In My San Diego Garden and Kitchen
“Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” Mark Twain
“Green Eggs and Ham was the story of my life. I wouldn’t eat a thing when I was a kid, but Dr. Seuss inspired me to try cauliflower.” Jim Carrey
Most people have an opinion about cauliflower. I find it enchanting—the way it grows—blue-green leaves enfolding emerging heads. And the colors—purple, white, orange and the other-worldly lime green Romanesco. I only regret the season is short and there are so many recipes to try and favorites to make again. Thankfully, it holds well in the fridge after harvest.
Two weekend harvests, Amazing and DePurple cauliflowers. Note the fractal designs prominent in the purple cauliflower. As a F-1 hybrid, maybe some Romanesco parentage?
I trialed DePurple against Graffiti which I’ve grown for many years. The DePurple proved more vigorous. I saw the seeds on a stop at Territorial Seed Company in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Staff there indicated it performs better under a variety of conditions. For some growers, cauliflower can be finicky.
This is the first harvest of Catalina spinach. Though tender at both the baby leaf stage and this size, I let it grow larger for a favorite entree requiring a substantial amount of spinach. The space occupied by some of the cauliflower has been amended and spinach planted for more spring harvests. I’ll also need more spinach for the annual spring Galette of Winter Greens.
Several of the week’s salads from what’s at hand: arugula, kumquats, snow peas, celery, Jacaranda broccoli, various lettuces
Golden Sweet snow peas accompanied Asian Beef Stew over rice last week. We relish the cooler winter days and seasonal meals.
The precursors to a stir-fry with some leftover pork tenderloin.
A neighbor noted a monarch emerging from the cocoon (and she commented “It should be in Mexico.”) She had no flowers blooming where it could feed so she brought it to my garden. It rested until its wings dried. After several hours it began to feed on the tiny flowers. She dropped off another monarch to my garden yesterday.
Sunday’s diminutive church entry bouquet: calla lily, summer snowflake and paper whites.
See my What I’m Planting Now page as I plant a fruit tree and the recently vacated garden spaces.
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