Week #1 2015

• Salad mix – enjoy “salanova” and “little gem” lettuce in this bright mix. You will need to wash it well several times as the baby slugs hang on to curly leaves. We recommend washing and spinning it all when you get it home and then it will be ready to use over the week. Try “Lyn’s salad dressing” recipe, the key is the white balsamic vinegar.
• Spinach – this is “Emu” a huge leaved and tender spinach grown all winter long. The bunch may look huge but as you know spinach cooks down. We recommend the spinach soup or our new favorite “Garbanzos y Acelgas”.
• Shallots– held over from last season, they need to be eaten soon. They can be used in place of onions in any recipe and we love to just roast them with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.
• Walnuts – worth the work to crack them. All gathered from our giant walnut tree last fall.
• Arugula or radishes – both a bit spicy all that March heat made both of them spice up. Thinly slicing them and adding a dressing will cut the heat
• Kale – so many ways to eat kale! A few of our family favorite recipes are below, check the kale tab under recipes for more ideas. We eat crispy kale almost daily, the key is to massage the oil into the kale leaves, we grate Romano cheese on them and cook it at 350 F for 13 minutes.
• Mustard and beet greens – a bunch of greens to use in any stir fry, some are spicy others are sweet. The bright burgundy is “Ruby Streaks Mizuna”, and the curly green is “green frizzy mustard”.
• Sprouting broccoli or Chinese broccoli – This crop is really delicious. It is the end of the sprouting broccoli due to the warm March weather. That same heat brought on the Chinese broccoli quicker than usual so you should see about 5 more weeks of her. We love to make “crispy sprouting broccoli, similar to the kale just cooked a while longer (~20 minutes at 350 and I add the cheese in the last 5 minutes). The Chinese broccoli we stir fry in the recipe that follows.

Today is our season opening potluck and first harvest. It is a juggling act between harvesting, cleaning and cooking. We hope those that can will join us for the potluck to meet new members, share a meal and catch up on some of those old friendships. It is supposed to be cloudy but rain free, we will carry on rain or shine so see you sometime between 2 -6 p.m.

Mother Nature always throws us a few curve balls and this year is no different.  The relatively warm March sent all our overwintered kale and cauliflower to seed early. That meant none for our regular season customers. We scrambled to plant more kale inside and outside the hoop houses. The weather then cooled off considerably and the crops planted outside are suffering. Never fear, there are three beds of kale outside that will come soon enough that you will wonder when the kale will stop. Actually our goal is to have it as an offering every week. We try and offer kale or chard every week, good to eat those greens!

Now, I am off to cook and harvest.

Kale Salad (from Kris Schamp)

(A brief note: I use just kale, and red onion most of the time and it is delicious, this dressing recipe works well on most spicy greens like arugula and mustard as well)

 

Flax oil (1/8 C)

Lemon juice (1/8 C)

Soy sauce* (less than 1/8 C)

1 bunch kale

Red onion

Shredded or shaved (with peeler) carrots

¼ C pumpkin seeds

1/8 C sunflower seeds

Sesame seeds

Sprouts (any kind)

Mushrooms (optional)

 

* can use Bragg’s – a low sodium substitute for soy sauce

 

1) Make the dressing:  equal parts flax oil, lemon juice & soy sauce (or Bragg’s – a low sodium substitute for soy sauce.  Use less soy sauce if sensitive.)

Marinate very thinly sliced / shaved red onion in the dressing while you prepare the kale.

 

2) De-stem the kale – try to get the young, tender smaller leaves.

Cut it into ribbons.  Place in very large bowl to allow for easy mixing.

Add rest of “dry” ingredients.

 

3) Add the dressing and marinated onions to the kale mixture.  Using hands, gently massage the dressing into the kale; softening down the structure of the kale and aiding the absorption of the dressing by the kale.

 

Let sit for a while (20-30 mins) before serving.  Can be made well beforehand and refrigerated.  You can add chopped avocado when serving.  Goes well with marinated tofu-you can use the same dressing.

Lyn’s Salad Dressing

 

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic pressed

 

Add all ingredients to a Mason jar and cover with lid.  Shake until creamy and well blended.

Chinese Broccoli

(Lyn’s Quick Stir Fry)

1 bunch Chinese Broccoli (flower, stem and leaves) – remove any hard end of the stem

2-4 cloves of garlic minced

1 – 2 tablespoon soy sauce

¼ cup water

Olive oil

Heat a wok or frying pan and add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Add minced garlic until aromatic (about 1 minute) then add the broccoli and toss to coat with oil and garlic for about 1 minute. Add soy sauce and coat then add the water and cover for 3-5 minutes until tender and still bright green. Serve by itself or over rice. . . YUM!

Baked Crispy Kale Recipe
Servings:  4 as snack Prep Time: 5 Cook Time: 20
The biggest secret to getting the kale super-crisp is to dry them in a salad spinner. If there is moisture on the leaves, the kale will steam, not crisp. Also, do not salt the kale until after they have come out of the oven. If you salt beforehand, the salt will just cause the kale to release moisture…thus steaming instead of crisping. I’ve also found that the convection setting on my oven works really well too – I set the convection on 325F and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Have fun with this recipe, I sometimes mix the salt with Cajun or Creole seasoning.

Ingredients:
4 giant handfuls of kale, torn into bite-sized pieces and tough stems removed (about 1/3 pound)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt

(I like to grate parmesan cheese over them before baking)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the kale leaves into a salad spinner and spin all of the water out of the kale. Dump the water and repeat one or two times more just to make sure that the kale is extra dizzy and dry. Use a towel to blot any extra water on the leaves. Place the kale on the baking sheet.

3. Drizzle olive oil over the kale leaves and use your hands to toss and coat the leaves. Bake in the oven for 12-20 minutes until leaves are crisp. Take a peek at the 12 minute mark – the timing all depends on how much olive oil you use. Just use a spatula or tongs to touch the leaves, if they are paper-thin crackly, the kale is done. If the leaves are still a bit soft, leave them in for another 2 minutes. Do not let the leaves turn brown (they’ll be burnt and bitter) Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt and serve.

Spinach, Radish Slaw with Crispy Chiles and Pepitas
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 dried Anaheim or dried New Mexico chiles,* stemmed
Canola oil
2/3 cup shelled raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
4 9-ounce bags spinach leaves (not baby spinach)
2 10-ounce bunches large red radishes, trimmed
4 ounces Cotija cheese or feta cheese, crumbled

Whisk both vinegars and mustard in small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD:Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.

Cut chiles in half lengthwise; discard seeds. Using scissors, cut chiles crosswise into 1/4-inch strips. Pour enough canola oil into large skillet to reach depth of about 1/8 inch; heat over medium-high heat. Add chiles and fry until beginning to crisp, about 45 seconds. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Add pepitas to same skillet and fry until golden brown and crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to another set of paper towels to drain. Sprinkle chiles and pepitas with salt. Cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Line 1 large bowl and 1 small bowl with paper towels. Working in batches, stack spinach leaves into piles and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Transfer to prepared large bowl.

Using grating disk on processor, grate radishes. Place in strainer set over another bowl; drain 15 minutes. Transfer to small bowl lined with paper towels. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover; chill.

Place spinach, radishes, chiles, pepitas, and cheese in very large bowl. Toss with dressing. Season with salt and pepper.

* Available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Latin markets.

Bon Appétit
December 2008
by Tori Ritchie

Spinach Soup

(When I make this I never have all the ingredients and I’ve never used the crème fraiche and it is still delicious!)

• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 small carrot
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup parsley leaves
• 2 bunches young spinach
• 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
• 2 tablespoons crème fraiche
• Peel the onion and garlic, and slice thin.  Peel the carrot and dice fine.

In a large pot, stew the onion, garlic, and carrot in the olive oil, covered until soft an translucent.  Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes.

Prepare a large bowl half filled with ice and smaller bowl, preferably stainless steel, that will fit inside and rest on the ice.

Wash the parsley and spinach and add them to the pot with the chicken stock and other vegetables.  Shut off the heat and allow the soup to stand, uncovered, for 5 minutes, no longer.  Immediately puree the soup in a blender and pour it through a medium mesh strainer into the bowl in the ice bath.  Stir the soup slowly with a spoon or spatula until it has cooled to room temperature and then remove it from the ice.  Quick cooling preserves the color of the soup.  Chop enough tarragon to make about  1 Tablespoon and stir it into the crème fraiche.  To serve the soup reheat it to just below the boil point and garnish each bowl with a teaspoon of the crème fraiche.

Serves 6

Garbanzos y Acelgas

Chickpeas and chard (or spinach)

9 ounces of dried chickpeas

1 carrot, diced

1 sprig flat leaf parsley

1 bay leaf

2 yellow onions 1/3 cup olive oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

9 ounces or 1 bunch chard, beet greens or spinach (more is even better)

2 eggs (hard boiled or fried and placed on top of each portion)

Put the chickpeas in a bowl, cover with cold water and soak overnight.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put in a large saucepan with the carrot, parsley, bay leaf and half the chopped onion. Cover with water then bring to a boil and cook about 20 minutes or until almost tender. Add 2 teaspoons salt and half the oil and cook for another 10 minutes. Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the garlic and remaining onion for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the tomato and cook for 5 minutes. Stir the tomato mixture into the chickpea mixture (it should be wet enough to be saucy but not too soupy). Stir in the chard, beet greens or spinach. Cook for 5 minutes or until the greens are tender. Season well and serve with either the hard boiled egg or fried egg on top.

Serves 4