Dankness

Guilty as charged.  Sentence: 2 days of weeding in the hot sun (because apparently nowadays we get sun in the northwest)

Yes, yes, it's true.  I've turned to a life of crime over the last month.  Crime against vegetables.  Gardening ain't easy, and I haven't exhibited the morals or the work ethic to overcome.  My garden has damn near gone to seed, and I regret my laziness over the last month.  I need to weed.

However, not all is bad!  Everything is coming up and growing strong in it's own way, and tonight I was able to harvest the following:

1 Head of Kale
2 Handfuls of Arugula
6 Red Red Radishes
1 Baby Turnip (1")
1 Baby Beet (1")
1 Fatty 3" Kohlrabi
3 Baby Yellow Onions (actual onion is barely formed)

And with these beautiful manifestations of my intermittent effort, I cooked good enough stuff to make even Emeril jealous.  BAM!  Here are three quick and easy recipes for y'all to enjoy.  They all turned out delicious first try (which doesn't normally happen), so I hope that you'll give them a shot.

Baked Kohlrabi
Ingredients:  1-1,000,000 heads of kohrabi, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, parmesian cheese

• Rinse and peel Kohlrabi, slice into 1/4" thick rounds
• Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic, coating each slice well
• Lay out on baking sheet, make sure to grab all the minced garlic from the bowl and put a little pinch on each slice
• Grate parmesian, and cover each slice with enough cheese to melt
• Bake at 400 degrees until cheese is melted and browning

Kale & Arugula Salad
Ingredients:  1 head of kale (the younger the better, mine isn't that tough yet), some arugula, spicy mustard (Coleman's english is amazing), baby onions or chives, 1 clove garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, cherry tomatoes

• Rinse and devein kale and then rough chop kale and arugula...maybe 1" pieces
• Chop baby onions and onion greens into as thin of slices as humanly possible
• Put about a tablespoon of mustard, 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, around a tablespoon of vinegar, onions, salt, pepper, and minced garlic clove in sealable jar.  Then, shake it like a Polaroid picture.
• Mix it all together!

Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients:  Baby beets, plain goat cheese, walnuts, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, pepper

• Roast or boil beets until tender (stick a knife to the center, if the beet slides off, it's done)
• Cool beets to room temp.  
• Bring a skillet to medium low temp, and toast walnuts for a few minutes, then add enough maple syrup to coat them, a pinch or two of salt, and then STIR STIR STIR until the moisture is gone and walnuts are well coated.  Remove from heat and let cool.
• Slice beets and goat cheese into 1/8-1/4" slices....it's kinda hard with the soft goat cheese, but take care and keep those slices intact.
• Toss beets with olive oil and a touch of salt/pepper, then stack beet and goat cheese slices to your hearts delight, and sprinkle walnuts over the top.

Sorry again for the lack of pictures.  You don't even know how much I want to take some nice pictures!