- Leeks
- Kale
- Chard
- Spinach
- Parsley
- Thyme
- Escarole
- Onions
- Green onions
- Rutabaga
Today is the last harvest of the winter share. We hope you will enjoy the abundance of greens and the ability to make your last escarole salad. As I was planting kale and Chinese broccoli for the spring season yesterday, I was listening to a podcast from one of my favorite Functional Medicine doctors. He and his guest were speaking about ways to improve liver function for those of us who have fatty liver. According to them 93% of Americans have fatty liver. This is when the normal liver cells turn into fat cells and reduce the Ability of the liver to detoxify the blood. Adding cruciferous vegetables and allium to your daily diet, is one of those ways. I am pleased to support this habit by offering an allium (onions and garlic ) and Brassica (broccoli, kale, cabbage) weekly in our vegetable baskets.
Our chickens are on overdrive. The Chicks we purchased late last fall have started laying and they are mostly Easter egg layers, and Morans. They make the dozen eggs look so colorful and almost hard to eat. Please consider buying 2 to 3 dozen with your share today. They will last the month if kept refrigerated until we start the regular season of 2024.
Last weekend was the share fair In Portland. I was able to enroll two new members which is great. We still have over half of our subscribers who have not let us know about the upcoming season, and our greenhouses are full of ceilings ready to go in the ground. Please take this moment today to send in your deposit of $100 to reserve your spot for the regular season. We have the opening potluck starting at 2 PM on April 14. The first harvest is that day for Sunday pick up and April 17 for those who pick up on Wednesdays. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for a fun filled afternoon of eating good food and hopefully some of the best pizza.
We are looking forward to a month of not harvesting and focusing on planting and getting the last of our greenhouses back and working order. We will have ceilings for your own home garden for sale on our website that we run with Pumpkin Ridge Gardens starting at the beginning of April, here’s the link https://pumpkinridgegardens.square.site/ . Make sure to check back at the end of March.
We welcome your feedback on the winter share or the regular season. What vegetables did you enjoy? What vegetables would you like us to grow? What did you think about the size of the share?
Recipes to enjoy:
https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/spinach-salad/
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/walnut_parsley_pesto/
SPICY RICE AND KALE
2 1/4 cups canned low-salt chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons Creole or Cajun seasoning
1 cup converted white rice
4 ounces kale (about 1/2 large bunch), stems and ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped (2 cups
packed)
Bring broth and Creole seasoning to boil in heavy large saucepan. Stir in rice and kale and bring to
boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Serves 4. || Per serving: calories, 204; total fat, 2 g; saturated fat, 0.5 g; cholesterol, 1 mg. || from Bon Appétit
Kale with cream (Irish) 4-5 servings
1 3/4 lbs Kale
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp double cream (I used heavy whipping cream) a pinch or so of nutmeg, salt, pepper
2 Tbsp stock (I dissolved a vegetable bouillon) Wash kale and strip leaves from stalk, then plunge into heavily boiling water. Cook ’til tender, 20-30 minutes. Drain well and chop finely. In saucepan, combine butter, cream spices, then add kale and stock.Mix well.
Cook until well heated and sauce is slightly reduced.
(The sauce is just enough to offer flavor but not drown the kale.) -Phyllis Mosher
Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Greens
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
½ pound medium or large dried white beans, cooked
3 tablespoons olive oil or clarified butter
Fine grained sea salt
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch kale, cut into wide ribbons or ½ baby chard, washed and roughly chopped, or 1 bunch kale, cut into wide ribbons
Fresh ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Freshly grated parmesan for topping
Drain the beans, then heat the oil or butter over med-high heat in the widest skillet available. Add the beans to the hot pan in a single layer. If you don’t have a big enough skillet, just do the sauté stop in two batches or save the extra beans for another use. Stir to coat the beans with the oil/butter, then let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes, before turning to brown the other side, also about 3 or 4 minutes. The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Salt to taste, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until the onion softens. Stir in the greens and cook until just beginning to wilt. Remove from the heat and season to taste with a generous dose of salt and pepper. Drizzle with a bit of top-quality extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.
Off harvest.