2015 Farm Share Week 5

Hello Everyone,

This week you will find in your shares:

Wed. June 24

• Lettuce
• Kale
• Carrots
• Dill
• Summer Squash *(Regular share only this week)

Sat. June 27 (EDITED 6/25, out of lettuce for the week)

• Chard
• Kale
• Carrots
• Dill
• Fennel
• Summer Squash (*Regular share only this week)

Roasted carrots w/ dill - http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2014/04/roasted-carrots-with-dill/

Carrot salad w/ dill- http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/lemony_carrot_salad_with_dill.html

Down by a little path I fond

 Of mintes full and fennell greene,

 - Chaucer

Fennel has a history measurable in millennia, but does not occupy a prominent place in the hierarchy of foods unfortunately.  In Italy it is considered a vegetable, with emphasis on the bulbs.  But in France it is viewed as an herb.  But actually all parts of Fennel are edible, including stems, flowers and seeds.  The flavor is that of "anise."  Which can also be described as licorice.  The two plants are different, although they belong to the same family (Apiaceae, the carrot/parsley/celery/cilantro family!).

The French put fresh leaves in salads.  The use of fennel as a fish flavorer had found favor in England at least by Elizabethan times, Shakespeare talked of it.

Fennel is found in the Ethiopian seasoning, berbere sauce.  In Greek mythology, Prometheus used the stalk of a fennel plant to steal fire from the demigods.

A manuscript, which dates to around 800 and is in Paris’ Bibliothèque Nationale, contains the following medicinal recipe: Mix the gall of a vulture “with sugar of fennel & horehound & with oil of balsam & Attic honey.” Apply the mixture to hurting eyes each morning “to drive away pain.”

Recipe Ideas

Here is a very simple recipe for caramelizing fennel.

>http://putneyfarm.com/2012/04/05/caramelized-fennel-the-best-fennel-youll-ever-eat/

2015 Farm Share Week 4

Hello Everyone,

This week you will find in your shares:

Wed. June 17 and Sat. June 20

• Head Lettuce
• Baby Collards
• Bunching Onions
• Beets

Recipe Ideas

Collards - http://www.saveur.com/gallery/Collard-Greens?image=0

Beets - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/health/nutrition/06recipehealth.html?_r=0

2015 Farm Share Week 3

Hello Everyone,

This week you will find in your shares:

Wed. June 10 and Sat. June 13

• Lettuce Mix
• Chard
• Bunched Spring Onions
• Garlic Scapes
• Peas

If you haven't sauteed/stir fried with anything in the share yet, this might be a good week to do so.  Last night we sauteed chard, onions and peas then made a quiche with them.  Prep time is no more than 20 min (washing/cutting), then a few minutes on the stove top, add mixed eggs with cheese then throw in oven at 375F for about an hour.  Relatively fast and healthy.  Here is a recipe to get you headed in the right direction:

 http://www.food.com/recipe/crustless-swiss-chard-quiche-311434

Vegetable Spotlight - Garlic Scapes

The scape of the garlic is the emerging flower stalk of hardneck garlic.  We trim them now to hopefully get a larger bulb of garlic later on.  The scapes can be eaten raw in salads, or used in sautés and any other dish you would normally use garlic.  These are tender, and have a good garlic spice to them.  Sometimes the tips can be tough, these can be used to flavor soups though.  Scapes are considered a delicacy in many countries including China and Korea.  ENJOY!

Here is a recipe you might like:

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Garlic Scape Pesto

About 6 garlic scapes

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cups of baby lettuce mix

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Salt and pepper to tast

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Chop the scapes so they will fit in your blender.  Blend briefly.  Add 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a slow steady stream.  And the lettuce and parsley.  Blend until you have a coarse mixture.  While blender is running, gradually add the rest of oil.  Add the sunflower seeds, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.  Use about 1 cup of this pesto to coat 1 pound of pasta.  This is also great on bread, crackers, or part of a pizza topping.

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Planting garlic last October, the harvest will be in about a month from now.

2015 Farm Share Week 2

Hello Everyone,

This week you will find in your shares:

Wed. June 3 and Sat. June 6

• Asparagus
• Snap Peas
• Chard (great raw in salads, or lightly sauteed)
• Kale

Here are some ideas to help you handle large quantities of greens:

http://www.thekitchn.com/chard-kale-and-spinach-what-to-54508


Vegetable Spotlight - Chard

Chard is simply a beet (Beta Vulgaris, var. cicla) in which the stalks and leaves have been developed, instead of the root.  It is sometimes referred to as "leaf beet."  There are some references that report this leafy beet being cultivated in prehistoric times, and mention that beet of which we eat the root, didn't show up till the beginning of the Christian era.  In the 2nd century B.C. it is known to have been cultivated in the gardens at Pompeii.

Chard was being eaten in France at least by the 15th century, and the French seem to consume it more regulary than other countries.  The stalks can be cooked like asparagus or like celery, the greens used more like spinach.  The French never serve stalks and leaves together.