A very tasty leafy green

Firstly I would like to wish every mother out there a very happy mother's day. I hope you have had a lovely day spent with family, the way Sundays are meant to be.

Today I discovered the wonder that is amaranth. I have never tried it before, but had a few seeds in my collection so sowed them straight into an open area I had. Apparently they grow well all year round and will probably even be fine during our long and humid summers. I didn't think much of this odd looking bush and it took me a while to even taste a leaf. But while checking my brassicas for caterpillars this morning I past the amaranth and gave it a try.
Wow, was I surprised! It has the most delicate, yet tasty flavour that I have not had in a leafy vegetable to date. It has more flavour than lettuce, but is milder than chard. The leaves are easy to chew and not hairy like some other greens.
I think I might be hooked. I have read that the young leaves make great salads (I am quite sure they will) and the older one are good in stir-fry's and soups.

There are many amaranth species, but the one growing here is a red leaf amaranth. My plant is already going into flower so I will definitely be saving lots of seeds.  From now on my garden will never be short of an amaranth plant.