The wishful, hopeful gardener: endives

Every year, when I look through the Johnny's catalogue, I look for something new to plant in my garden. The glossy pictures do entice me, but usually I am looking for the extra-ordinary; something to write home about if you know what I mean. Last year I splurged on the Purple Haze Carrot. Turns out that purple carrots grow the same as their less hybridized orange relative, but their taste lacks the sweet, juicy flavor. For those of you who have never tried a fresh picked carrot it rivals the home garden tomato with out a doubt. In fact, they taste so good that I have to keep my dog, Chai Tea, from digging up every single one!

This year I decided to try my hand at Belgian Endives. My inspiration came in the middle of the winter while I was reading Elliott Coleman's book The Four Season Harvest( Thanks Miss Mindy.) The Belgian Endive is apparently the ultimate localvore veggie for the dead of winter. The Endive is a member of the chickory family, it is a bitter cousin to plants like radicchio and escarole. What happens is that you plant the seed in the garden and in the fall you harvest the root and store it away in either your fridge, or if you are so lucky to have one, you root cellar. Then, around January or February the next winter is when the magic really begins. Take your root, place it in a 5 gallon bucket of sand and bring the bucket into your warm house...into a closet or other dark area. After a few days of being inside, a ghost of a plants will arise. This part of the Endive is known as the chicon. This kind of trickery actually has a name in the gardening world, it is known as forcing.

The irony of this new gardening endeavor is that I have actually only tasted endive once and found it to be a sad, pale substitute for the lush and vibrant green lettuce that usually graces my plate. However, I have recently received several suggestion for braising endives and look foreward to trying the endive again. One would think that because the endive grows in the dark it lacks nutrients, well, guess again, the endive is rich in fiber, iron, and potassium. I will let you all know how it goes. In the mean time, enjoy the gardening season, be adventurous with your garden...try something new.