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Abundance and the Resiliency of Life
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One of the worst winters in Pittsburgh's history started with an amazing wind storm that carried away my two mini-greenhouses and left the greens and root vegetables I had hoped to harvest through the winter months exposed to the abundance of snow and freezing temperatures that characterized the rest of the winter. Despite the fact that they were sometimes under four feet of snow, as spring arrived (and it always does) little lettuce and onion plants began to peek out from my badly battered terrace garden. Now we are enjoying the lettuce that was planted last fall, a testament to the resiliency of life.
There is no doubt that the Mother Earth has provided us with an abundance. Nothing illustrates this better than the gift of our gardens.
My Sattwic Peace Garden 2008 How we use that abundance determines how far it will spread. For example, when a broccoli plant has produced a beautiful head that’s ready to be picked, the tendency may be to pull up the broccoli plant, remove the head and throw the rest in the compost pile. But if we only remove the head and leave the plant in the ground, it will continue to produce little side heads that are just as delicious and nutritious as the center head. In fact, it can continue to produce these smaller heads for many months.
The center head of this broccoli plant has been removed. Three new heads are growing. People also tend to throw away the broccoli stems and leaves. The stems can be steamed or diced and used in salads, just like the crowns. And the tender younger leaves can be steamed, braised or sauteed. Older leaves are a bit tough and bitter tasting but every bit as nutritious and can be eaten if thoroughly cooked like kale or collard greens. You can make a head of leaf lettuce go much further too. Just pick the outside leaves and let the plant continue to grow. It will keep growing and producing new leaves.
And by the way, don’t throw away your beet greens. They make a delicious salad or addition to a stir fry and are great for juicing. In fact many plants have edible leaves and flowers The beautiful flower of the zucchini plant is edible and makes a nice wrap. Amaranth leaves are also edible. Even the leaves of those uninvited dandelions that grow in your garden or your yard are edible. They taste kind of like endive. Of course, not everything that grows in the ground is edible, so check it out first. Another way to make the most of your harvest is to make soup out of……. well, just about anything. I've made some delicious soups out of lettuce and pea pods. Last year when I had an abundance of parsley I found a lovely recipe for parsley soup. The beautiful thing about making soup from your garden produce is that you can freeze it and keep enjoying your garden throughout those long, cold winter months.
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