Wednesday, September 1, 2010

GreenMan Farm Harvest Newsletter #1

Week #1 - June 9, 2010

Welcome (back) to GreenMan Farm!
Thank you so much for supporting our small family farm! I’m looking forward to a warm, abundant summer and gentle, bountiful fall. In the weeks to come, I hope to get to know all of you as members of the farm family. I look forward to chatting with you about recipes, kvetching about the slugs, marveling at the weather. . . It’s going to be a wonderful season—thank you for sharing it with me.

-Jasper
P.S. If you have any questions or need cooking tips for any of the produce in your bag, feel free to call or email me. I have a gazillion recipes to share!


What’s In The Bag:


· Mixed Salad Greens – A blend of four different kinds of lettuce, Japanese Mizuna greens, Pac Choi, some bodacious Beet tops, and a dusting of mustard flowers. If you like a little onion flavor, pull the purple Chive blossoms apart and sprinkle on top of you salad. Yowie!
· Siberian Kale - This leafy green cousin of cabbage is a powerhouse of nutrition. You can simply toss kale with other greens and vegetables in a salad or stir-fry, or add a handful of chopped kale to your favorite soup. We frequently use it instead of lettuce in everything from sandwiches to tacos.
· Spring Onions - Immature onions can be eaten just like scallions; these are Walla Walla’s.
· Mixed Radishes – Cherry Belle, French Breakfast, Icicle, Purple Plum, Helios (yellow), Kabu, and my favorite, Shunkyo (the long fuschia ones).
· Mizuna Greens – This Japanese mustard green has a spicy, slightly bitter tang that is a great counterpoint to milder salad greens. In Japan it is rarely eaten raw; rather, it is stir fried or featured in broth-based soups. Cooking will tone down the mustardy bite.
· Orange-Sesame Salad Splash - My own concoction; this light splash is the perfect partner for fresh salad greens; not a heavy, gloppy dressing that hides the taste of the veggies. (Please return the bottle to me when empty so I can re-use it.)

Veggie Highlights:
Radishes—The first radishes of the season are a welcome accompaniment to early season greens. The radish root is 94% water and claims modest nutritional value, offering a smattering of minerals, such as potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and iron. The greens however, rank way up there with other dark green leafies, as an excellent source of vitamins A, C and the B’s. Radish greens can be cooked just like mustard greens. Radishes are believed beneficial as blood cleansers and digestive aids, as well.

· Cook to tone down the 'bite' of a pungent radish
· Steam radishes 8-12 min. (until tender but not mushy). Roll in butter, dash of salt and pepper.
· Add slices radish to veggie stir-fry.
· Try a radish sandwich: spread butter on good, crusty bread and layer with thin slices of radish and a sprinkle of salt. I add some salad greens and crumbled feta - yum!

Recipe Of The Week: Zesty Radish Spread
· 1 8-oz. Package cream cheese
· 1 Tbsp prepared horseradish
· 2 Tbsp chopped green onions
· 1/2 tsp dried dill weed
· 1/2 tsp salt
· 1 bunch radishes, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients except crackers in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours. Serve with crackers or crusty French bread. Makes about 2 cups.