Salad Days. "Use and value diversity"

The sum is greater than the parts.

I have been busy writing up my diploma and completing a Permaculture Teacher Training course so I have been typing out so many words that I haven't felt inclined to write more here. I have been balancing my work in front of the screen with time spent in the garden and kitchen and I have valued the time stretching my limbs as I dig and prune breathing in the fresh sea air and feeling the sun on my face. It has really brought home to me the importance of variety. It is so good to 'mix things up'.

With this in mind I escaped from my study and I thought that I'd create a salad with as much of the diversity from the abundance of my garden as I could. I started with a few organic salad leaves from my vegetable box as a base and then I added a few leaves of lemon sorrel, dandelion, mashua, mint (four different kinds), thyme, marjoram (three kinds), oregano, sage, parsley, lemon balm, sedum (ice plant), fennel , mallow, nipplewort, salad burnet, rocket, garlic chives, daffodil garlic, chickweed and corn salad. I sprinkled daffodil garlic and purple allium flowers over the top and added some protein in the form of two kinds of sprouted beans before completing the dish with the tangy goodness of homemade sauerkraut and preserved lemon.

It was a fantastic exercise in mindfulnes to savour every mouthful with its unique flavour combination. Each leaf, flower and part added its own special something in the way of colour, shape, smell, taste, texture. It made me really appreciate the beauty of diversity on my plate, in my garden and in the world.