Tiny Tuesday : : Comfrey

The tiny bird-like comfrey blossoms are growing in our edible flower garden outside the kitchen. The plant is large, covered with hairy stems and leaves, and making it difficult to forage for the other edible flowers (nasturtiums, bachelors buttons, calendula and mustard to name a few) hidden underneath them. Comfrey is also sometimes called 'knitbone' because the leaves can made into a poultice which is said to help make broken bones heal. I tried it once and it just made a mess....

The veggies are coming! I spent a pleasant hour in the garden harvesting green beans...peering amongst the heart shaped leaves for the long dangling beans. They must be picked one at a time so that the tiny ones still coming of age are not disturbed, and the large ones almost past their prime are not missed. I eat more beans than I pick during this process and remember when we used to drive to OilMan's grandmother's house in Ukiah every year for Thanksgiving.  By the time we arrived, the turkey was in the oven and the green beans had been stewing boiling with bacon for hours.
Today's lot (the ones I didn't eat while picking) were cooked for five minutes.

The tomatoes are beginning to turn red which means tomato sandwiches for lunch any day now.  A local bakery makes a wonderful seeded look which is perfect with just a bit of mayonnaise, tomatoes and salt and pepper.

There is a mystery vine* which is growing out of the raised bed and on to the ground. It is producing a fruit?vegetable? the likes of which we've never seen before.*My friend Tobi says it's probably some kind of hybrid. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a cross between a cucumber and a melon!

I have resurrected/created an old recipe for potato salad made from tiny potatoes, green beans and ricotta. I think I'll put in the tiny sungold tomatoes for added color and flavor. Or maybe I'll put them in the frittata made with eggs from Kathy's chickens and a bit of spinach.

I haven't quite gotten the nerve to make the famous green drink that seems to be the mainstay of several people at the Pilates studio, but I do now have the Vitamin blender that should be able to reduce kale, spinach, an apple and some pineapple to a palatable drink. I'll keep you posted....

*extras