Hello! I've been feeling very flat and lifeless since my mother died, which I guess isn't surprising, but it's unusual for me and not all that pleasant. Then the thought struck me the other day that what I needed to do to restore my elan-- or dare I say, joie d vivre- was to learn French. So I found a "podcast" called "learn French by Podcast", which I've been listening to. I don't understand very much of it--mostly it seems to be in a foreign language-- but I did learn that the literal translation of the French equivalent of "beggars can't be choosers" is "we have no thrushes, so we must eat blackbirds". I also was introduced to the concept of "false friends" by a book called Easy French Reader, which is to say, words that look the same in French as they do in English, but have different meanings. So I thought I'd introduce you to a few "faux amis" of the vegetable world. The first of them is called senposai, pictured above. People see it and think it is collards, but it isn't collards at all! Senposai is a cross between komatsuna, a mild type of mustard from Japan, and cabbage. It combines the best aspects of both plants and is probably my favorite leafy green. cook as you would kale or steam the larger leaves for gluten free wrap. And it comes with a guarantee: twice as good as collards or half your money back.
Next we come to broccoli raab, pictured below. It will be available in the coming weeks. I mention it because people see "broccoli" in the name and assume it will taste like broccoli. It doesn't. It is actually a kind of flowering turnip and has a delightful spicy/ bitter flavor, which, if it is what you are expecting, is unparalleled. But if you are wanting broccoli, it is disappointing.
