Picking for Dinner

Yesterday was a little planting and a lot of harvesting. I put in Ichiban Japanese eggplants, and some Boston and bush pickling cucumbers. I also finally started my Purple Artichoke "Violetta Di Chioggia" and black cherry tomato seeds. I hope we get artichokes this year, but if not, I'll just be patient. The big globe ones we got last year were so good they'll have to tide us over. It was amazing how good they were. The eggplant too. They both had a sweetness and richness of flavor that I guess just comes from being picked 5 minutes before.

So then I picked. I had planted a whole envelope of French breakfast radishes all along the bed where the artichokes are growing. So I have a little edible border. So the radishes are ripening, the arugula looks like it will finally go to seed this year, so I'm picking that furiously and with the little warmth (I can't say heat yet) we've had, all the lettuce is growing like weeds. So I picked a huge basket full of all the greens and radishes, enough for us, my parents and Ben and Melissa next door.

Now I really need to cook some chard and kale this week!

I just found this on Cookstr.com. You can search by ingredient, chef or reicpe.

• Orecchiette with Kale, Pancetta, and Oregano by Jerry Traunfeld of Poppy on Seattle’s Capitol Hill
  
  Yield: 4 Servings
  Ingredients
  1 bunch kale (12 ounces)
  12 ounces orecchiette pasta
  4 ounces pancetta, diced
  1 tablespoon olive oil
  2 cloves garlic
  ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  2 tablespoons chopped Greek oregano
  Kosher salt
  ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  Directions
  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash the kale, leaving the leaves wet, and chop it into 1-inch sections, discarding the tough bottom inch or two of the stems.
  
  Stir the orecchiette into the boiling water. While the pasta is cooking, render the pancetta in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until it begins to brown. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes, and after half a minute or so, add as much of the chopped kale as will fit in the pan. Toss the kale with tongs until it wilts down, and then add the rest of the kale. Ladle about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking liquid into the pan, toss in the oregano, and continue to cook until the kale is no longer tough (it will not be completely tender either), 3 to 4 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed.
  When the pasta is tender but still firm, drain it and add it to the skillet. Sprinkle with the cheese, toss it all together, and serve in warm shallow bowls.

But I have a little duck prosciutto that I'll use in place of the pancetta. Here's the picture!

This was so good. I've made similar dishes before, but the key is to have some protein. I used duck prosciutto, but you could use bacon, some smoked turkey, anything to add that little but of fat!