Week #4
- Salad mix – enjoy your salad mix, we are almost ready to give head lettuce.
- Parsley, dill or cilantro – get ready for those herbs, they add a spice of flavor to your veggie and meat dishes.
- Spinach – we obviously love spinach and hope you do too. Steam it , sauté it or make the great spinach soup described below.
- Kale or Chard – eat your greens every week.
- Chinese Broccoli – a spring delight, great to sauté or add to soup, cut off the tough end, and eat the rest, stem, leaves and tender broccoli head.
- Onions – these are nice onions, overwintered from last season.
- Green garlic – this will be the last time you get this spring delight as the garlic is sending up scapes (the flower end). That means grilled garlic scapes for next week!
This has been a busy week. The onions, shallots and leeks are almost all planted! We have 2 more beds to go. The outside peas got their new trellis and the inside peas are covered in blooms. Peas are on the horizon which means it is time to have our subscribers help with harvesting. The sign-up sheet is in the barn. Please plan on helping twice over the course of the season. Once you sign –up we are expecting you. Please call or text us if you are not going to make it. If there is no space for you on the day you want to help you can just show up and we will be able to put you to work.
The Beaverton Farmers Market was a buzz yesterday with opening day. I will be there every week during the spring and summer and into the fall. We sell fresh cut flowers and vegetable starts under the Pumpkin Ridge Banner. Come by and visit me and tell your friends, from 8 – 1:30 every Saturday. Today (Sunday May 3, 2015) I will be selling at Catlin Gable school from 12 – 4.
We hope to get all our tomatoes in the ground this week. We will finish the aliums as well. Zucchini is on the way as well as pole beans and more. It is the busy season, but the fun never stops on the farm.
Have a great week!
Bittman curry creamed spinach w/potato crust. (4-6 svgs)
3 Lbs spinach or other greens, trimmed
2 tbs butter
2 tsp garam masala or curry powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 c coconut milk
1/2 c yogurt
(1 brick extra firm tofu cut into 1/2″ cubes- I didn’t do this)
1 large russet potato, thinly sliced
2 tbs olive oil
Salt, pepper
1. Preheat oven to 425. blanch greens by dropping in salted boiling water x 1 minute, then plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, drain and squeeze out excess moisture. roughly chop.
2.melt butter and garam masalas and nutmeg in large skillet until fragrant, then add coconut milk, yogurt, spinach, tofu, and tsp salt. Bring to a oil, stirring at times until bulk of the liquid is absorbed. Transfer to oven proof dish.
3. Toss the potato slices with oil, salt, pepper, then lay over the spinach in a single layer. Bake until the potatoes are golden and crisp.
Spinach and Lentils
The Asian Cook Book
Serves 4
Generous 1 cup yellow split lentils, rinsed ¼ tsp ground asafetida (?)
5 cups water ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin
9 oz. fresh spinach leaves, thick stems removed, sliced and rinsed
4 scallions
To garnish:
3 tbsp vegetable oil or peanut oil
1tsp mustard seeds
2 fresh chilies, split length wise
½ inch piece fresh gingerroot, very finely chopped
Put the lentils and water in a large pan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and skim the surface as necessary.
When the foam stops rising, stir in the ground coriander, cumin, asafetida, and turmeric. Half-cover the pan and let the lentils simmer for 40 minutes or until they are very tender and only a thin layer of liquid is left on top.
Stir the spinach and scallions into the lentils and continue simmering for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the spinach is wilted. If the water evaporates before the spinach is cooked, stir in al little extra. Add salt to taste. Transfer the lentils to a serving dish.
To make the garnish, heat the oil in a small pan over high heat. Add the mustard seeds, chilies gingerroot and stir until the mustard seeds begin to pop and the chilies sizzle. Pour the oil and spices over the lentils and serve.
Cook’s tip: The exact amount of water needed depends primarily on how old the lentils are, but also on the size of the pan. The older the lentils are, the longer simmering they will require to become tender. Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to determine the age when you buy lentils, so be prepared to add extra water and increase the cooking time. Also, remember, the wider the pan the quicker the water will evaporate.
Spinach Soup
Chez Panisse Vegetables, Alice Waters
(When I make this I never have all the ingredients and I’ve never used the crème fraiche and it is till 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