Leeks... the underutilized veg

I have finally given in to winter. The weather has been so beautiful here that it was hard to believe that snow would ever fall. It began in earnest last week so by Thursday I dug the majority of my leeks. Leek are one of those vegetables that are often overlooked in the garden and the grocery store. I love them. They are incredibly easy to grow. I start the seed in my office in February and in March I move them into the greenhouse. They like it cool so I place them in a section where other crops would perish. As soon as the snow is melted, it is safe to plant these babies in the garden. They grow with little or no maintenance so they tend to get ignored at my place. The big bonus is that you can harvest them when they are young and skinny, or you can leave them in the ground and dig them all winter. I had to shovel a foot of snow off of the ones in the photo before I could reach them. They were still in perfect condition. These were turned into a delicious leek marmalade that Sean and I have been enjoying with every meal. Sean has high cholesterol and leek are one of the foods that help reduce cholesterol in the blood stream so they will become a staple in our diet. Mmmmmm, fresh garden veg in Newfoundland in January. What a treat!