Week 2: Green Beginnings

Rainy Days

Greetings members!  For some of you, this is your first week of official pick up  - welcome to the 2012 season of your Community Supported Agriculture farm.  I am taking advantage of the rainy day to catch up on paperwork and get the newsletter out, but the rain didn’t stop me from planting basil and parsley, fennel and lettuce this morning.  At some point, though, the mud took over and I felt it was the right time to step inside and take a break from working the fields.  The rain is great for the garden; we were about due for an inch and the rest of the week looks like lovely weather.  Some of the information below will look familiar because I am repeating a few things for those who are starting with their shares this week.  Have fun with your vegetables -- it’s nearly all greens this week, but there are baby cucumbers and squash in the fields -- and be sure to consult the chart below if you need ideas on how to best store and enjoy the harvest. 

 Featured Recipes:

This is a great recipe that uses up many greens, if you are having some left over or want to make a large meal for guests:
Room in the Fridge Curried Greens Soup
http://www.farmerdaves.net/no-room-in-the-fridge-curried-greens-soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 bunch garlic scapes, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 can coconut milk
• 4 cups broth (veggie or chicken), plus water if needed
• 1-3 tablespoons mild Jamaican curry powder (or your favorite Indian curry powder or Thai curry paste)
• Up to 5 bunches/heads of greens, washed and chopped. You can use spinach and kale , plus tatsoi, cilantro, and pea tendrils from the CSA share
• Washed and chopped root vegetables, such as hakurei turnips, radishes, or golden beets
• Salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.

Directions:
In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Sautee the onions until translucent, then add the garlic scapes and root veggies and sautee for about 5 minutes. Add coconut milk, curry powder, and  broth. Add the washed, chopped greens, a little at a time. As the greens in the pot wilt, add more greens, and water to cover as needed. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and any other seasonings, to taste.


Kale Chips

Original Recipe Yields 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Here is a Variation, provided by my friend Dan, who is working with me on the farm this week:
Line pan with aluminum foil (lightly oil foil)
Replace olive oil with soy sauce
Enjoy!