Arugula – Rocket Power

Arugula – Rocket power your own protean transformation to a healthy vibrant life.

Chance favors the prepared mind – Louis Pasteur

Last winter we scattered chance seeds in our garden.

Chance seeds being the variety of seed that defies titles and demands that us gardeners employ our curiosity and bestowe our gift of providence upon them. We obligingly plant them in our garden without the slightest notion of what?? they are.

Weeks of precious water, manure tea, and a few zany dances around their plot; upbeat big 80’s dance music like ABC or Culture Club works well in this situation (Karma Chameleon, yeah!). Why? Because plants love happy gardeners.

Soon, they revealed themselves. Spiky, thin, dark green leaves with a pungent, sweet and slightly sweaty aroma. It’s unmistakable: wild Arugula, a.k.a. Arugula Selvatica, has taken over our garden.

Our beyond Organic Arugula
“Maybe arugula can only compensate
For all the cards you were dealt at the hands of fate”

(we took artistic license with “How to Be a Millionaire” lyrics by ABC)

This is not your common supermarket variety Arugula (Eruca sativa) . Selvatica has an intense and potent flavor. This taste alone may elevate your spirit to a higher plane. You laugh,but we dare you to try it for yourself.

We love to infuse extra virgin olive oil with our wild arugula.
We also eat copious amounts of arugula in salads, burritos, with dutch oven chicken, and as a main ingredient in pesto.
Wild Arugula Pesto

• 1/2 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 Cloves of our Beyond Organic Elephant Garlic, peeled
• 2 Cups Wild Arugula
• 1/4 cup toasted Pinon Nuts
• 2 Dashes of Tapatio hot Sauce
• 4 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup freshly grated, parmigiano reggiano (*see note below)
• 1 dash of Kelp granules

Mr. T Says, “I Pity the Fool who don’t eat Arugula!”

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
It will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator, although we prefer to eat it fresh.
Eat this twice a week and soon you will realize that you are well on the path to happiness.

Wild Arugula Salad

• 1 Cup Wild Arugula (10 + leaves)
• 2 TBSP Italian Parsley (diced)
• 1 Cup Cilantro (diced)
• 4 to 5 Yu Choy leaves and stems (chopped)
• 1/2 large Cucumber (sliced thin)
• 1/4 sweet onion (diced)

Salad Dressing

Blend the following:

• 1 TBSP Olive Oil
• 2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 TBSP White Miso
• 2 cloves Garlic (grated)
• Dash of Black Pepper

Heres the background info:

Arugula is known by many names: Brassica Eruca L. Arugula, Eruca vesicaria, Eruca sativa, Arugula Selvatica, arugula sylvatica, garden rocket, aeruca rocket, eruka psevnaya (Russian), oruga (Spanish), jaramago (Spanish), rocket gentle, rucola gentile(Italian), ruchetta (Italian), rucchetta selvatica or rucola selvatica (Italian), rockette (French), krapkool (Flemish), roketa, Roman rocket, ruke (German), salad rocket, sciatica cress, shinlock…

Arugula has been cultivated since Roman times. The Romans used the leaves in salads and used the seeds to make aromatic oils. Arugula seed has been a frequent ingredient in aphrodisiac potions since the first century.

Arugula is a cruciferous vegetable, containing cancer-fighting phytochemicals called indoles. Arugula is also good source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Zinc and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Manganese.

Informative Links:

• Grow your own Wild Arugula Seeds
• Nutritional Summary for Arugula
• Italian American story “The Real Arugula”

NOTE*: Our original pesto recipe included Locatelli brand of romano cheese.
We’ve been informed that Locatelli is a well known italian dairy giant with lots of chemical issues in the past. We have NO idea what they could concoct for US export. It’s been suggested that they would make the cheese out of evaporated excess milk stocks.
We now use certified 100% Parmigiano Peggiano cheese. NOT Grana Padano brand; it’s way toxic. Even though it’s more expensive, real Parmigiano Reggiano is made with raw milk, grass-fed cows and limited drugs and hormones. All the “lookalike” Parmesans like Grana and such collect all the pussy residues of the mass dairy market.
If you love Romano cheese and want a healthy alternative to Locatelli, real Pecorino Romano comes in a black peel (goat’s milk) and can be found in cheese specialty shops.