Cardoons, salsify, odd greens, beans and other veggies are my specialty: If it is not likely on a typical produce counter, then it’s probably in my garden. You can get many of these odd vegetables at good farmer’s markets, and of course you can grow your own. Linked below are some sources for seeds and sets.
NOTE: I do indeed have some recipes for “regular” garden vegetables, and they are here, too.
Root Vegetable Ragout with Polenta
A hearty Italian ragout made with all kinds of root vegetables, from the unusual to the mundane. It’s a great late winter-early spring dinner when served with polenta.
Fiddlehead Stir Fry with Pork
Fresh fiddleheads stir-fried simply with slices of pork or chicken and some wild onions. Easy and great!
How to Eat Cholla Buds
Cholla is a cactus in the Southwest with flower buds that are fantastic – they taste like artichoke hearts. Here’s how to prepare them.
Cardoon Risotto
A subtle risotto made from cardoons, which are an ancient relative of the artichoke.
Cardoon Gratin
My go-to dish for cardoons. If you only learn one recipe for cardoons, this is it.
Crosnes and Peas
No these are not grubs. They are a small, crunchy tuber called crosnes — pronounced like the old woman — Chinese artichokes or betony (there’s a wild relative of this plant that grows in Florida).
Squash Soup with Bacon
Butternut or kabocha squash soup. Pretty mundate, eh? My version is made with bacon which gets pureed with everything else.
Seaweed Salad
Yes, you can make your own seaweed salad, from foraged seaweeds you can find on any North American shore. Here’s how to do it.
Kelp Pasta
Pasta made with dried, powdered kelp. It has a pretty green color and a lightly briny flavor that goes well with seafood.
Tomato Conserva
Call it strattu, estrattu or conserva, just don’t call it tomato paste. It’s much, much better.
Drying Tomatoes Without an Oven
Sacramento has hot, dry summers. Perfect for drying tomatoes without the need of an oven.
Tomato Fennel Sauce for Pasta
This is my go-to tomato sauce with fish. It’s also a winner as a summertime pasta sauce.
Playing with Fennel
Fennel is one of the garden’s most versatile plants. Here’s how to use every part of it.
Sorrel Soup, French Style
I grow sorrel in my garden, but it is also a common wild edible. Both kinds work well in my version of Julia Child’s classic French soup.
Sorrel Sauce
A traditional French sorrel sauce with cream and a little white wine — it’s perfect with fish or poultry.
Oyster! Oyster! Oyster!
This is one of my favorite dishes. Oyster mushrooms, oyster plant — salsify — and actual oysters.
Greek Stewed Gigandes Beans
A classic Greek recipe for giant beans slowly stewed with tomato and garlic.
Fresh Fava Beans
How to grow, harvest and process your own fresh fava beans.
Winter Minestrone
The first recipe I posted to this website, back in 2007. It’s still my favorite winter soup.
My former mother-in-law used to prepare cardoons with egg & breadcrumbs and fry them 0 OMG they were so good!!!! I havent had them in almost thirty years. I would LOVE to know where I can find them or better yet – grow them myself.