Hello tender friends!
Remember when Sheryl Crow crooned that the first cut is the deepest in 2003? That song had been done and redone by many before her, but I was in my last year of high school at the time and thought she had written that song to describe my recent failed love. I thought she was staring into the depths of my soul.
Then I channeled my pop culture Middle School vibes and asked myself if I believed in life after love. I decided I did. So thank you, Cher, for getting me over that little hump.
But Sheryl Crow’s idea about that first cut being so impactful is on my mind again, this time as it relates to the garden. I wasn’t actually a huge Sheryl Crow fan, but that line is applicable to so many things in life.
The first time I harvest anything at the beginning of the season stays with me. The first literal cut embeds itself in my emotional memory. The angle of the sun, the smell of the produce on my hands afterwards, and the connection to the Earth all settle into my cells with a sacrosanct thrill.
Here’s our very first harvest of the season from a few weeks ago. It wasn’t huge, but once you’ve harvested spinach and eat in it immediately, you will never go back to store-bought spinach.
What did I do with such a small first harvest?
You have probably figured out by now that I don’t eat crackers. One of the important things about making a diet change sustainable is finding substitutes for some of those favorite things like crackers. And for me, strange as it may seem, spinach does the trick! I dipped spinach into my cream of asparagus soup, and it was oh-so-satisfying.
In addition to the soup, I made this:
The combination of asparagus, mushrooms, onions, eggs and cheese made me feel like I was at a B&B. What is it about asparagus that makes a meal feel instantly classy? Let’s call this one “Classy Morning Keto.” (Note: this is keto but not paleo-friendly because of the cheese, but you could always leave the cheese off to make it both).
I have also blogged before about my love of tacos made with riced cauliflower. Well, because we had enough sage to harvest, I added sage and sesame seeds to my original recipe. It was amazing! (I also did this with fresh oregano, and it was just okay, nowhere near as amazing as with the sage).
Are you thinking that it’s strange to combine Italian herbs and Asian sesame seeds with tacos? Well, growing a garden will turn even the blandest of eaters into a fusion chef extraordinaire. It was so worth it, I promise. I implore you to try some sage in your next taco mix and tell me what you think!
Anthony eats the taco mix in a taco shell. I eat mine on top of a bed of the spinach pictured above, and now that we have them, fresh beet leaves! I also throw a splash of apple cider vinegar on top.
While the oregano was not fantastic in my taco mix, it was on top of (store-bought) Brussel sprouts. I roasted my sprouts in olive oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and then threw fresh oregano on top once I took it out of the oven. I ate almost all 2 lbs. of Brussel sprouts that day. The best part is that Cub doesn’t typically like Brussel sprouts but did eat some when I sprinkle the oregano on top. That’s a big mom win for me!
The joy of oregano didn’t stop there. We’ve discovered when we’re tuckered out and need a little pick me up in the garden, we harvest a fresh mint leaf and pair it with a fresh oregano leaf, and voila! Instant energy and oral refreshment.
Thank you to all the new friends who’ve signed up for email updates this week! Just as a warning, I’m no longer strictly keto and have actually been able to reincorporate some once-forbidden foods into my diet as I’ve gotten farther out in my healing. So while everything featured here is keto, not every food post will be keto.
For those of you planning your readership, I’ll be sharing the testimony that Anthony shared at church on Easter Sunday next week in the Monday post. I’m so thankful that God brought me a husband who seeks the kingdom of God FIRST in all things and would like to use some of his testimony to begin encouraging others from time to time. I’m thinking about finally adding some powerful God moments I’ve had related to healing that I haven’t shared yet on Thursday, but I need to gather some emotional reserves first.
Ok, if you’ve had any interesting/unexpected culinary wins with herbs, please let me know in the comments!
Thank you for sharing!
tea and tenderness 
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