The Purple Sprouting Broccoli arrived perfectly on time (about 2 weeks ago) and the tall gangly stems of Curly Kale, which I reluctantly left to over-winter, are now suddenly sprouting all over again.
The little side shoots of Kale (which are now desperate to flower) are being sent up almost everywhere, and it's difficult to keep up with the supply.
I don't know if Curly Kale is a standard veg' internationally, but if available I do recommend putting in half a dozen plants. At this time of year the taste is less bitter than pre-Christmas, and these small side shoots (which are growing out of the whole length of the stems) are sweet and very tender. A great stand-by.
We've been dining off them for about 2 weeks already, and there's no sign of them stopping. The only thing now to halt our consumption is the fact that we also have a huge supply of Purple Sprouting Broccoli. My very favourite green vegetable of the year.
Yum. So good for you too!
ReplyDelete...and it makes a super composition, too! Would you mind if I painted it?
ReplyDeletePlease do; I'd love to see the result!
DeleteOnce we get some rain I will buy a variety of seedlings and hope to include both brocolli (most likely Italian Precoce as I haven't seen the purple sprouting for sale) and curly kale among others such as leeks, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe had torrential downpours for two days. Hurray, I thought, the rainy season has arrived! I weeded, I tilled the soil, I selected the seeds to plant. Since then, no rain. Grrr.
ReplyDeleteThe curly Kale looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteFresh purple sprouting is fantastic. Everything here is still frozen up and shrivelled up.
ReplyDeleteDo you know about "massaged kale"?
ReplyDeleteI'll assume you haven't:
take a bunch of kale, remove the woody stems, and roughly chop. Sprinkle with about a teaspoon of salt, and then "massage" the kale until it breaks down to about half the original volume. Rinse well in a colander, then use raw in a salad. Goes great with sliced apple, red onion, currants, pine nuts, gorgonzola with an apple cider vinaigrette.
I will try that today. I have so much of it at the moment (Lady M is away in London), that any new idea is extremely welcome! Thanks T.
DeleteSadly my curly kale didn't survive the winter and the psb has now gone the same way - everything is scorched with the frosts and there are still 3ft. snowdrifts - what a year!
ReplyDeleteYour kale looks lovely. I haven't put any in, but am thinking i should once things warm up a tad.
ReplyDelete