The time is flying by now that spring has finally showed on the calendar. The temperatures just have to catch up with the rest of things. Already Dan and Kip are trying to squeeze flats of seeds for germination into the micro house where the temperatures are bene- ficial for seeds to sprout. From there, the flats will be moved to the ‘starts house’ to finish their growth before transplanting. Some beds are currently being ‘direct seeded’ so that we can avoid the time and cost of transplanting. This method also means the plants won’t have to sit for a week in the ground recovering from ‘transplant shock’. It also means that those plants won’t be ready to harvest for a little while longer.
The intern selections have been made and we are waiting to hear if those who were selected are still interested. In the meantime, there are three strong candidates for Cale’s position. That just leaves the Columbus delivery and market person. Think hard – maybe you know someone who would like a day of work once a week. The posts and girts are in place for the equipment shed. Now we are waiting for the trusses. We chose a gable shape to provide some out-of-the-weather storage at the top of the building. Our new method of securing the sides of the greenhouses in the winter has eliminated our need for the concrete lintels for that job. This means we won’t have to build new forms and lintels to expand the raised beds portion of the field plantings. We already have the needed lintels. Roughly translated – more salad mix and herbs!
For the members who had an apple share this fall – this is the last week for the apples. With only a few more weeks until the end of the Winter 2011 season, Rob will be sending our seasonal survey soon. Here is your oppor-tunity to tell us anonymously what we did well and what we could improve. Remember, it will only take a minute or two (at most), but our changes come from your ideas, praise, and complaints. Thanks for helping. Have a great week!
From all of us at Green Edge,
Becky (Kip, Dan, John, Rob, Cale, Julia, Penny, Guinevere and Morgan)
THIS WEEK’S VEGGIESSalad Mix – In the mix this week are 7 varieties of lettuce. This mix is best stored in an air-tight con-tainer with some paper towel or cloth to absorb any extra drops of water that can form.
Mushrooms - Shiitake. It’s a good thing they’re so good. If you can’t use them all in one week, they should store fine in their pa-per bag to be combined for a really big mushroom extravaganza next week!
Swiss Chard- We are glad to have this favorite back this week. The mild flavor of chard makes it the all around choice for most customers. It’s the only green that grows well in winter and summer.
MicroMix Microgreens - We are so pleased to once again bring you a generous portion of the oth-er microgreens that we grow. Unlike the sunflower ones, these are more delicate, don’t store as well, and have the tangy flavor of cabbage and radish. We hope you enjoy them.
Kale - One of our all-time favo-rites. We love it raw, massaged, steamed, in soup, etc., etc. Ac-cording to nutritiondata.com, the complete amino acid score of this food is 92 – that’s with 100 being a complete protein!
Spinach - Another week of spi-nach and our blood is happy for it! We hope you are not too bored with it.
The Combo Corner
The apple selections from Cherry Orchard are Fuji and Gold Rush.
This week’s bread from The Village Bakery and Café is hearth baked Sourdough Rye. The bakery has just finished the installation of their new wood-fired oven. Let us know your reactions to the new texture. We hope to have more information about the new oven soon.
This is Cale’s last week on the delivery truck and Friday is his last day. We will miss him, his work ethic, his singular sense of humor, and all of the other things that make him distinctively Cale. We wish him good fortune as he assumes his new position with a local landscaping company. We are celebrating his time with us in typical Green Edge fashion – a special cake at Friday lunch, and more celebration at the Casa Nueva Cantina on Friday night.
Recipes
Some recipes this week are repeated from last week since you have another abundance of greens.
Bitter Lemon, Honey and Sweet Simmered Greens
from Barb Gertz on food.com
1 ½ - 2 lbs Swiss Chard or other greens
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin seed
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 slices lemons, 1/8” thick, with seeds removed
¼ cup reduced-sodium chick-en broth, vegetable broth, or water
1 tablespoon honey
¼ teaspoon salt (to taste) fresh ground pepper
Separate chard leaves from stems and ribs; wash leaves thoroughly, roughly chop; if using stems, rinse, and finely chop.
Heat oil in a deep sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat; add cumin seeds and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add garlic and chard stems; cook stirring often, for 3 minutes more; stir in lemon slices.
Add the leaves in 2 batches, allowing them to wilt before adding more; add broth (or water), honey, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until greens are tender, 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve hot or warm.
Vegan Lentil, Kale, and Red Onion Pasta
55 mins. ~from allrecipes.com~ 4 servings
2 ½ cups vegetable broth
¾ cup dry lentils
½ teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
¼ cup olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces vegan sausage, cut into ¼” slices (optional)
1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
1 (12 ounce) package rotini pasta
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
1. Bring the vegetable broth, lentils, ½ teaspoon salt, and bay leaf to a boil in a sauce pan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Add additional broth if needed to keep the lentils moist. Discard the bay leaf once done.
2. As the lentils simmer, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, thyme, oregano, ½ tsp. salt, and pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute, then add the sausage. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the onion has softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the kale and rotini pasta. Cook until the rotini is al dente, about 8 minutes. Remove some of the cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta then return to the pot, and stir in the lentils and onion mixture. Use the reserved cooking liquid to ad-just the moistness of the dish to your liking. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast.
For omnivores, substitute Parmesan cheese for the nutritional yeast, and andouille sausage for the vegan sausage.
MEXICAN LASAGNA
adapted by Becky from Daisy Cooks
When I make this dish for the Open Farm Day, I’m planning on about 50 servings, so I’m going to list the ingredients, but not the amounts. This is a simple dish and easy to assemble. This year for the sauce, I was able to use mostly home-canned heirloom tomatoes from last summer’s harvest.
Ingredients you will need include tomatoes (canned or sauce), onions, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cilantro, canola (or other) oil, fresh corn tortillas, cooked black beans, cooked rice, grated cheese, herbs for sauce, and ground meat (if you like).
Start with chopped onion and garlic. We always use lots of garlic. Sauté these until translucent, and add tomatoes. I can the tomatoes peeled and whole, but any chopped or crushed ones will work. When this is hot, I start the sauce. Re-member this is a Mexican tomato sauce, not Italian, so we use lots of cumin and cilantro. Salt, pepper, a little sugar, some red wine. Feel free to taste and add as your taste buds tell you. This sauce can simmer for hours or days as you wish.
If using canned beans, sauté some onion and add beans to it with some cumin and salt. If cooking dry beans, add raw, chopped onion and cumin to the cooking water.
If adding meat, fry with garlic and cumin.
Cook rice according to directions.
Grate cheese (lots of cheese)
Heat some (about 1/2 cup) canola or other kind of oil in a shallow frying pan. Cut tortillas into at least two pieces and fry in oil on both sides. Remove when crisp and drain on paper towel. Fry all that you will need. (For a pan 9 x 13, you will need about 36 6” tortillas).
Assemble the layers: Cover the bottom of the pan with sauce, then lay the tortillas over the entire bot-tom. Press to crack and flatten the ‘chips’. Layer beans, rice, meat, cheese, sauce. Place another layer of tortillas and flatten. Repeat bean, rice, meat, cheese, sauce. Add another tortilla layer, sauce and cheese.
Bake this at 350 degrees for about 1 ½ hours covered and 15 minutes uncovered.
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