13 Comments
Aug 23, 2020Liked by Anne Helen Petersen

I love this: "the great joy I get, as Samin Nostrat wrote about so beautifully, in watching a plant grow and change, even if it’s not growing and changing quite the way I’d like it to." this is what parenting is like (or should be like: you don't get to choose who kids are or what and how they will become that person, and if you can let go of your expectations about it, it's really fun to watch them become themselves!)

Expand full comment
author

I love this.

Expand full comment

"...none of it feels as good as actually figuring out something you like to do, and then doing it as if no one was watching, and no one ever will, and it will never, ever find a place on your resume." As a millennial growing up in this new age capitalism where all my peers are continuously doing the most, I find comfort in that statement. Thanks for the newsletter, have a great week!

Expand full comment

yeah my garden is wrecked by chipmunks and birds BUT! It's been a joy to see my peppers go off, and to also see what volunteer plants shoot up. Right now my volunteer tomatoes are restoring my soul after the my tomatoes were ravaged.

I share a garden with my grandmother, who is a major green thumb (she grew up on a farm in the South). She consistently outproduces me and its hilarious but I'm learning a lot :)

Expand full comment

Thank you for the reminder that not everything has to be a side hustle and social media photo shoot

Expand full comment

I am an herb grower. Critters seem to leave my herbs alone!!

Expand full comment

I just dug out, among other edible leaves that had gone bleached and ugly, my flat-leaf parsley, prepping my planter boxes for the next round. When I pulled them up by the roots, those roots smell delicious! Anybody here eat those? How do you like them?

Expand full comment
author

Yes some people eat them but I don't know how!!!

Expand full comment

Ok, I'm going to find out and report back!

Expand full comment

Report: You peel it and chop it and use it like a root vegetable. Or at least that's one way. Mine were a bit spindly to really benefit from this treatment, but I tried it anyway and put them in a frittata, which also contained broccoli leaves and florets, whole garlic cloves, and potatoes. The parsley root flavor got lost. :(

Expand full comment

Try using it in a stew or vegetable soup - it adds a nice flavor, Eastern European cuisines use it. I actually really miss their taste. If you want, you can also try to make a cream soup out of it.

Expand full comment

Oooh, a cream soup from these would be delightful. It would let that subtle taste shine. Thanks for the ideas!

Expand full comment

I love this. I was A distracted gardener. My young adult daughter -sheltering with us for months- took the helm. She’s a natural.

Expand full comment