Wintertime Greens

My winter greens are finally ready to start harvesting.  There is a ridiculous amount of arugula, so I skimmed the internet for several recipes that sounded appealing and called for a decent amount of my rocket.  I have some spinach and lettuce also ready for harvesting, so I found a delectable salad that called for such ingredients.

I picked a full colander full of arugula, baby spinach, romaine lettuce and sylvestra lettuce and decided to make myself a delightful salad to get the new year started off right.

I found a recipe on Love & Lemons that I found appealing and made a few modifications for what I had on hand.

Arugula, Apricot & Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients (1 large salad or 2 side salads):

• large handful of arugula (I added in my available spinach and lettuce varieties as well)
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 5 dried apricots, diced
• 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped

Dressing (2 servings):

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 medium lemon, juiced
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt & pepper (I used my rosemary, parley and lemon herb salt)

Instructions:

1. Whisk the dressing ingredients together.
2. Toss the arugula and other greens, avocado, apricots and goat cheese together.  Drizzle with the dressing and top with chopped almonds.
3. For additional heartiness, toss salad with 1 cup of cooked quinoa.

The salad was absolutely delicious.  I've never had a more flavorful salad in all my life.  What a treat to have my own greens grown right in my backyard garden!  I didn't have any quinoa on hand today to toss the greens with, but I'll definitely be trying this option in the future!

I also had a craving for a pizza that I recently enjoyed in New York City and wanted to recreate...an arugula, mushroom and truffle oil no-sauce pizza (or cheesy bread, as my husband would say).

Arugula, Mushroom and Truffle Oil Pizza
Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pizza dough (I used Pillsbury dough)
• 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms (I used half portobello, half shiitake)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1-2 handfuls coarsely chopped arugula
• 1 tablespoon truffle oil
• salt & pepper to taste (I used my herb salt)

Instructions:

1. Put a large heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven, preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Stretch out dough on a lightly floured surface, pulling on corners to form a roughly 16 x 13 inch rectangle.  Transfer to a tray lined with parchment paper.  Lightly prick dough all over with a fork.
3. Slide dough (still on parchment) onto hot baking sheet.  Bake until top is puffed and pale golden in patches, about 6 to 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven; prick any large bubbles with a fork and flatten.  Scatter mushrooms over crust, then season with salt and pepper and lay cheese on top.  Top with roughly chopped arugula.
5. Bake pizza until edge of crust is deep golden and cheese is bubbling and golden in patches, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Drizzle with truffle oil.  Serve immediately.

This was extremely delicious, but very rich, so I couldn't eat more than 3-4 small square pieces at a time (my waistline thanks me).  I may try a version with a white cream sauce next time to see how it would compare, but will definitely keep this recipe in my box.

Do you have any favorite arugula recipes that I should try out?

Early June Plantings: Meyer Lemon and Malabar Spinach

I've been wanting to plant a Meyer Lemon tree for awhile, so this past week I finally purchased one.  While I love having as many fruiting plants as possible, I've been hesitant to add any citrus to my garden, since I know there will be some pampering involved.  I prefer to go with plants that are relatively low maintenance.  I know with the Meyer Lemon though, I will need to bring it indoors once it hits freezing temperatures.  But, I've heard such great things about how wonderful the fruit is, that I'm willing to put in a little extra care with this one plant.

I potted the plant in a large container.  I (or rather my husband) drilled holes in the bottom of the container, as the tree prefers good drainage.  I added some rocks to the bottom of the pot to help with the drainage.  I then added 2/3 organic potting mix and 1/3 compost from my compost bin.  I then gave it a good watering.  I'm happy with my new little fruit tree - and the blooms give off such a sweet, intoxicating fragrance!

I also recently planted four Red-Stemmed Malabar Spinach plants.  I needed to pull down my dead pea plants, and wanted to replace them with another plant that could use the trellising.  While I was at the Round Rock Garden Center picking up my organic potting mix for the Meyer Lemon, I spotted the Malabar Spinach.  I've never grown Malabar, which isn't truly a spinach, but rather a basella rubra.  It is known for being a heat-loving, vining plant that produces bountiful harvests - it sounded perfect for my veggie beds.

I tore out the Mammoth Melting Sugar Peas and placed the four Red-Stemmed Malabar Spinach plants along the trellis on the left side of Veggie Bed #3.  I love veggie plants that have a high ROI (return on investment) and have high yields with little work.  I think this veggie plant is going to fall into that bucket.  I'm looking forward to large harvests of greens later this summer!