Just-picked flavor - Mizuna

Mizuna is available year-round - young mizuna is an ingredient in mesclun salads - that pointy-leafed green which is slightly bitter. Mizuna may also be called Japanese watercress. So you've probably had it before -- but I'll bet never fresher than the just-plucked mizuna on sale at the Hiraoka Farm tent at the KCC Farmer's Market this morning. (Several vendors had mizuna). What a treat! The larger, older leaf is great for year-end ozoni, a soup which is part of Japanese New Year celebrations.

We had some for lunch - crunchy, fragrant, and a bit bitter. For ozoni, bitter is better. It made a great salad.

I'm spoiled -- Safeway can keep their greens. Nanette also scored some naga-negi, whatever that is in English (long green onions?). We never had vegetables this fresh when we lived in Japan.