Watercress Time

The coulee region of Wisconsin is full of bluffs, hills and valleys. Spring-fed streams are everywhere and in many of these streams grow the peppery, piquant watercress. The variety in these streams tastes nothing like the bland product sometimes available in grocery stores.

Cress can be available during fairly cool months if the stream is running and not frozen over. March and April often bring an abundance of this green. Family lore has it that only in months with an "r" in them can it be gathered. In the other months, water bugs find this leaf just as tasty as we do and cleaning becomes a chore as well as a lesson in aquatic zoology.

I've been lucky enough to enjoy it for years from the stream that runs through the farm that is still in the hands of Lloyd's relatives. Sometimes our food co-op has some, sometimes the early farmer's market. We look forward to eating it in spring with a roaring anticipation. The first greens of the season speak to us of the bounty ahead. A quick spread of mayo on Lloyd's homemade wheat bread piled high with the fresh cress makes a sandwich that tells us that spring has really arrived.

And So It Begins...

Today, I went to the garden and dug my first garlic of the season.  I love nothing better than pulling these first delicate slips. It means spring really is here and the growing season is upon us.

Last fall, I buried many individual cloves and covered them heavily with straw. Since then, these  little beauties have been sleeping away the winter.  The first hint of light and warmth brings their shoots up above the ground.

When I dig them, the clove is wet and withered. I peel off that layer, and inside there is a thin shoot, looking much like scallion.

This first garlic is sweet and mild enough to put raw in salads.  Tonight, we're making Miniera, a Brazilian dish that marries thinly sliced collard greens with bacon (yes, greens and bacon - a match made in heaven). A few slices of this sprightly spring garlic serves as a perfect mild flavor maid of honor.

Collard Greens Miniera

1/2 # collard greens, halved lengthwise and stems and center ribs discarded
2 slices of bacon, finely chopped

Stack the collard leaf halves and roill cross-wise into a cigar shape. Cut crosswise into very thin slices (1/8"). Cook bacon til crisp. Add collards, tossing to coat and cook until just bright green (about 1 minute. Season with salt and serve.

Gourmet Magazine January 2001