It took us 3 years to learn how to grow celery this good! Look at those long thick stalks and vibrant green leaves!! It is quite tricky to germinate the seed and is one of our earliest crops seeded in the greenhouse in late February. Yes, this celery has flavor (unlike uhem... the ones from the store;). Chefs love this celery because they use it finely chopped as the base for almost everything. Try sautéing chopped celery with onion for the base of soup, sauce, or veggie fry. Be sure to eat the greens too- cook them or eat them raw. Great in vegetable juice. The leaves you don't use, can be air dried for a fantastic winter seasoning. Just put them on a plate on top of your fridge and let them air dry until you remember their up there. The dried leaves turn into "celery flakes" and can be crushed into a glass jar to store in your cupboard along with all of your other homemade herbs and spices. ;). Truly, this is so easy and you'll feel so proud in the winter to use your DIY celery flakes. Important note about those awesome leaves- be sure to store the whole head LEAVES DOWN IN A PLASTIC BAG (if the leaves are sticking out of the bag, the whole head can wilt in the fridge). If it does wilt, just recut the bottom and soak the bottom end in ice cold water for an hour.
Use the outer stalks for cooking and eat the tender inner stalks raw. Celery is great added to pico de gallo or gazpacho. Cream of celery soup is beyond amazing! Or slice thin for a crunchie "Waldorf Salad". This might just be a great week for a fantastic summer soup. Think celery, onion, carrot or potato, snap beans, cabbage, zucchini and 1 or 2 crushed fresh tomatoes with fresh herbs to make a nice broth (maybe add quinoa for great soup texture) and top with chopped spicy peppers.
Thanks for working on loving all your veggies! Your Mother (Earth) is so proud of you!
