This time last year, we had been eating pak choi and kale out of the garden for several weeks. I had started it in little cells in the greenhouse and planted it in the garden in early-mid March. This is one of the beauties of blogging; I’ve got records and pictures so I know I’m not exaggerating.
Washed pak choi
This year, there was no way. I tried. I planted a bunch of the pak choi seedlings I had started from last year’s seed* in one of the few garden beds I have so far managed to prep this chilly grey spring. The soil thermometer registered 50 degrees when they went in and has since gone up to 60+, but it’s been very slow growing. Meanwhile, seeing the meteorological writing on the wall, I had stuck some of those same seedlings with about ten kale seedlings in a long plastic trough planter that I’ve been hauling in and out of the greenhouse on bright days. It’s been living outside for the past week or more. The stuff in the trough is about two and a half times the size of what’s in the garden. Last night, I cut the first batch of planter pak choi.
Washing chopped pak choi -soil falls to the bottom of the bowl
I clipped them from their roots, sliced them, and washed the sliced pieces in a bowl of water — even in the confines of a planter soil works itself between their leaves.
Slicing up those crisp green leaves and juicy stalks was very satisfying. Knowing it’s possible to grow something we can eat, that’s good for you AND tastes good, is – I hesitate to use the word because it’s SO cliché but will anyway – empowering. A container, some organic soil and compost, seeds, water, sunlight and –very important – love, will do it. Like money in the bank. (Also a great learning experience for kids).
Sauteed pak choi, ginger, garlic and water chestnuts
I sautéed the chopped stalks (thick bottoms for a few minutes then chucked in the leaves) with three cloves of last year’s garlic, fresh-grated ginger, a little soy sauce, a tin of sliced water chestnuts and a splash of chicken bullion. The garlic, Music hardneck that I grew last year, dug and hung in bunches on the porch in early July, is now sprouting again, which changes the flavor some (though it’s still really nice roasted whole). Once the cloves sprout this time of year, I slice them in half lengthwise and pull out the green shoot, which tends to be a bit bitter, then mince.
We ate the sautéed pak choi along with sautéed onions and red peppers. Together, the two side dishes beautifully complimented the broiled New York steak, part of the half of a grass-fed Jersey that I buy from Rock Hall farmer, Owen McCoy, who also raises pigs, ducks, figs, and who-knows-what-all. Dinner only took about fifteen minutes to make from start to finish. Today, I’m going to cut the kale for soup. I’ll quick-sauté the chopped leaves with a shallot and some berbere spice, then fling it all into a little beef stock I’ve pulled out of the freezer. The growing-and-eating season has begun!
*Pak choi seed remains viable and germinates well for several years if kept dry.
Pak choi, sauteed peppers and onions, and NY steaks before broiling
I grew up sailing and building boats with my dad, married a tugboat captain, (who I'm still happily married to) and embarked on a life of adventure, challenge and fun. My first book, Woman in the Wheelhouse, told the sometimes harrowing story of working on an old coastal tugboat as cook/deckhand then worked in Mexico in the Campeche oil fields on a supply boat. I was one of the first women in the country to earn a tug operator's license. I'm the author of three other books, Course of the Waterman, which won the Fred Bonnie Prize for the novel, the historical novel, A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, A Modern Love Story, and OK Now What? A Caregiver's Guide to What Matters, which I wrote with longtime RN and hospice nurse, Sue Collins during the time my mother-in-law was moving to the end of her life.
My second, Course of the Waterman, the coming of age novel of a young Eastern Shore waterman, won the Fred Bonnie award in 2004. My third book, second novel, A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, A Modern Love Story, takes readers into the lives of the new nation's strong-willed second First Lady and her stubborn, often-absent and adored husband, John, our second US President. I wrote the book because I'd spent big chunks of time raising children alone while my husband was at sea and felt an affinity for Abigail, but also looked to her life as a MUCH bigger challenge that informed and encouraged my own. My fourth book, OK Now What? A Caregiver's Guide to What Matters (Head to Wind Publishing, 2014) was written in collaboration with Sue Collins, RN and longtime hospice nurse and has received heartwarming feedback on how helpful it's been to many caregivers.
A freelance writer for many years, I've published personal essays, features, maritime reporting and analysis, travel, garden and more for such places as The Washington Post, Yachting, House Beautiful, The Baltimore Sun, the Christian Science Monitor, Southern Living, Sailing, and more. I'm also a University of Maryland Master Gardener who grows and cans the family's fruits and vegetables, and a Bay-Wise program certifier. I write, sail, race sailboats (occasionally), walk the German Shepherd dogs, and cook for friends and family.
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Nancy Taylor Robson 