Showing posts with label rare vegetable. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rare vegetable. Show all posts

Monday

Wild Wild Vegetables: Sea Asparagus Salicornia europaea

Utterly delicious and very hard to find, this generally unknown culinary plant of salty mudflats and the shoreline produces succulent tender shoots with a flavor reminiscent of asparagus, but a taste all of its own. It is nothing short of an absolute treat, especially served with seafood.

Also known as Mermaids Kiss, Glasswort, the wild marsh Samphire can be found in abundance in salt marshes and tidal mud flats on the British coast. Seeds came from salt marsh on the north Norfolk coast, England.


It can be eaten raw, or cooked - boiled or steamed for a couple of minutes, topped with melting butter and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Absolutely no salt is needed as they taste of the sea so are more than sufficiently salty. They are rich in Vitamins A, C and D, this plant is highly sought after in British upscale gourmet restaurants. 

 

Annual, in warmer climate perennial. Very high moisture needs; suitable for marsh bogs.

Info on the plant - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicornia 
Seeds (US):  Marsh Samphire Salicornia europae
Plants (UK): Samphire Plant

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Sunday

Petite Brazilian Sweet Pimento Pepper

Look what we have here. Mini Pimentos!, these are going to be used for festive garnishes. The red color suits everything from Valentines to Christmas to New Years. I am so excited to get my hands on these Brazilian imported pepper seeds. Already started in little trays, sitting on a heat mat, my "Little Beaks", or "Little Kiss" pepper....yay!




From the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Pimenta De Bico peppers are mildly hot, small, round and either a brilliant scarlet-red or sunshine-yellow, with a small beak-shaped protuberance hanging from the end. The plant makes a beautiful ornamental plant, and many of these plants grace Brazilian gardens and yards.

The incredible rich flavorful small of these chilies are perfect served as a garnish or as an appetizer with drinks or can be used to perk up almost any soup, stew or braised dish.

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Thursday

Brodé Galeux d'Eysines Squash

Yikes!  Talk about an ugly pumpkin. Perfect for Halloween!

Brodé Galeux d'Eysines  is a French Heirloom Winter Squash, not really a pumpkin, however it can be carved like one. It is a hard to find Farmers Market Vegetable.

The silver sheened salmon-pink skin develops peanut like nodes as the sugar content builds in the ripening process. The more bumps, the greater the sugar content.

The bright orange flesh is nutty, sweet, firm, and without fibrous strings making it perfect for pies, steaming, baking, soups and more. Fruits grow to 10-20 lbs in size and keeps well.

Seeds found here

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