Growing up in Kent, Ohio one of my early childhood memories is of going hunting for dandelions. Not the ones that sprouted yellow flowers or white puff balls in the front lawn but the wild rustic dandelions that grew alongside country roads. My dad would pile us kids in the backseat of the car and then drive from our house on Merydith St. to his mother's house on Franklin Ave. Grandma Rinaldi would be waiting next to the driveway, with her hair in a bun, her apron covering her house dress, her sturdy black shoes on her feet, a peck basket hooked over her arm, carrying the largest knife I can ever remember.
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| Enrichetta Serani Rinaldi |
She rode "shotgun" in the front seat and Dad took off for the country roads outside of town. Driving slowly along the muddy dirt road, Grandma would hang her head out the window, her eyes scanning the ground until she would shout out, "Aspetta!" Wait. Dad would stop the car, we would pile out and follow Grandma until she came to a green leafy plant. She plunged her knife into the soil, gave it a hearty twist cutting the plant off at the root line, and tossed it in the basket. When the basket was full, we took it to her house and dumped it into the large wash basin in the cellar to soak out all the dirt. Once cleaned they were cooked with a little oil and garlic and served for dinner. "Eat your greens," I was told. I hated dandelions.
I am older now and my taste fortunately changed as I grew and I can honestly say I love dandelions. I love greens...sweet, bitter, fresh, braised, in frittata, in soup. So I embrace the winter growing season and I grow greens.
This morning as I walked my garden, here is what a saw:
Romaine Lettuce
Spinach - much more flavorful than the baby spinach in cellophane bags! It will be wilted with some oil and garlic and served with an over-easy egg that will make Jay smile!
Snow Peas - Look closely and you can see the first one on the vine. I have a hard time getting these into the house because they are so sweet I eat them as I pick them!
Celery- I just go out and cut off a stalk or two when I need it.
Escarole - This is great fresh in salad or chopped into an Italian soup, a Minestre
Cavolfiore - Sicilian Purple Cauliflower from seed, supposedly hard to grow and it is still a baby, but I have hopes for it!
Fava Beans - I first grew these to add nitrogen to the soil, but I LOVE the bean. It takes time to prepare but makes a delicious puree for crostini or a wonderful soup. The piece of art in the photo is a hand crafted gift from my cousin, Gaetano, who lives in Ferla, Sicily.
Swisschard - delicious braised, in soup or, if I am adventurous, as a ravioli filling.
As I look at photos of Ohio in today's newspaper, blanketed in snow, I know that no one is driving down country roads now looking for dandelions. So I whisper a word of gratitude to live where I can reap a harvest year-round and I eat my greens!
Yes, that's exactly what my mother used to do, forage for greens on country roads. Today, I grow many things, and will forage in my winter garden for bits of chard or spinach or arugula still alive. We have it good; and we appreciate eating our greens for many good reasons, least of which is because grandma used to.
ReplyDeleteMy mother and father grew all of their own vegetables and fruits in our backyard in Los Angeles. Susan remembers walking their garden and now she is a Master Gardener specializing on composting. She was featured in our local magazine last year. I never grew much myself but I remember having a large backyard garden when we lived down the street from you. Mom made us sit at the table until we did eat all of our greens.
ReplyDeleteI spent my first 12 years on an Illinois farm where we grew most of our food, animal and vegetable. We had a big garden, a potato patch, and eventually a fruit orchard. I hated digging potatoes; working in the garden was not so bad. I usually had to collect eggs and feed many of the animals, including work horses.
ReplyDeleteIt is much better to have terraced gardens that we do not have to bend so much to tend. What am I talking about -- WE? Patricia fortunately for me loves garden work and cooking and does most of the work. I help with the heavy stuff. I do a good deal of the cleaning, etc. How did I get so lucky?
You have many lovely greens in your garden now.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and daughters grow all these greens in our allotments and I cook them or use in salads. In Italy, we see the older village women picking dandelion leaves in the fields. Food for free. Then they are cooked in olive oil and garlic. I prefer spinach.
ReplyDeleteOur neighbours forage for greens in this way and we also are learning to recognise what is edible in our own garden apart from those plants we grow in the orto!
ReplyDeleteRosaria - Somehow those passed-on traditions grow in value as we grow in wisdom!
ReplyDeleteRichard - I didn't know that about Susan! Good for her.
Jay - I am the lucky one!
Malay-Kadazan - Thank you.
Linda P - My preference is Spinach too.
LindyLouMac - Isn't it amazing when our eyes become trained to spot the edible. I am sure in the past I "weeded" many good things.
There is a wonderful 30 minute video posted on the internet. It was created by Jessica Theroux and records her visit with an "italian grandmother" while researching for her fascinating book: "Gooking With Italian Grandmothers." It shows this delightful woman working in her orto, cooking beans in an open fire and foraging for greens. Here is the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://vimeo.com/13826854
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Me again, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your recent comment on my post about Blogging, Photography and Reading. I will be continuing :)
ReplyDeleteBrava, Linda!
ReplyDelete