Spring and early summer is prime growing season for so called "cool weather crops" like lettuce, arugula, beets, radishes and carrots. Right now we're harvesting quite a bit of lettuce (ten pounds a weeks or more). I like growing head lettuce, but prefer growing loose leaf varieties. These mixes, or mesclun as they are commonly marketed, have a variety of leafs in them. Red and green, mild and spicy, tender and hardy, they offer a great variety for the plate and palatte.
One of my favorite leafs to add to the mix is beet greens. I plant the beet seeds thickly which means a lot of plants will germinate. When the beet leaves are a couple of inches high, I will thin them out to allow the root to fully form. But, I never throw out the thinnings. The smaller plants are added to the lettuce mix for a flavorful punch. The larger beet greens are great to sautee in a pan with olive oil and garlic.
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