Vegetables in May

Since La Tierra Verde is a small scale market garden, I grow seasonal crops. Although some vegetables are available all year round, most vegetables have their own growing season. Because of the climate in the Extremadura the crops are mainly grown in open ground. A few plastic tunnels protect some vegetables from the cold weather in spring. When the sun starts to get stronger, the plastic is removed from the tunnels, and if necessary replaced by shade cloth. The plastic and shade cloth tunnels are mainly used for seedlings. As is mentioned elsewhere, vegetables are now also grown in a tunnel greenhouse. This tunnel covers an area of only 60m² and is more like an extra to the garden.

The list below is a prediction of what will be available in May. Due to weather conditions it is hard to guarantee when a crop is ready, or if it is available at all.

Vegetables in May

v  Snow peas (mange tout)

v  Peas

v  Broad beans

v  Lettuce

v  Spring onions

v  Leek

v  Spinach

v  Swiss chard

v  Radish

v  Turnip tops

v  Rucola

Like last year in Spring, I have a range of different types of lettuce in the garden. This year these are:

·         Oreja de mula, the Roman type lettuce that is also used for Caesar Salad

·         Little gems (Gogollo), also a Roman type lettuce, but more sweet and delicate than the Oreja de Mula.

·         Iceberg, a fresh and crisp lettuce type that goes very well with a dressing of Greek yogurt and fried bacon bits. It keeps well in the fridge for several days.

·         Batavia, a sub variety if the Iceberg lettuce. Batavia however is delicate and the leaves are a bit crinkled.

·         Oak leaf (Hoja de Roble), an open type lettuce with a beautiful colouring from dark red on the outside, to fresh green to the inside. A lettuce type of many uses.

·         Red Salad Ball, often also referred to as Hoja de Roble, because of the similarity in colouring but it is a different type. Salad Ball forms a head and the leaves are a bit stronger than the oak leaf.

·         Butterhead (Reina de Mayo) is a very tasteful soft and old-fashioned type of lettuce.

·         Maravilla de verano is growing very well at the moment, due to the higher temperatures. It is a strong open type of lettuce with a nice colouring of green and soft red.

Except for an abundance of lettuces, there is at the moment also an abundance of broad beans. The time to eat fresh broad beans is only during spring time. To enjoy broad beans the rest of the year, you can easily freeze them. Just take the beans out of the pods and freeze them raw in a single layer upon trays. If you have a good freezer, it takes only 2 or 3 hours to freeze them. Keep them in plastic bags or large containers.

A great and nutritious meal is the following (I call it Haba con chili):

Ingredients:

1 ts olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

250g minced beef

1 ts hot paprika powder, or more if you like it hot

1 ts dried oregano

1 can diced tomato

½ cup tomato frito

1 bay leaf

250g broad beans (podded)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley and/or coriander leaves, chopped

1.      Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the minced beef and stir fry until the meet begins to brown. Add paprika and oregano.

2.      Add the diced tomato, the tomato frito, bay leaf and beans to the meat and stir well. Stew for 10-15 minutes. Taste the chili and season to taste. Remove the bay leaf and add the parsley and/or coriander.

3.      Serve with fresh bread or rice.

Broad beans and peas can be used in many dishes, like risottos, paellas, soups, stews, fried rice, salads, and pastas or as accompaniment with meet and (new) potatoes.

Some people have problems with fresh peas and broad beans due to intestinal gas. This is not only a nuisance, but can be embarrassing as well. To reduce the gas forming and also possible cramps you can try the following:

1.      Remove the skins of the beans, this is called double-podding. After normal podding, cook the beans for a few minutes in boiling water until just tender. Rinse under cold water and remove the light green skin from the beans. This reduces bowel irritation in general.

2.      After the meal is completely prepared, sprinkle a little bit of ground cumin over it. This reduces the gas to form.

                                        I wish you all a beautiful and warm spring 2014.