Trekking into the back garden on the hunt for dinner remains a significant satisfaction at this time in the year, even after many years of growing and enjoying a winter food garden.
I may bring in a big bowlful of young kale leaves and freshly dug carrots for a favourite cumin-flavoured salad; beets for grating into an onion-apple-beet salad; heads of radicchio and endive for a sweet-tart salad that includes orange segments or figs; parsnips and carrots for cutting into short, slender stick shapes to roast with butter, salt and pepper, and fresh thyme.
My latest experimental meals have incorporated leeks and cabbage from the garden with chunks of stored squash and a bit of protein (a meat patty, a chop or a piece of fish) into one-pot meals.
A broad, shallow pan with a lid perfectly suits such a dinner. My latest creations have featured a small ground turkey patty surrounded with chopped leek, pieces of squash or sweet potato, and wedges of cabbage. Dotted with butter and sprinkled with herbs and salt, the meal is baked for about an hour at 350 F.
I uncover the pot half-way through to crisp some of the cabbage and, when I use them, the sage leaves. Crisp-roasted cabbage leaves are delectable.
I keep any leftover vegetables in the pan and in the morning heat them up. Once they have warmed, I push the vegetables into a ring and break an egg into the centre. Baked to a desired done-ness in the covered pan, the egg plays a star role in this quickly concocted breakfast.
In families where one pot cannot accommodate food for all,听divide ingredients into more than one baking dish or cook the meat or fish separately.
About cabbage. It鈥檚 been an unusual winter for cabbages. My over-wintering cabbages are heading up as usual, but the surprise has been small heads of Caraflex, a 鈥渟ummer鈥� cabbage, remaining delightfully useable through the winter and even continuing to develop during the many periods of mild weather. I听seeded this current batch of Caraflex in early July and transplanted in August.
This is a perfect cabbage 鈥� always sweet and juicy with a pleasant crunch and never that nasty hotness sometimes encountered in this vegetable.
I鈥檝e noticed these considerable virtues present in all the pointy-headed cabbages I鈥檝e grown in recent years, notably Caraflex and the delectably sweet and attractive, reddish-purple Kalibos, both available from West Coast Seeds.
Also worth trying is Early Jersey Wakefield, an American heirloom introduced in 1840. A favourite for coleslaw, this cabbage is often judged to be one of the tastiest cabbages available. Its flavour is described as smooth and sweet. The West Coast Seeds catalogue notes that Early Jersey Wakefield cabbages can be overwintered.
Greyhound, another heirloom cabbage, is labelled a 鈥淏est Seller鈥� in the Chiltern Seeds catalogue, which describes it as 鈥渢he earliest pointed cabbage for early spring sowing and harvesting during summer and early autumn.鈥�
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GARDEN EVENTS
Elizabeth England lecture. The Victoria Horticultural Society Hardy Plant Group will present the annual Elizabeth England Lecture on Sunday at听2:30 p.m. in the Salvation Army Citadel, 4030 Douglas St. Dan Hinkley, plant collector, author, lecturer and creator of Heronswood Nursery, will elaborate on 鈥淧lant Marriages: Exceptional Combinations of Foliage and Flower.鈥� Tickets are $20, available at Victoria Dig This stores, Dinter Nursery in Duncan, and at the door.
Orchid meeting. The Victoria Orchid Society will meet on Tuesday at 7:30听p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813听Darwin Ave. Poul Hansen, an orchid judge and recipient of of many show awards, will share tips on increasing the chances that a plant will be chosen for an award in 鈥淕etting ready for the show.鈥�
Sooke meeting. The Sooke Garden Club meets Wednesday at 7 p.m. in听St.听Rose of Lima Church, 2191听Townsend Rd. in Sooke. Gordon听MacKay will speak about 鈥淎lpine, Rock, Wood and Crevice Gardens.鈥� Newcomers are very welcome. Club听fees are $15 per year.
Cactus meeting. The Victoria Cactus and Succulent Society will meet at 7:30听p.m. on Wednesday at First Memorial (Funeral Services), 4725听Falaise Dr. in Royal Oak. The meeting rooms are at the back and can听be reached by a path to the right of听the parking lot or a ramp at the left side of the building.
