Today, my breakfast was as wholesome as any I’ve prepared since I became “serious” about gardening. It’s been five years since I raised my first onions out of the ground and picked eggplant the size of melons (okay, baring the shape, it’s almost the size of melons).
I grew ragged jack kale from baby seeds and produced an abundance of food. Since May 2022, I’ve had over six harvests from my small garden of this variety of kale that responds like spinach when prepared – easy to add to eggs, ready as a side dish, or add to a salad. It’s a versatile green that also stands up well to the warmest of Zone 7 summer days. It's still providing food for my family.
Today, I prepared sautéed ragged jack kale, added homemade ground chicken breakfast patties and topped them with feta cheese and our DC standard, Mumbo sauce (or buy it off the shelf). This combination is also great rolled into a burrito (I used a low-carb spinach burrito)—simple perfection. Perhaps one day I will include these recipes on my website, but for now, I need to stick to the point so that I can feel a sense of accomplishment of getting this message to you.
I am no great food stylist (feta overload), but I can promise that my palate is better than most – this is a breakfast of champions. The freshness of the homegrown and homemade food is a test to express in words. I encourage others to seek ways to bring homegrown foods and herbs to their table. The delight you feel when picking a few cilantro leaves and adding them to your avocado for guacamole is like nothing else—or picking fresh green beans from your container to add as a side to a meal.
I am naturally an encourager and hope that if you have the slightest inkling to grow a Lil-bit-of-some-some to bring to your table, do it! Do it, anxious. Do it, uncertain. Do it with no real expectations (like feeding 5,000) but Do it because you have a desire and are choosing self-care and preservation above all else.
Let's Do It and Grow it Together,
Janine
A lover of God's Earth