Showing posts with label Head Lettuce. Show all posts

Era of Leafy Greens

The wetness of spring overlaps with the warm and sunny beginnings of summer at around this time...creating this prime season for our leafy greens, but especially lettuce!  Well, normally, this time would have been about a month ago but what with all the weird weather patterns lately we just don't know anymore...we're just glad when it happens. 

But if you leave the farm for a couple days when there is plenty of sprinklings alternating with periods of sunlight in between, you will be pleasantly surprised (or maybe not) upon your return that your lettuce has grown up to 2 inches bigger!  Lettuce loves it wet, and once it's given a big long drink and the clouds part and it warms up a bit, this crispy, delicious vegetable just goes crazy.  Our rows of it look amazing, like enormous, glistening jewels in perfect rows.  A handful of our farmers got out there today in the nice cool midday to weed around it to perfection.  Head lettuce is absolutely beautiful and this weather couldn't be better for it!  Our varieties- Cherokee, New Red Fire, and Winter Density to name some- form the most perfect clusters of crispy, mouth-watering leaves in many shades of purple, pink and green; and we have way too many varieties of leaf lettuce to count, with names like Tropicana and Coastal Star, some of them perfectly round or incredibly frilly, ranging from vivid fuschia to deep purple to emerald green...which always make me feel like I should be eating them in a salad while lounging on a beach, with a mojito, in Rio De Janeiro, or something exotic like that.

Anyways, this has also been a great time for our other greens as well, such as spinach, chard and orach (a strange, little-known plant related to spinach but prettier), and our entire array of brassicas, or "greens from the cabbage family" (not to be confused with "kids from the cabbage patch"), which is called Brassicaceae.  That would be kales, bok choi, arugula, tat soi and most other asian greens, all of which contribute to our braising or salad mixes.  Of course, the stinging nettle is doing good, but they always do good without a lick of our help. 

What I'm mostly trying to say, is that it won't be wet and perfect forever!  Our era of leafy greens will end before you know it, so enjoy it while it lasts!  We'll be featuring a lot of our best for CSA this week, but the time for arugula and stinging nettles has already come and gone, and it won't be long until the season closes.  The age of asparagus has numbered days, too.  But like they say, when one door closes, another door opens....soon we'll be ushering in mid-summer delights like sugar snap peas, beets, squashes, green onions, garlic scapes and more!

What to expect this week:

  • Braising Mix
  • Salad Mix
  • Head Lettuce
  • Green Garlic
  • Mint bunch
  • Asian Greens/Bok Choi bunch
  • Cilantro
  • Purlsane

What is purslane?  Don't be deterred; a lot of people may be unfamiliar, but we think it's so great we want to share in it's deliciousness.  Last week, you received it in your box as an additional surprise.  Purslane is a wonderful, succulent herb that most folks out here in North America consider a garden nuisance, but which natives of the Middle East and Mexico consider a sought-after delicacy!  It is one of the highest plant sources of Omega-3 fatty acids which, if you're not eating a lot of trout or almonds, may be a challenge to fit into your diet...especially of you are vegan or vegetarian!  Those fatty acids are really important, so give it a try.  We had a delicious pasta dish this past week for lunch featuring a purslane and dill sauce.  Absolutely delicious!



Well, hope to see you at market and have a wonderful week!


Recipes

Salmon Summer Salad (www.yummly.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 small head iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces *(or Echollective Salad Mix!)
  • 1/2 head lettuce, torn into pieces
  • 1 container (8 oz.) sliced white mushrooms
  • 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 1 medium green or yellow bell pepper, cut into rings
  • 2 packages (7.1 oz. ea.) skinless & boneless pink salmon
  • 3/4 cup Wish-Bone® Italian Dressing
Total Time: 15 min
Servings: 4

Preparation

  1. Arrange lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes and green pepper in salad bowl. Flake in salmon.
  2. Just before serving, toss with Wish-Bone® Italian Dressing. Drizzle, if desired, with additional Dressing.


Asparagus and Purslane Soup (www.canellevanille.com)
serves 4 to 6

  • 1 pound (450 g) green asparagus
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 medium red onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium fennel bulb, diced
  • A few springs thyme
  • A few stems chervil (optional)
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 ounces (110 g) purslane, tough stems removed
  • Whole milk yogurt, optional
  • Chive blossoms, optional

Cut the tender tips of the asparagus. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Season with a bit of salt and add the asparagus tips. Cook for 1 minute or until tender but still have a bite. Drain them and immediately submerge them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain them well and set aside.

Dice the rest of the asparagus stems.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, onion, garlic, and fennel. Add a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes or until tender but not browned. Add the thyme, chervil, and diced asparagus stems. Cook for 1 minute. Add the water and bring liquid to a boil. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until asparagus are tender. Add the purslane and cook for 2 more minutes.

Transfer to a blender and puree the soup. Adjust seasoning and liquid if needed.

Serve warm topped with asparagus tips, yogurt, chervil and chive blossoms.


Green Garlic Mayonnaise (www.mariquita.com)
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon or a little less dijon mustard
  • 4 stalks green garlic, cleaned as you would leeks, white and pale green parts chopped roughly
  • 3 teaspoons lemon juice or rice wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons more rice or white wine vinegar
  • 1 1/4 cups corn or other vegetable oil
Whirl all ingredients except oil in food processor with the metal blade. With machine running, add oil in thin steady stream through opening until all oil is completely incorporated. If the food pusher has that little hole, use it by pouring the oil into that, it works great.


***************************
 Please tell us if you can't identify something on the market table, don't know what to do with a particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have other questions or comments. We love to hear from you!
brassicas Cherokee Head Lettuce
Share:

The Perfect Storm(s)

Storm #3 of this week has come and gone, and this evening we await more to come.  We are wondering when Mama Nature will end this strike!  This summer couldn't be any different than the last; looking back at our newsletters from this time last year, we were all complaining about how hot and dry it was. 

In spite of all the flood warnings, the rains have been much more of a blessing than a curse.  We haven't had to worry about watering our fields much (especially our garlic, which we had to water last year!).  Sadly, some plantings of things have washed out and certain plots on the farm aren't looking too good.  But we are happy to be done with the bulk of our planting for the summer and enjoy it while the rain waters it all in.  Tomatoes, basil, peppers, and eggplants all got in the ground this past week, and some of our zucchini was seeded out in the field!  We'll see in a while how they will cope with all this wet and cold weather.

Summer CSA continues!  We hope week one of our big CSA was satisfactory; please let us know how it went!  We missed some of you this past week and we hope to see you at the markets this time if we didn't.  We've got a big list of veggies this week, so there will be a lot to look forward to!

 
On the table this week:
  • Arugula
  • Salad Mix
  • Spinach
  • Head Lettuce
  • Stinging Nettles
  • Garlic
  • Mint
  • Asparagus
  • Radishes
  • Asian Greens/Bok Choi (it will be one or the other!)
  • Cilantro
  • Dill

 Yep, we have a big line-up this week!  This week is a big one for head lettuces, which have sized up and  grown really large in our greenhouses....I would even venture to say that some of them are the size of car tires!  To get your hands on some of our biggest, brightest, and most beautiful heads of lettuce, go to the produce section at any of the New-Pi Co-ops to catch a glimpse (or even a bite) of our gorgeous New Red Fire lettuces.

Here's a few tips for you on how to keep your head lettuce good for longer!  You may notice that when we package the head lettuce for you, the outermost leaves MAY look brownish and unappetizing.  We leave them on there as a sort of "protective guard" against other items packed in with it to preserve the best, innermost leaves of the lettuce head until your mealtime; then you can just peel those leaves off, and serve/eat the good stuff.  You may also notice we leave a chunk of the root stalk on the lettuce head!  If leaves ever look wilty at all, place the lettuce head in a bowl, pitcher, or whichever container you like full of water, submerging only the root stalk.  A container full of ice works, too.  In a bit the lettuce will perk up and look full and beautiful again!  Placing the lettuce in a cool place (refrigerator/freezer) with the root stalk in contact of ice also maintains its freshness and aesthetic beauty.

Stay dry, and we'll see you soon at market!


Recipes

 Dill Mousseline Sauce (www.saveur.com)

MAKES 2 CUPS

This recipe came to us from David Lesh of the Gustavus Inn in Glacier Bay, Alaska, about 50 miles west of Juneau. It's "an updated version of the blender hollandaise my mom used to whip up for vegetables," he told us. Those who should avoid uncooked eggs—which includes infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with immune-system disorders—should pass on this thick, buttery sauce; Egg-Caper Sauce is a fine alternative.

  • 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup hot melted butter
  • 1 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
  • Salt and freshly ground white pepper

1. Whip cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Set aside.
2. Combine egg yolks and lemon juice in a blender or food processor; process until well mixed, then, while blending, slowly pour in butter and continue blending until thick.
3. Transfer to a saucepan and fold in whipped cream. Stir in dill and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over simmering water or very low heat. Serve with Poached Salmon or other poached meaty fish.


 Stir-Fry Bok Choy in Thai Garlic Sauce (Vegan-friendly recipe) (thaifood.about.com)

 Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: SERVES 4 as a Side Dish

 

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 "heads" of baby bok choy (OR 2 heads of large bok choy)
  • 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or other vegetable oil
  • STIR-FRY SAUCE:
  • 2 Tbsp. oyster-flavored sauce (Vegetarians/Vegans: substitute vegetarian oyster-flavored sauce OR vegetarian stir-fry sauce)
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (Vegetarians/vegans: substitute 2 Tbsp. Thai Golden Mountain Sauce OR 1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce)
  • 2 Tbsp. sweet Thai chili sauce (available in most supermarkets)
  • 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. fresh lime juice
  • 7-8 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation:

  1. Rinse the bok choy and cut off the bottom stem part at the base of each head. Separate into individual leaves. If the white sections of these leaves are very wide or large, you can slice them in half lengthwise, or into thirds. Tip: If stir-frying larger bok choy, slice off the green leaf tips. Add the thicker white sections to the wok first, then throw in the leaves at the end (these will cook very fast).
  2. Mix all the stir-fry sauce ingredients together in a bowl or cup. Stir well to dissolve the sugar.
  3. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high to high heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add oil and swirl around.
  4. Now add the bok choy plus 2-3 Tbsp. stir-fry sauce. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, or until pan/wok starts to become dry.
  5. Now add another 2-3 Tbsp. sauce and continue stir-frying another 2-3 minutes, or until the bok choy is bright green and the white stems are softened but still crunchy.
  6. Taste-test the bok choy with the sauce. Add more sugar if too sour for your taste, or more lime juice if too salty. Also, fresh minced chili or dried chili can be added if you prefer it spicier. If you prefer more sauce, add a little more, as desired.
  7. To serve, lift out the bok choy and place on a serving platter or in a serving bowl, then pour the sauce (from the bottom of the wok or pan) over. Serve immediately with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice. ENJOY!
    Stir-Fry Sauce Tip: Keep extra stir-fry sauce (in a covered jar or container) in your refrigerator for up to 1 month. This sauce is excellent with many different kinds of stir-fried vegetables, as well as with chicken, tofu or wheat gluten, pork, and seafood. Enjoy!

 Radish and Avocado Sandwich (www.marthastewart.com)

Ingredients

  • Thinly sliced radishes
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Fresh lemon juice
  • Coarse salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sliced avocado
  • Whole-grain bread
  • Finely grated lemon zest

Directions

  1. Toss radishes with oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Repeat with avocado, and mash onto bread. Pile on radish mixture, and sprinkle with lemon zest. Drizzle with oil.


********************************
Please tell us if you can't identify something on the market table, don't know what to do with a particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have other questions or comments. We love to hear from you!
floods Head Lettuce how to keep head lettuce crisp
Share:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)