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21 August 2006
Tarragon Ideas? What do you do with an overabundance of tarragon? Also, how do you know when to harvest your arugula?
Well, since arugula is sometimes known as "rocket", I'd harvest it when the countdown reaches T-minus-zero. NASA may have a local extension office to help you with this.
First off, harvest arugula continuously. As soon as there are leaves to pick, start picking them -- just make sure to leave enough leaves so the plant can photosynthesize. The more you pick, the more leaves the plant will produce.
As for tarragon, I like in a vinaigrette.
My favorite salad involves tarragon AND arugula.
Add to your arugula a bunch of grapefruit chunks, some goat cheese, and toasted pecans or walnuts.
Make a vinaigrette using grapefruit juice for the acid, and add a shitload of tarragon.
Oh, and when the arugula starts to bolt (it will send up a fuzzy stalk from the top/center of the plant), pick off the flower stalk. This will prolong the life of the plant. Note, though, that the flavor gets stronger every time you do this.
Tarragon vinegar? Put 1 c. loosely packed fresh tarragon & 2c white wine vinegar in a sterilized jar. Seal with vinegar-proof lid and store for 2 weeks, then strain. Put a fresh sprig into each clean, sterilized jar or bottle, pour vinegar over it, seal tightly with vinegar-proof lid. You could make a shwack of this and give it out as presents in attractive bottles.
As for tarragonarugula, it is potentially disfiguring, but you can make an ointment from zucchini and green tomatoes that will clear it right up.
Oh, we've got seeds -- our batch of plants skipped the whole leafy part and bolted straight away, thanks to the odd hot-then-not June we had in Chicago. We're going to try for a second round this fall after it cools off a bit.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
