Week #2, 2018
- Lettuce
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Chard or beet greens
- Bok choi
- Thyme or sage
- Parsley or cilantro
- Onions and shallots
This is the time of year that the winter veggie supply dwindles and the spring crops are not quite there yet. We have a beautiful bloom of kale in the fields with small micro leaves while the early spring planted kale has 3 edible leaves on each plant. This means a week without kale for you all. This next week of warm weather should send all the crops in our hoop houses into overdrive (we hope) and make our harvest in the next few weeks easier. For now it is the time of the herb and green, see the recipes I have for eggs with greens, make a green smoothie or stir fry.
Juvencio has been happily preparing the field for planting. I am not sure he would describe this as a happy event as he has to pull the drip irrigation from each bed. In the fall the irrigation is shut off, but we are usually exhausted and the pipes remain in the fields. Then in February the cover crop and weeds take off and grow over the pipes in a tangle that traps them below. It is a process to get the pipes out, the cover crop mowed and the fields spread with compost. Juvencio will then rough out the beds and hand till most of them just before I plant them. He often top dresses each bed with a pillow of fresh compost as well.
This warm weather not only dries out the soil allowing us to prep the ground but it gives the weeds the needed push to explode. At this time of year there is so much to do it is hard to know which direction to turn. Seed, plant, prep, weed, clean, many of these things need to be done simultaneously. Did I forget to mention the pests? Well, they are getting us from above ground (birds, mice, aphids, cucumber beetles) and from below ground (gophers, moles and the like) as we race to outsmart or out plant them. All this discussion just makes me want to stop writing and get out there and harvest! We hope to get the cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower in the ground this week. We managed to get two beds of lettuce, the shelling peas, kohlrabi and fennel planted yesterday. The onions, shallots and leeks are looming, I have over 25 flats of these grass-like seedlings to get into the ground by mid-May.
Next weekend I will start selling at the Beaverton Farmers Market. I sell with my friend and business partner Polly Gottesman from Pumpkin Ridge Gardens. We sell under her farm’s name and are there every Saturday from 8 – 1:30. We sell seedlings of vegetables, herbs and flowers. Please do come and visit me. I will also have some vegetable starts here at the farm for sale. I will put out a list of veggies in the next week or so for you to let me know what you would like to purchase.
Enjoy your week, here are some suggestions for your veggies this week:
Bok Choy:
from a CSA member:
Bok Choy: (the bok choy in the box was amazingly good!)
1 T oil
1.5 lbs bok choy
1 T light soy sauce
2 T chicken stock or water
Heat wok over moderate heat. Add oil and then bok choy. Stir fry 3-4
minutes, until leaves have wilted a little. Add soy sauce and chicken stock/water.
Continue to stir fry for a few more minutes, until the bok choy is done until still slightly
crisp.
Very easy, very good.
Source: Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery
(very good recipes, clear instructions, and excellent taste)
SAUTEED BOK CHOY W/ CASHEW SAUCE
Serving Size : 4
1/2 c Cashews — roasted
1/4 c White vinegar
1/4 c Water
1/4 c Sugar
1/4 c Soy sauce
1 tb Ginger — minced
7 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 tb Basil — finely chopped
2 tb Mint — finely chopped
1 1/2 lb Bok choy — washed & dried 1/3 c Peanut oil 1. In a food processor or blender, combine the cashews, vinegar, water, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, Tabasco, basil and mint, and puree. 2. Separate bok choy leaves from stalks, and cut stalks into 1-inch-long- pieces. In a large sauté pan, heat oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add bok choy and cook, stirring briskly, for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until it is bright green and well seared. Remove from heat, drape with cashew sauce and serve at once. Yield: 4 servings. Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 340 calories, 25 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 1,065: milligrams sodium, 7 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrate. ** New York Times — Living Arts section — 29 November 1995 **
Bok Choy Stir Fry
This is an easy recipe.
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry Sherry
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
3 1/2 cups thinly sliced trimmed bok choy
1 5-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained
3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
10 1/2 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
Combine first 4 ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Heat vegetable oil until very hot in heavy large wok or skillet over high heat. Add garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper. Stir-fry until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add bok choy and stir-fry until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Mix in water chestnuts and green onions and stir-fry until onions are tender, about 1 minute. Add tofu and lightly stir-fry until tofu is just heated through, about 2 minutes. Pour over soy mixture. Stir-fry until liquid boils and thickens, about 1 minute.
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
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