The ancient superfood, the amaranth, has been growing all summer and the purple heads are now ready to harvest.  First cut the heads (on a dry day), then strip the stem into a bowl, then shake and start to separate the seeds from the chaff.  Then allow the wind to blow away the chaff or blow gently on the mixture until all the unwanted material has gone and then, finally, pick out the last tiny pieces leaving the tiny precious black pearls – the size of poppy seeds.  It’s a painstaking operation but on a sunny afternoon, sitting on a bench in the garden, it’s relaxing.  I don’t yet know how many seeds I will need to make a porridge, or to pop (like popcorn) or grind into flour.  As of now I have just a handful of the precious harvest.