinach, and kale from seed at the very end of March. We also put broccoli seeds in a pot. At the end of April, we bought small tomato plants from Home Depot and planted those in our smaller raised beds.
So far, everything is doing great. Our lettuce is going wild, so we have been eating salads twice a day. We are considering taking out a couple rows and planting green beans, just because we have so much.
The kale is also starting to grow quickly, so we have added sauteed kale to our dinners most nights. For that, I saute two minced garlic cloves in a little bit of oil, in a cast iron pan. Then I add the kale and another splash of oil. Once it shrinks down (about a minute) I add a half cup of chicken broth and let it cook for about five minutes. Then I season it with a dash of salt. I think it’s delicious. Mr. Handsome thinks it’s decent, but he’s hoping to find a better kale recipe. If you have any to share, let us know.
The lettuce looks so good! Maybe give some of it away if you haven’t already?
Seems like you’re cooking the daylights out of that kale. All I do is cut the ribs out, cut it up roughly, wash it off, leave it wet, and put it in a frying pan for a minute or two of stirring. The water left on it will steam it and wilt it but if the pan gets too dry, add another Tbsp. of water. That’s all – just add some cracked black pepper and eat. Your garden kale will take no time at all to wilt in the pan. Store-bought takes a little longer.
Kale chips are delicious! Lay the leaves flat on a baking sheet and oast them in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper until crispy. 😋
I’ll give that a try. Thanks!
Ehm, you really need a lot more distance between plants to make them grow properly. The lettuce leave are about a quarter of the size they should be. Put at least 10 inches in between.
It’s leaf lettuce. You can crowd it. As you pick it, that will thin it out. It’s impossible to sow tiny leaf lettuce seeds 10″ apart.
I make a raw marinated salad with chopped (raw) kale, broccoli, onion, carrot (grated), and red bell pepper. Seasoning is s&p and garlic powder. Dressing is 1 part white wine vinegar to 2 parts olive oil plus a dash of mustard powder and enough sugar to cut the vinegar tartness. Add in (hulled) sunflower seeds at the last minute. Keeps for several days in the fridge. Based on a salad we had from Whole Foods.
Sounds delicious. Thanks!
I wilt kale just a little in olive oil with a splash of vinegar. Then I add some thinly sliced radishes and saute just a little. Good side dish.
Thanks for sharing, Cathy!
If you’ve never sauteed radishes, try cutting them in small wedges and frying them in some butter until they’re golden. They come out tasting like french fries. No radish bitterness or heat after cooking, for some happy reason.
I’ve never tried that, but I am definitely going to. Just added radishes to my grocery list.
Here’s a recipe and a picture: https://www.wholesomeyum.com/sauteed-radishes-recipe/
Thank you! Printing it right now.
That looks awesome, I’m inspired to grow lettuce and kale now! I would love to eat more salads but my husband and I have been sick three times from bad lettuce so I just can’t bring myself to buy it! 😂
Wow, three times! That’s terrible. I feel for you. What brands and types of lettuce was it?
Not sure if you guys ever make yourself breakfast smoothies, but you can throw a big handful of salad greens in one of those, and then you get the benefit of the greens without necessarily feeling like you’re actually eating greens! I believe kale tends to be more bitter than spinach/lettuce, so you’ll definitely want to disguise it well with other ingredients like banana, berries, and cocoa powder, and blend it really well.
That’s a good idea!