spring garden eating - lettuce, radishes and lots of herbs

There went March, April, and most of May!  

I'm already pulling arugula from the garden that's about to bolt, and eating through some lovely lettuce while it's in its prime.  Pictured above, arugula, lettuce Landis Winter, lettuce Rouge d'Hiver.  The string is for the square-foot flower garden this will eventually be; I planted these cold weather crops while I was waiting patiently for flower planting!  

I love having my own lettuce for this Asian chicken lettuce wrap, below, (original recipe here).  We use chicken instead of veal and I definitely skip the cilantro, but it's a great recipe to use some garden goodies - green onions, lettuce, carrots, etc.  We used two fresh heads of green lettuce but I couldn't tell them apart once we were making food, and I definitely had a favorite!  So I will have to pull another two apart and figure it out.  I am thinking of starting more lettuce under a grow light and put them out in a shadier spot, now that warm weather is upon us.  The Rouge d'Hiver adds great flavor to sandwiches, I find.  

Unfortunately, I seem to be behind on carrots, haven't mastered that yet, but the radishes did well - three varieties: French Breakfast, Cherry Belle, and Easter Basket.  For the first round of planting, I used tweezers, and they were well spaced; for the second round, I sprinkled them a bit more heavy-handed, and I can definitely tell the difference in the harvesting.  Since I do such a small space, it was worth the time to be more intentionally; I'll have to remember that.  We have given some radishes, roasted some, eaten some fresh with a lettuce, arugula, spinach and radish greens salad!  I'm learning that it's better to go ahead and harvest some when they start to look ready, instead of waiting for pictures, waiting for a big harvest, waiting for the perfect recipe.  Or plan ahead with recipes.  And plant a second round for when the first round goes to seed while I'm deciding what to do!  I also had some arugula on a grilled pizza, which is the reason I grew it!  

My ranunculus started blooming this week, and the alliums are buzzing with bees.  I need to do a bit more rearranging of plants and soil in my flower bed but I can see things coming along - the zinnia seedlings just peeked out and the cosmos are looking promising.  We have had an unusually rainy May, and now we have a smoky haze and red sun, due to smoke blowing down from Canada.  Every year is a new challenge!  

The herbs are adding freshness to many meals; lemon thyme is my favorite on roasted potatoes and in chicken dishes.  Also usable: chives, sage, thyme, and dill - great in potato salad.  The tomatoes and basil are just starting to move to their summer beds.  Peonies are full of buds, last year's onions are going to seed, pumpkins and squash are putting on a bit of growth.  Carrots, parsnips, and peas are hopefully next in line for the dinner table!  Half our pea seeds were no good; by the time we realized that, the first batch were well out of the ground, so we have a true second planting.  Potatoes are growing in tubs, and a couple in the old bed - whoops!  And I'm trying barley!  My brother-in-law asked if I would be brewing some beer.  No, hopefully beef and barley stew.  

barley

snap peas

So far, so good.  Patiently waiting for pea pods and brassicas.  I am still knitting.  Hopefully more about that soon.  
What are you growing?  Working on?