• Brussels sprouts
• Kale or chard
• Green onions
• Shallots
• Parsley or cilantro
• Salad mix (radicchio and escarole – yum! Try it with my favorite salad dressing, grapefruit and pomegranate )

Breathing better this week! Wow, so much work to be done but truth, science and reason have returned to the highest office of this nation and with it so much hope. So many great women surrounding this new president I am sure we will make great progress in pushing him to a progressive platform.

Winter goes on, this morning it was 26 degrees and we are still waiting for it to defrost to be able to start harvesting your veggies. We will do what we can today as tomorrow brings rain. I can’t decide if rain or freezing temps are worse, the freeze wins out. We managed to get plastic on one hoop house and things are already looking better. I have seeded lettuce and other quick growing greens to add as soon as I can. We are battling birds, mice, slugs and gophers who all feel they deserve a share of what we grow. Farming has so many frustrations, but at least we get to be outside and get dirty.

I finished trimming our boxwoods. We planted the “secret” garden behind the arborvitae hedge in 2001 and the tiny boxwood borders have never been trimmed. Juvencio got me a battery powered trimmer and pruner for birthday and holiday and I am loving it!. These rainfree days have given me a chance to practice. I still need lots of it but I had fun and made room for some new plants in the garden. We have added hydrangea and heavenly bamboo as well as other ornamentals we have had in pots for over a year from our neighbor.

Enjoy your week, stay engaged and get ready for the vaccine! Teachers this week, many of the health care workers in our midst have already been vaccinated – hooray. Our over 80 crowd will follow. We at Virginia Garcia are working to get our patients forward in line as vulnerable populations who have had to work face forward throughout the pandemic. I was able to share my opinions and experiences with our Washington County Chair – Kathryn Harrington yesterday and she seemed genuinely interested in our work and how to make it run better.

Enjoy your veggies! Here are a few of my favorite recipes:

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.

Baked Crispy Kale Recipe

Servings:  4 as snack Prep Time: 5 Cook Time: 13

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. Have fun with this recipe, I sometimes mix the salt with Cajun or Creole seasoning.
 
Ingredients:
4 giant handfuls of kale, tough stems removed (about 1/3 pound)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Romano cheese (Pecorino best, Parmesan OK too)

(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 massage the leaves and coat the leaves well with oil. Bake in the oven for 12-20 minutes (I find 13 minutes to be magical) 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 and serve.

https://www.errenskitchen.com/the-best-brussels-sprouts-of-your-life/