Inspired by the Harvest

Today is the day we harvest the very last of our spring planting. All these beautiful turnips are ready for processing and storage.  The very best part of turnips is not only are they extremely nutritious, but there is almost no waste.  The tops or "greens" are an excellent source of antioxidents, minerals, and vitamins like K, A, C, and calcium to name a few.    The bottom part also stores quite well and tastes wonderful in winter stews and curries.  Turnips can be planted in both spring and autumn so that you have that great boost of natural vitamins through the winter months when you need them most.  And look at these beautiful colors, so bright!  I decided to take my outfit inspiration from them today, although I suppose I often take inspiration from nature, this bright purple and cream are so bold and unique.

I couldn't have asked for a better day than this to be outside.  The thing I love about living here is that there's always a break from the extreme weather and this morning was just the break we needed from the summer heat.  It was so mild and overcast that we could take our time doing our garden work.

It was so wonderfully mild and cool today that even after the work was done, we lingered, sitting on the steps or just on the ground, talking and listening to the cicadas singing.  Afterwards we went in for a hearty breakfast (no turnips included), doing so much work before hand definitely creates an appetite and working together creates the kinds of  family conversations that I truly cherish.

If you've never tried turnip greens before, they're very easy to prepare:

1. Starting with about 3-4 cups of raw turnip tops, remove as much of the stems from the raw greens as you can; they are very bitter as they get older.

2.  Wash the greens well, perhaps even soak them in a vinegar water mix for 20 minutes to remove any insects or caterpillars that might be there snacking.  There's nothing worse than finding a boiled caterpillar on your plate.

3.  While the greens are soaking, fry two slices of bacon until crispy.

4.  Fill a large pot with 1 cup of bone broth (we prefer chicken) and add 1/4 tsp of salt.  Crumble the bacon slices and add to the broth.  Then roughly chop the greens and add to the broth.  

5.  Bring the broth to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  The greens will cook down substantially.  Remove from heat when the greens are tender and serve.

Shopping Info: Pants and Top from: SHEIN, Freshwater Pearl Earrings-$19 from Natuloth