Here’s a newbie gardener mistake to which I’ll admit, guiltily: haphazard planting. It’s true — I planted some vegetables without really thinking it through. You see, one side of the garden was looking woefully empty — we were reserving it for the large, warm-weather crops like tomato, zucchini, and cucumber — and I thought I might as well just stick something there for the interim. I had some three year-old mustard seeds. What I didn’t have was the foresight to imagine what would come of 50 mustard seeds and a long, cool, rainy spring.

We are up to our ears in mustard.

The other day, I was Googling desperately for a solution to our problem of overabundance, and came across a fantastically simple recipe for pickled mustard greens from Saveur magazine. Mustard greens have an assertive, spicy flavor that can take a lot of abuse — in this case, an extended bath in vinegar. This bright, pungent concoction would work really well as a condiment served alongside a rich stir-fry or rice bowl.

Pickled Mustard Greens

From Saveur

2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1⁄4 c white vinegar
1⁄2 lb. Asian mustard greens
3 red or green serrano chiles, split lengthwise

1. In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups water, sugar, salt, and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from heat. Cool slightly.

2. Using a paring knife, trim stems of washed mustard greens from leaves. Cut stems into 2″ pieces and place in a 1-quart measuring cup. Coarsely chop enough greens to fill the measuring cup when added to stems and packed down gently.

3. Pack stems, leaves, and chiles into a clean glass 1-quart jar. Pour hot liquid onto greens, making sure that the stems are completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 days before serving.

Makes 1 quart

It’s been a wet, rainy spring and summer, so the greens are really thriving. These mustard greens seem the happiest of everything we’ve planted, so much so that we’ve got more mustard greens than we really know what to do with. I love their frilly leaves, and the bright punch of the green next to the warm pink rhubarb I harvested the other day.