Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 4: July 3, 2008
To return to the 2008 Harvest Guide page, click here
Greetings, Spoutwood Farm friends!
Welcome to the fourth week of the 2008 Community Supported Agriculture season, here at Spoutwood Farm! We are proud to present another bumper harvest of “vegetables so fresh, they almost dance” (including a plethora of peas!) from our well-tended gardens. Once again we are grateful for the excellent work of our apprentices, Dana Hunting, Derek McGeehan, and Zach Trimble, as well as the working and regular shareholders who have helped them. If you have not yet begun to work your hours – working shareholders in particular – please contact Dana at (717) 235-9272, or at our CSA e-mail address, spoutwood_csa@yahoo.com. She will be glad to help work you into the schedule.
As always, we face the challenge of both bugs and weeds. To combat the former, especially on our hard-hit cole crops, we’ve applied BT (bacillus thurigensius), an approved organic biocontrol which attacks the larvae of cabbage white moths - the dreaded cabbage worms. It seems to be working (knock on wood). To combat weeds, hand weeding and mulching is the natural solution. We’re deeply grateful for those wonderful share¬holders who’ve come out help us with these necessary tasks. If you’d like to join our “Weed Warriors,” please contact us at our e-mail address. We check this address regularly, so don’t hesitate to be in touch.
We’re particularly and acutely grateful this week for the ten or a dozen shareholders who responded to Dana an Derek’s plea for assistance in combating weeds, and came out this week to help combat the extreme weed pressure on our crops. Our gratitude to you knows no bounds, and our garden looks much better as a result of your efforts. However, the weeds have not given up the fight! If you’d like to join our “Weed Warriors,” please contact us at our e-mail address. We check this address regularly, so don’t hesitate to be in touch.
Please note that our extended “add-on” opportunity closed on Monday, July 1st. If you did not have a chance to order an add-on share, there’s always next year! Also, you may be able to make your own, private arrange¬ments with our add-on providers. Next drop-off day for add-on meat and value-added, dairy, egg, and cheese shares is next Thursday, July 10th.
Please feel free to drop us a line if you discover a new recipe, have any cooking tips, or would like to share your favorite way to eat the veggies from our harvest - email us and we’ll share with everyone else! Again, that address is: spoutwood_csa@yahoo.com. As the old commercial used to say, “please make a note of it.” Thanks!
Lettuce Mix: Bagged selection from a variety of different lettuce varieties (and possibly a bit of spinach) to delight your taste-buds! Lettuce will require some sorting and washing, although we’ve made an effort to remove the most blatant weeds and clumps of compost-rich Spoutwood soil. Excellent for salads, sandwiches, and more.
Mustard Greens: A Southern favorite, these bitey, tangy greens are a “pot-herb” that can be eaten alone or in combination with other leafy greens (of which we have several this week). Typically cooked (boiled or steamed, perhaps stir-fried), they can also be added sparingly to salads.
Green Onions: Enjoy our robust green onions raw with (or without) a little salt, or slice them up and add them to salads, soups, omelets, quiche, or anything you like. Don’t forget the flavorful and colorful green tops!
Swiss Chard: This delicious, attractive, and nutritious large-leafed plant is our main leafy green (or as they used to call them, “pot-herb”) for the week. May have white (Fordhook Giant) or colored (Brightlights) stems. More delicate (and faster-cooking) than kale, use as you would spinach or another green. May be blanched or sautéed lightly and layered with parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese and baked en casserole for a lovely gratin. Also delicious in quiche, with or without the addition of spring onions or mushrooms.
Kohlrabi: Return of “the Martian vegetable” (as Derek aptly calls it)! Kohlrabi is another wonderful veggie in the cruciferous (cabbage) family. New to many Americans, kohlrabi has been grown in English cottage gardens for more than a century. Versatile and delicious, if a bit odd to the eye, Kohlrabi is our Vegetable of the Week.
Mizuna: An Asian green with a mild mustard-y flavor, Mizuna is excellent in salads and stir-fry.
Endive: A member of the chicory family, endive is a “half-hardy” biennial often used as a lettuce-substitute in salads. Shares Vegetable of the Week status with Collard greens.
Chinese Cabbage: Excellent foundation for soups and stir-fries, but don’t be afraid to experiment with unusual treatments, like the lacto-fermented Korean stable kimchi! Here again we’ve seen some nibbling of the leaves by pestiferous insects, but just eat around the holes. No harm done! There may be a few slugs this week, so check carefully before eating, or soak leaves in salt water.
Broccoli: Everyone knows broccoli, a kitchen and salad-bar staple. If you’re like me (Tom), you like it lightly steamed or raw, rather than cooked to death as in my childhood and in many restaurants. Try with grated cheese, or a squeeze of lemon. Everyone gets a sample: small head or side shoots.
Beets: Also known as “beetroot” (especially in the U.K.), both parts of this luscious, nutritious plant are edible: the roots and the leaves as well. Try parboiling the root to al dente, then sautéing with the greens in butter or olive oil!
Collards (or Collard Greens): A classical Southern treat crosses the boarder this week to tantalize your taste buds. Check the Vegetable of the Week for traditional and updated recipes.
Sacred Basil: Sacred Basil is an annual herbaceous plant that resembles Sweet Basil but has narrower and often reddish-purple leaves. May be used in Thai cooking, but better known for its medicinal uses or simply enjoyed for its pungent, yet pleasing, aroma.
Dill: Best known as a flavoring for pickles, dill is also an excellent herb for flavoring salmon or other fish. Use it in soups, or even to give exra zest to hash-brown potatoes.
Flowers: Our bouquet this week features a mix of wild and cultivated varieties.
Bread: For those who purchased bread shares, today’s selection from Atwaters is a delicious country white! Not as dense and more mildly flavored than some of Atwaters’ offerings.
Collard Greens and Tomatoes
Ingredients:
• 2 pounds collard greens, washed thoroughly, tough stems cut out of leaves, cut or torn in bite-size pieces
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, or combination of basil, oregano, and rosemary
• 1 can (14.5 oz) tomatoes, chopped and drained, reserve liquid
Preparation:
Rinse torn leaves well; do not dry. Put wet leaves in a large pan and let wilt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Add Italian herb seasoning and chopped tomatoes; continue to heat for about 5 minutes longer. Add liquid from the tomatoes. Heat for about 4 to 5 minutes longer, or until hot. Serves 4.
Sauteed Collard Greens
Ingredients:
• 1 large bunch collard greens, about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 large bunch kale, about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• a few dashes hot pepper sauce, optional
Preparation:
Rinse collard greens and kale well in a large bowl of cold water. Drain and cut off tough stems. Cut leaves into 1/4-inch strips. You should have about 8 packed cups.
In a well-seasoned heavy skillet or wok, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add half of the collard greens and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add half of the kale and cook stirring, for about 1 minute, until they begin to soften. Add the remaining greens and cook, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, until the greens are tender. Season with the salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and a few drops of hot pepper sauce, if desired. Serves 4.
Greens and Cheese Bake
Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 pounds greens, washed and trimmed (kale,
• salt and black pepper
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (whole milk or part skim)
• 3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 2 ounces Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Preparation:
Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish or casserole; preheat the oven to 375 degrees or 350 degrees for oven-proof glass.
Cut out and discard the tough stems; if using kale or collards, cut out thick center ribs. Rinse all the greens and shake off any excess water, chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large skillet, cook the greens over low heat, adding them by handfuls and stirring them down as they wilt. Add 1/2 cup of water if the greens seem dry, then cover the skillet and braise for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Pour off any liquid left in the skillet, then season the greens with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Heat the broth and half-and-half in a saucepan, just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan.
In the large skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the hot broth mixture all at once and stir over medium heat until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Whisk in the grated Parmesan and ricotta. Stir the greens into the cheese sauce and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and then sprinkle the grated mozzarella over the top; bake for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the mozzarella is melted and lightly browned. Serve immediately. Serves 6.
Bea's Greens
Ingredients:
• mustard greens or turnip greens, or compination
• bacon
• garlic, minced
• 1 can chicken broth (approx. 14 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
• Tabasco sauce, to taste
Preparation:
From Bea: I like to mix mustard and turnip greens, but just one kind or any combo will do. Wash and coarsely chop greens. Fry a few strips of bacon in a large pan. Remove bacon from pan and sauté some minced garlic for about a minute in the bacon grease. Mix 1 can of chicken broth, 2 tablespoons of Worchestershire sauce, a teaspoon or so of Tabasco sauce (to taste). Put greens in the pan and pour broth mixture over the greens. Cover and cook over low heat, stir occasionally. When greens are done, add crumbled bacon. To make this low fat or with no meat, just leave out bacon and grease. It still tastes great! Shared on our forum by Bea (BEATEX)
Southern-Style Collard Greens
Ingredients:
• 2 pounds of collard greens
• 1 ham hock or 6 slices of cooked bacon
• 1 medium onion, sliced or chopped
• 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• 2 to 3 teaspoons Kosher salt
Preparation:
Clean and wash greens well; remove tough stems and ribs. Cut them up and place in a deep pot; add onion. Wash off ham hock and add to the pot. Add red pepper and salt. Add enough water to cover greens and cook until tender, about 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with sliced tomato and corn bread. Serves 4 to 6.
And the lower fat option:
Collard (also known as tree-cabbage or nonheading cabbage),
• 1 smoked turkey drumstick (about 1 1/4 lb.)
• 2 quarts water
• 2 lbs. fresh, young collard greens
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 hot chili peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock, canned or homemade
Heat water to a boil and add turkey. Simmer for 1-1/2 hours, or until turkey is almost tender. Drain and reserve cooking liquid. While turkey is cooking, pick through collards, removing yellow leaves, thick stems and large central veins from leaves. Fresh greens can be very dirty. Wash greens in several changes of cold water. Run the sink full of water, add the greens and wash the greens by swishing them through the water one handful at a time. Make sure all of the grit and dirt are removed from the greens before cooking. The final rinse should leave no grit in the bottom of the sink. Stack the wet greens and roll into a scroll. Slice crosswise into thin strips, or chop. Bring chicken stock to a boil. Add greens, garlic, onion, peppers, and turkey. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 20 minutes. Stir greens from the bottom as they cook down. Continue cooking until greens are tender. Depending on maturity of collards, cook 30 to 40 minutes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_greens
http://southernfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa031100a.htm
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/collards1.html
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/CollardGreens.htm
Endive and Frisee Salad with Oranges
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian (http://www.foodnetwork.com)
Episode: First Time Dinner Party
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons finely sliced shallots
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup olive oil or hazelnut oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 heads Belgian endive, trimmed, cut crosswise into thin slices
2 heads frisee lettuce, center leaves only, torn into pieces
2 blood oranges or regular oranges, segmented
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
Whisk the balsamic vinegar, shallots, and honey in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Toss the endive and frisee in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad onto plates. Surround with the orange segments. Sprinkle with hazelnuts. Drizzle any remaining vinaigrette around the salads and serve immediately.
Salad Frisee with Endive, Canadian Bacon, and Croutons
2 Belgian endives washed
Salt and papper
1 lg Head of Chicory lettuce
4 oz Thickly sliced Canadian
6 tbsp Walnut oil
4 Thin slices from a loaf of French bread
2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
Put the endive and chicory lettuce in a large bowl. Put the rounds of french bread (cut into quarters) in the over to toast, sauté the Canadian bacon in a small frying pan in the walnut oil till crispy on the outside (in Belgium they used smoked pork belly) then scatter the bacon on the salad. Turn off the flame under the fry-pan, deglaze the pan with the vinegar, pour the warm vinaigrette over the salad, add in the croutons and toss gently. Serve with more french bread, a bit of cheese, and Saison Dupont.
Posted to recipelu-digest by molony on Feb 24, 1998
Frisée and Endive Salad with Pears and Blue Cheese
http://www.foodandwine.com
TOTAL TIME: 30 MIN
SERVES: 10
"Frisée and endive," Hefter says, "taste best after the first frost." This salty, sweet and crunchy salad is a light and delicious start to the holiday meal.
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
* 1 tablespoon minced shallot
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
* 2 tablespoons walnut oil
* 1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* 3 heads of frisée (about 1 1/4 pounds), torn into bite-size pieces
* 4 large endives (about 1 pound)—halved, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 ripe Bartlett pears—peeled, cored and thinly sliced
* 1 cup crumbled blue cheese (5 ounces)
Directions
In a large salad bowl, whisk the balsamic and sherry vinegars with the shallot and mustard. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, then the hazelnut and walnut oils. Add the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Add the frisée and endives and toss to coat. Add the pears and blue cheese and toss gently. Serve the salad right away.
BAGS: Requested, Recycling of Same
As most of you will know, especially after today’s distribution, there are various share items which must be bagged even within your usual share bag. Today, these included peas, lettuce mix, and spinach. And frankly, we’re low on appropriate bags. Thus, we’re asking our shareholders to please bring in plastic bags that you might have at home. We are looking for both standard grocery-sized bags, and smaller plastic bags such as those used for produce in supermarkets, to keep news¬papers dry, etc. If at all possible, please help us by bringing them in pre-sorted as to size.
Also, please be aware (if you aren’t already) that your plastic share bags can be re-used the following week! Better yet, invest in a cloth “market bag” that can be used over and over again. We are in the process of investigating Spoutwood-themed practical items to offer for sale, including Market Bags -- stay tuned to this space! In the meantime, if you bring back your plastic ones, you’ll help us and Mother Earth alike. Many thanks, from us and the Home Planet.
As most of you will know, especially after today’s distribution, there are various share items which must be bagged even within your usual share bag. Today, these included peas, lettuce mix, and spinach. And frankly, we’re low on appropriate bags. Thus, we’re asking our shareholders to please bring in plastic bags that you might have at home. We are looking for both standard grocery-sized bags, and smaller plastic bags such as those used for produce in supermarkets, to keep news¬papers dry, etc. If at all possible, please help us by bringing them in pre-sorted as to size.
Also, please be aware (if you aren’t already) that your plastic share bags can be re-used the following week! Better yet, invest in a cloth “market bag” that can be used over and over again. We are in the process of investigating Spoutwood-themed practical items to offer for sale, including Market Bags -- stay tuned to this space! In the meantime, if you bring back your plastic ones, you’ll help us and Mother Earth alike. Many thanks, from us and the Home Planet.
Collard Greens
We are grateful to Spoutwood’s education intern, Rhie Lantz, for her work in providing the Vegetable of the Week for us!
But I have never tasted meat, nor cabbage, nor corn, nor beans, nor fluid food
one half as sweet as that first mess of greens.
~ James T. Cotton Now (1869-1953), American writer and poet, from the Loom of Life.
Collard Greens, also known as borekale or simply collards, are a member of the cabbage family. They are one of the oldest known cabbages, and so closely related to kale that the ancient Greeks did not differentiate between the two when growing them.
In the US, collard greens with ham or bacon fat, mopped up with cornbread, is widely enjoyed in the American south. Derived from recipes created by slaves to make use of the poor scraps they were given from their masters’ tables, variations of ‘Southern Style Greens’ is now a staple of ‘soul food’. Below, you’ll find one of those recipes, as well as a lower-fat option. Be sure to save the liquid from the greens, known as ‘pot likker’ for later use in soups, or eat it with cornbread since it contains many of the nutrients of the collards.
Collards are high in nutritional value. A half cup contains 56 calories, 1 gram of protein, 2.9 grams of dietary fiber, 2.5 mg of carbohydrates, 74 mg of calcium, 2,109 IU of Vitamin A and 9 mg of Vitamin C. Research also indicates that collards may have anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties.
Preparation hints and tips:
• Discard any yellow or browning leaves
• Wash in several changes of cool water before using
• Since the leaves are tough, they have more nutritional value cooked than raw
But I have never tasted meat, nor cabbage, nor corn, nor beans, nor fluid food
one half as sweet as that first mess of greens.
~ James T. Cotton Now (1869-1953), American writer and poet, from the Loom of Life.
Collard Greens, also known as borekale or simply collards, are a member of the cabbage family. They are one of the oldest known cabbages, and so closely related to kale that the ancient Greeks did not differentiate between the two when growing them.
In the US, collard greens with ham or bacon fat, mopped up with cornbread, is widely enjoyed in the American south. Derived from recipes created by slaves to make use of the poor scraps they were given from their masters’ tables, variations of ‘Southern Style Greens’ is now a staple of ‘soul food’. Below, you’ll find one of those recipes, as well as a lower-fat option. Be sure to save the liquid from the greens, known as ‘pot likker’ for later use in soups, or eat it with cornbread since it contains many of the nutrients of the collards.
Collards are high in nutritional value. A half cup contains 56 calories, 1 gram of protein, 2.9 grams of dietary fiber, 2.5 mg of carbohydrates, 74 mg of calcium, 2,109 IU of Vitamin A and 9 mg of Vitamin C. Research also indicates that collards may have anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties.
Preparation hints and tips:
• Discard any yellow or browning leaves
• Wash in several changes of cool water before using
• Since the leaves are tough, they have more nutritional value cooked than raw
Vegetable of the Week #2
Endive
Far better known and more popular in
Europe than the United States, Cichorium endivia is a leaf vegetable
belonging to the daisy family. Endive can be cooked or used raw in
salads. Endive belongs to the chicory genus, which includes several
similar bitter leafed vegetables. Common chicory includes chicory types
such as radicchio and untarelle, and several types also known as
"endive." Endive is rich in many vitamins and minerals, especially in
folate and vitamin A and K, and is high in fiber.
There are three main varieties of endive: Frisée, curly endive and escarole.
• Curly endive (sometimes mistakenly called
chicory in the United States) has green, rimmed, curly outer leaves.
• Frisée has finely cut, frizzy leaves.
This is the variety Spoutwood offers! Some confusion results from the
fact that frisée also refers to a technique in which greens are
lightly wilted with oil.
• Escarole has broad, pale green leaves and is less bitter than the other varieties.
(Belgian or “whitloof” – white-leafed –
Endive, mentioned in some of the recipes below, results from an
entirely different preparation and regimen of growing.)
One source notes, “This slightly bitter, fright-wig looking
vegetable is a favorite among chefs. Frisée endive makes a
flavorful addition to mixed green salads. It's a refreshing contrast to
all those smooth, well-groomed lettuces.” Britshleafysalads.co.uk
notes that “Traditionally this is combined with poached eggs and
bacon in the classic French bistro salad and, mixed with other leaves,
provides a great and robust bed for a variety of hot ingredients.”
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