And so the harvest begins . . .

This is such an exciting time of year. I've been picking little bits of vegetables, rhubarb and herbs all spring, but nothing like yesterday.  I kept finding more and more to harvest for our meals. Let's see if I can remember it all. Yesterday, I picked several stalks of rhubarb, a bunch of turnip greens, several beet greens, a few leaves of red leaf lettuce, lots of big green lettuce leaves, some baby spinach, a few nasturtium leaves, a bunch of radish greens, a bit of parsley as well as thyme, and a mass of chive blossoms. Both the beet and turnip greens were from thinning those patches, so I won't be getting more of either of those greens until the roots are ready to harvest. 

Here's how I used all of the above.

I made rhubarb-cream cheese gelatin salad (making a sweetened rhubarb sauce, then puréeing with 3 tablespoons of cream cheese, and stirring in softened plain gelatin),

sautéed turnip greens with onions, garlic, and smoked sausage as a side dish,

a gourmet salad blend with lettuce, beet greens, spinach, radish greens, nasturtium leaves, parsley, thyme, and chive blossoms (enough for all of us for our lunches, with leftovers for today),

and a pint of chive blossom vinegar.

In these early days of this season's garden, harvesting this much may only happen a couple of times per week. But it sure is exciting. 

I was thinking about the value of our garden. It's more than just saving money on our grocery budget. It's the quality and variety that we gain by keeping a garden. If I didn't have this garden, I don't think we would eat such variety. I likely would not buy a gourmet or premium salad mix. If I bought rhubarb, I would only do so once or twice per season. And I doubt I would buy so many high-nutrient cooking greens. In addition, our garden produce is consumed soon after harvest, meaning the nutrients, flavors and textures are still at their peak. Whenever I get a notion to quit gardening, I remind myself of these hidden values of my garden.