Early on A Frosty Morning

For the second night in a row the temperature dropped to 24º – at least that’s what the thermometer read at 6:00 this morning. By 10:30 it had warmed to 34º so we headed to the garden to plant garlic and shallots and to harvest some greens.

Dennis had put row covers on the fall greens a couple of days ago. Now he began preparation of the garlic/shallot bed.

A bit later he stopped digging to uncover the greens. Wow! These plants are very cold-tolerant. We have arugula, kale, turnips, escarole and radicchio this fall.

 The radicchio is beginning to form heads.

Even though I had thinned the turnips before, they still are way too thick. I managed to thin most of a short row before my hands got too cold. I brought a large basket of arugula and turnips to the kitchen. The little turnips are not my main interest; I want the greens.

Here’s a sink full waiting to be cleaned.

To cook turnip greens, I shred them into small pieces.

In a skillet or saucepan soften some chopped garlic in olive oil. Add the shredded turnip greens and a bit of water. Stir, cover the pan and let the greens steam. Stir occasionally and add a few drops of water if needed.

The greens are good served with some pepper vinegar and topped with chopped hard-boiled egg.

Oh, yes, Dennis is still out there, digging the garlic bed. Cleaning the greens can wait; I’d better go lend him some moral support.

Copyright 2012 by Shirley Domer