Lettuce Harvesting

This is the time of the year we always pick our lettuce, and I begin googling “What else to do with lettuce besides salads” like a crazy person.  I like to try new things!   (Make sure you check out my lettuce soup recipe too!)

I’ve posted about this before but I grew up not liking lettuce.  It wasn’t actually until a few years ago that I embraced lettuce.  That’s another thing a garden does to you, it guilts you into trying every single thing.  Well I just grew that lettuce and it was hard work, so I’m definitely going to eat it.  Wait, what happened.  This lettuce actually tastes good.  No way, it tastes way good.  Oh my, let’s grow another head of lettuce.  Soon before you know it, you have harvesting multiple heads of  lettuce, sitting in a corner, eating lettuce leaves whole while wigging your nose like a bunny rabbit.

Here are lettuce ideas:

• Substitute your bread or taco shell for lettuce. 
• Make your sandwich as usual, then just roll it up!
• Make lettuce soup. (recipe coming soon!)
• Saute it.
• Braised lettuce (recipe coming soon!)
• Add it to any soup for a great soupy green. 
• Make a layered taco salad. 
• Substitute lettuce in Chinese dishes (for example: use lettuce instead of bok choy). 
• Cut up small pieces of mozzarella and halved cherry tomatoes, roll in a piece of lettuce.  This is a great appetizer or snack. 

 

While the lettuce is getting to a healthy size, we cut off a few outer leaves as we need them.  Having a cheeseburger? Few leaves get removed.  Salad? Few more.  Just be sure you aren’t cutting too many leaves  off one plant while it matures.  You still want it to remain sturdy and leafy.   

Then when the plant looks mature, I find it best to pull the entire plant.  You want to make sure your lettuce does not go to seed (start to get flowers and bolt) as it will make your lettuce bitter.  When it starts to get very hot out, I know it’s going to bolt quickly, so I keep a close eye on them.  This one is ready to pick!  Just pull out at the base and keep twisting, it should come out of the ground pretty quickly as lettuce plants do not have deep roots.

One lettuce plant, harvested!
   

And here’s another!

Remember when the lettuce was just little babies?

Then they grew a little bigger.
.

To few adulthood!  In just a few months.
 

Not to brag, but we grew some pretty cute lettuce kids here.

Aren’t they beauties?  It’s like their leaves form perfection.

During this day I also harvested some of our mixed salad greens too.. I’m feeling like I want a small salad before dinner tonight.  

I harvested some radishes too, this is going to be perfect!  

I’ll be making a post on the best way to store your lettuce harvest next week.

Do you have any lettuce recipes? If so, share them! I will be posting my lettuce soup and braised lettuce soon!