A Winter Feast From The Garden

This unseasonably warm, rainy December weather isn’t good news for my friends that make a living with their snow plows. Hey wild Bill, sorry about that idle plow. 

But just a few days before the new year, the temperature is nearly 50 degrees. I went out to the garden without a jacket to get some salad greens from the cold frames. The mache has been growing under the protective cover of the re-purposed windows. Our salads will be garden fresh well into January.

Last night’s rain washed the rest of the snow from the kale and carrot patches. Kale is very hardy and has a sweeter taste after a frost. The carrots were going to over-winter, but with the ground thawed, I was able to harvest a bowl full of small, very tasty carrots. 

Tonight’s dinner will be almost fully from the garden. The mache and carrots from today's garden forage will be in the salad, along with a few mushrooms. The kale, steamed with a little butter will grace our plates. Chicken, from birds we raised this summer, will be on the table. A glass of wine, and voila, a feast.