- Carrots or beets
- Fenugreek !! (see recipe below)
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Kale
- Dill or cilantro or other herb
- Lettuce
- Green garlic
- Chinese broccoli or arugula
Happy Mother’s Day! We had an amazing day at the Beaverton Farmers Market with record heat and near record sales. We sold out of cut flowers by 9:30 in the morning and spent most of the day trying to restock and ring up customers. I came home to work in the greenhouse and was dripping in sweat in 95+ degrees. Watering seems like a full time job. Juvencio spent the day on mulching and water systems as the work never ends. Once it cooled off to 80 I was out transplanting the pole beans. I can’t wait for fresh beans. It seems hard to believe I have to seed and then transplant beans before we taste the first snap peas.
We continue to make progress getting the field entirely planted. We managed to find space in what used to be a flower garden for extra alliums. We figure there can never be enough onions and shallots. Never mind the fact that they are the hardest things to weed. All of the flowerbeds in the main garden are planted now any additional flowers have to be tucked in among the vegetables. Greenhouses continue to be turned over with cucumbers, going in where radishes and turnips once were.
The sugar snap peas are at least 5 feet tall and in full bloom. We can’t wait to share them with you. The overwintering onions are bulbing up with hopes that those may be on the menu for next week. This week is heavy on greens with spinach, chard, and kale being abundant. We are hopeful the Chinese broccoli will rally again this week and provide us with that delicious Flavor for the weeks to come.
My Mother’s day gift will be getting a whole bunch of plants in the ground. I am hopeful that main season heirloom tomatoes, cherry and paste will all get planted. The leeks also need to get in as well as the last bed of the celeriac. We are constantly juggling summer, fall and winter. The winter squash seeded two weeks ago shot out of the pots yesterday with the heat. They may be ready to go in the ground before the ground is ready to accept them. Every week I seed and then transplant lettuce, sunflowers, green onions and more. At times it is dizzying but always hopeful. I can’t wait for abundant flowers – such a funny spring with all flowers about 3 weeks early and then this lull as the perennials like foxglove, columbine and delphinium take the stage.
Don’t forget your home garden – we have so many varieties of tomatoes, peppers, beans , eggplant and the like. It is always best to order here: https://pumpkinridgegardens.square.site/
Restocked weekly so keep checking back. You can always text me too, but you’ll have to catch me.
Carrot Greens Chimichurri
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Chimichurri is a smoky Argentinian sauce made with parsley, vinegar, and olive oil. In this recipe, I swap carrot greens for the parsley. The tangy sauce is fantastic on salads, roasted veggies, toasted bread, or any cooked protein!
Ingredients
· 1 cup finely chopped carrot greens
· 2 teaspoons dried oregano
· 1/4 teaspoon cumin
· 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
· 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
· 1 garlic clove, minced
· 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
· Freshly ground black pepper
· 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
· 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
1. In a small bowl, combine the carrot greens, oregano, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir in the vinegar and olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Roasted Carrots w/Carrot Top Pesto
Ingredients
· 1 bunch baby carrots tops still attached
· 2 tsp olive oil
· salt and pepper to taste
· 2 cups arugula aka rocket leaves
For the Carrot Top Pesto:
· ¼ cup sunflower seeds
· 1 ½ cups carrot tops
· ¾ cup flat leaf parsley
· ½ cup nutritional yeast
· 1 tsp dijon mustard heaped
· 2 cloves garlic
· zest and juice of 1 lemon
· 1 cup olive oil
· salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (180 celsius). Wash the carrots well and leave the skins on, unless they are particularly gritty. Trim the tops and set aside. Add the carrots to a roasting dish and toss with the oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. The exact timing will depend on the size of your carrots, so check after 25 minutes to gauge how they are doing.
2. While the carrots are roasting, place a frying pan over a low heat and add the sunflower seeds. Toss or stir every couple of minutes until they are lightly golden and smell nutty. Place ¼ cup of the seeds aside to sprinkle over before serving.
3. To make the pesto, place all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Note: If this is your first time making a parmesan free pesto you will need to add a lot more salt than you would normally to counteract the fact the naturally salty parmesan is replaced by the nutritional yeast.
4. When the carrots are ready you have a choice. You can serve them hot or leave them to cool. I personally prefer to let the carrots cool to room temperature and eat this as more of a salad, but the choice is yours. When you are ready to serve place the rocket (arugula) on a large serving dish and top with the roasted carrots and dollops of the pesto before adding a final sprinkling of the reserved sunflower seeds.
Notes
This will make more pesto than you need. Enjoy the leftover pesto with crudites, crackers, spread on sandwiches, on pasta, or as a dressing on salads. I’m sure you will have trouble finding ways to use it.
NEW POTATOES WITH BRAISED GREENS
Yield:4 servings
· 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
· 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
· 1 large oregano sprig
· 1½pounds collards, kale, Swiss chard or escarole (or any combination), leaves coarsely torn and hearty stems thinly sliced (16 packed cups)
· Kosher salt and black pepper
· 1 pound baby new potatoes, halved
· 2 tablespoons minced shallot
· 1 tablespoon lemon juice
· ¼cup chopped parsley
· Pinch of red-pepper flakes (optional)
· Crusty bread, for serving
1. Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, combine ¼ cup of the oil with the garlic and oregano; heat over medium until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add a batch of the greens and stems and ½ cup water; season with salt and pepper, and stir until wilted. Add the remaining greens and stems in batches, seasoning with salt and pepper and stirring until wilted before adding the next batch.
2. Step 2
Once all the greens have been added, stir in the potatoes. Add ½ cup of water and the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and bring to a boil. Cover with the lid and bake until greens and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Discard oregano sprig.
3. Step 3
Add shallot, lemon juice and half of the parsley to the pot, and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer greens and potatoes to a serving platter and spoon over any sauce remaining in the pot. Garnish with red-pepper flakes (if using) and the remaining parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature, with crusty bread.
Spinach GoMAAE (Japanese spinach w/sesame) (you can use chard in place of spinach)
Yield:4 servings
- 3 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds (see Tip)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 bunch mature spinach (8 to 10 ounces), ends trimmed
- Step 1
In a spice grinder or mortar, grind the toasted sesame seeds into a coarse powder. Or, crush the seeds with a heavy pot or skillet on a cutting board. Add to a medium bowl along with the soy sauce and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Step 2
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or saucepan. Wash and drain the spinach in a colander. With the colander in the sink, carefully pour the boiled water over the spinach to wilt it. Drain, then transfer the spinach to a clean kitchen towel and wring out any excess water or simply press with a spoon to expel water.
- Step 3
Add the spinach to the bowl with the sauce and toss to combine. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
TIP
- If you have untoasted sesame seeds, simply heat them in a small skillet over medium-low, shaking the pan occasionally, until the seeds are light brown and fragrant with nuttiness, about 5 minutes.
Skillet Spinach With Orzo
INGREDIENTS
Yield:4 servings
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 8 ounces baby spinach leaves (8 cups), coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¾ cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
- ¾ cup crumbled feta (3 ounces), plus more for garnish
- ½cup frozen peas, thawed (optional)
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill, or use parsley or cilantro
1. Step 1
Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium, then melt butter, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in about three-quarters of the scallions (saving some of the green parts for garnish) and garlic, and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.
2. Step 2
Stir in spinach, adding in batches if it doesn’t all fit in the pan at once, and ½ teaspoon salt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in stock and bring to a simmer. Stir in orzo, lemon zest and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until orzo is nearly cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed, 10 to 14 minutes, stirring once or twice.
4. Step 4
Stir in cheese, peas (if you like) and dill, cover the pan, and cook for another 1 minute, to finish cooking and warm the peas. To serve, sprinkle with more cheese and the reserved scallions.
Roasted Baby Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto!!
Fenugreek recipes:
https://healthy-indian.com/recipes/methi-fenugreek-leaves-dal
More New Potato recipes: