First harvest!

Here is the first harvest form my garden for 2011! This is horseradish. I had to thin the patch out since it was threatening to take over the world, and figured I might as well use some of the clump that I dug up. (I also shipped off a big clump to John at work, so it can now take over his garden too.) My plan is to wrap these up and keep them in the fridge until I need a little zing on a sandwich (mmmm....roast beef!) or in a salad, or wherever else I can dream up. I left the tops on because I figure they will stay alive the whole time, and I can just stick whatever is left in the garden if I decide I want more. (You can not kill this stuff no matter how hard you try -- it`s tougher than dandelions ... and that`s saying something.)

These roots will get funky on cut surfaces that are exposed to air, so don't peel it until you need some, then just grate up a little chunk (prepare to cry! it`s worse than onions by a mile) and carry on. If you have to wait between peeling and preparing them, just dunk them in a bowl of water until you have time to attend to them.

I am planning a stellar roast beef sandwich on caraway rye from Rideau bakery. I`ll add some romaine lettuce, a couple of slices of tomato, a bit of red onion, maybe a little chutney, probably some mustard, and a little mayo (laced with my firey friend above, of course!).

This may call for a beer too.

Mmmm...maybe I`ll toast the bread. Wow.

My next post should be a recipe -- it`s been a while! I am planning to make a Greek casserole called Pastitsio. So stay tuned! (Unless it fails miserably, in which case I may just make another sandwich.)