- Lettuce
- Scallions
- Sugar snap peas
- Chard or kale
- Chinese broccoli
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Radishes
- Fennel or kohlrabi
- Herb: mint, oregano, cilantro or parsley
- Zucchini or ??
It has been a busy week catching up on weeding and turning over beds. The overwintered onions are out and the spring seeded onions are in. We continue to plug away at the 12 beds of onions that have to be weeded. We are getting the last of the peppers into the ground. I seeded some of the last cucumbers, fingers crossed. I always like to get a bed planted around the 4th of July. I seeded the first of the radicchio for those rad lovers this will be music to your ears. Winter veggies are some of the very best and radicchio is the star. I will seed the bulk of the radicchio around the summer equinox but keep planting a bit every week until the actual day.
Flowers are going wild! The first of the sunflowers coincide with the peak of the bachelor buttons making one of my favorite combinations of blue, white and yellow. I am taking orders and will squeeze his in with harvesting, planting and weeding. Juvencio helped me save my flowers from the weeds, but they need constant attention.
We are still waiting for our grandbaby to arrive, any day now! We can’t wait to see their face and welcome them to our family.
Sue went wild with recipes this week so it should be easy to use up all those veggies!
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018988-cilantro-and-mint-salad?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
Lemon Potato Salad with Mint (or cilantro)
Yield:8 servings
• 2 pounds small waxy white or yellow potatoes, roughly about the same size
• Juice of 1 lemon, more for serving
• 1½teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
• ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ½cup thinly sliced scallions, white and light green parts, more for serving
• ¼cup torn mint leaves, more for serving (or cilantro)
• ¼teaspoon Turkish pepper, more for serving
Step 1
Place whole unpeeled potatoes in a large pot with enough salted water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are just tender, 15 to 25 minutes depending upon size. Drain and cut potatoes into 1½-inch chunks as soon as you can handle them.
Step 2
In a bowl, whisk together lemon juice, salt and olive oil.
Step 3
Transfer hot potatoes to a large bowl and toss with dressing, scallions, mint and Turkish pepper. Let cool to room temperature, or refrigerate until ready to use. Just before serving, top with additional lemon juice, scallions, mint and Turkish pepper.
Greens and Sugar Snap Pea Salad
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas, at room temperature
• ¼packed cup mint leaves, at room temperature
• 12 ounces thick-cut bacon, sliced into ½-inch pieces (to make vegetarian, use EVOO instead of bacon fat)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
• ½cup grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
Step 1
Click the leaves off the heads of lettuce by hand and place them in a large bowl. If using romaine, tear the leaves in halves. Slice the snap peas in halves or thirds on a steep diagonal and add them to the bowl along with the mint leaves.
Step 2
Place the bacon in a large frying pan and warm it over a low flame. Cook until the fat is translucent, and at least a tablespoon of fat has rendered into the pan, about 10 minutes. Then turn the flame up to high and stir attentively for 3 to 5 minutes to brown the bacon. When the bacon is almost but not quite browned fully, turn off the flame. It’ll continue to cook in the residual heat of the pan. Stir occasionally to caramelize evenly and prevent over-browning and the resulting bitterness. After 5 minutes, use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Spread rather than pile the bacon so it remains crisp. Discard all but about 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan.
Step 3
To make the vinaigrette, deglaze the bacon pan by adding the red wine vinegar and lemon juice and scraping any good bits from the pan into the acid. Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Swirl to combine everything, then drizzle the vinaigrette over the vegetables and toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Step 4
Toss in half of the bacon and Parmesan and spread on a large platter. Sprinkle over the remaining bacon and Parmesan and finish with an extra grind of black pepper.
Radish, fennel and sugar snap salad
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
1 head fennel, thinly sliced and chopped into bite sized pieces (save fronds to chop and use as garnish)
½ cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
½ c. crumbled feta
¼ c. walnuts, lightly toasted/coarsely chopped
1/3 c EVOO
¼ c. white balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Put the sliced radishes in heavily salted water for 15-20 minutes, then rinse well and drain.
Blanch the peas by pouring boiling water over them, then drain and slice diagonally.
Combine the EVOO, vinegar or lemon juice, garlic and Dijon and mix well-add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Combine the veggies in a wide bowl, then mix in the dressing. Can sit for a bit to marinate.
To serve, gently fold In the feta and nuts and finely chopped fennel fronds.
Kale (or swiss chard) salad with farro and green tahini
This is a substantial dinner salad for these warm summer evenings. Any extra tahini dressing can be used as a dip for crudites, drizzled on grilled veggies, chicken or fish, or on other salads.
For the dressing:
6 Tbsp tahini
¾ c warm water
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp maple syrup or honey
½ c mint leaves
½ cup parsley or cilantro leaves and tender stems
Blend ingredients in a food processor until smooth and add salt and pepper to taste. Let it sit for a bit—the mint flavor definitely emerges more the longer it sits. You may need to add more warm water to get it to a pourable consistency (like heavy cream)
For the Salad
2-3 c. farro, cooked until tender then rinsed with cold water to cool, then drain
1 bunch chard, kale, or combo of the two, finely chopped
1 Tb EVOO
1-2 c cooked (or canned) chickpeas, rinsed and drained.
1/3 c. raisins
1 Tbsp lemon juice
In a large bowl, mix the greens with the EVOO and gently “massage”. For a few minutes until tender.
Mix the cooled farro in with the greens, toss to combine and then sprinkle with the lemon juice. Add chickpeas and raisins, toss gently and then mix in green tahini dressing.
If your peas runneth over, you could always coarsely chop and add in as well.
Jingalov Hats (greens and herb filled flatbreads)
I think I posted this recipe earlier in the season, but I have been making it a lot with excess greens and herbs. The bread freezes well.
For the bread:
Combine 1 ½ c. flour (can use blend white and whole wheat if you want) with 2/3 c. warm water.
It will form a sticky dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl which has been lightly coated with vegetable oil. Set aside for 30 minutes—it is resting, NOTrising.
For the filling:
Combine any or all of the following to make about 8 cups:
1-2 c swiss chard, finely chopped.
1 -2c. finely chopped radish greens or beet green
2-3 cups finely chopped herbs—can be parsley, fennel fronds, cilantro, mint,
dill or any combo
½ c. chopped scallions
Combine all the veggies and herbs in a bowl, toss with 1 Tbsp EVOO and 2 Tbsp lemon juice, season with salt and pepper taste.
Heat a heavy skillet (ideally cast iron) over high heat. Divide the dough into 4 portions.
Pat and roll out a potion to a 8-10” circle. Plop a handful/2 cups of greens in the middle of the dough and then bring the edges together, pinching lightly to seal. Press the whole thing down a bit with your hands or a spatula. Place the filled bread in the skillet and cook so browned and even lightly blackened/blistered. Flip over and Cool approx. 10 minute on. each side.
If not served immediately, allow to cool a bit. Can store in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve. Heat in a cast-iron pan or toast in a toaster to restore crispness.