Mizuna!

I love my Farmer's Market...I love my local farmers.  Three Springs Farm is one of my favorites, and I never leave market without picking up a few things from them.  Owners/farmers Mike Appel & Emily Oakley are such beautiful people; they offer some of the freshest, most beautiful produce, which you can tell was grown and harvested with care.  They always have a few things that no other vendor has, such as fava beans and Mizuna.  I had never heard of Mizuna until two years ago, when Emily introduced me.  Now it's one of my favorites & I buy a bag from them every week while it's in season.  I can't ever wait to dig in...I munch on it while shopping, & a few weeks ago I ate the entire bag while attending our local city surplus (bike) auction after market.  I didn't buy a bike, but I had a great breakfast.  :-)

According to Wikipedia, Mizuna is also called Japanese or Spider Mustard.  It's a fringe-leafed green often found in mesclun salad mix, with a "piquant, mild peppery flavor...slightly spicy but less so than arugula."

I included Mizuna in my green smoothie this morning - so delicious.  Don't be afraid to add spicy or savory greens or even herbs to a fruit smoothie - you might be pleasantly surprised at the flavor combinations you can create!

Unfortunately the color in this photo seems a little off, I guess because it's pretty overcast today so I didn't have the best light to shoot this....here it looks kind of swampy, but in reality the color is a vibrant, gorgeous green (as in the photo above).  You'll see for yourself when you make it!!

Fruity Mizuna

1 banana
1 pear
1/2 C pineapple, frozen
large handful Lacinto (Dino or Dinosaur) kale
large handful Mizuna
1 T hemp seeds
1 T flax seeds
2 C water

Add all ingredients to VitaMix & blend until creamy.  Enjoy!