Good Eats Weekly Newsletter - May 31, 2017

Having trouble viewing this message, please click here Localvore Members  & Full Veggie Only Share Members take a LIGHT GREEN BAG This week your bag contains: Mesclun Mix, Arugula, Chard, Radishes, Rhubarb, Onions, Nicola Potatoes, and And OUT of the Bag: Frozen Corn Half Veggie Members take a YELLOW BAG containing: Romaine Lettuce, Cilantro, Broccoli Raab OR Red Russian Kale, Red Savoy Cabbage, Yellow Onions, Nicola Potatoes, and  And OUT of the Bag: Frozen Sweet Peppers Localvore / Pantry Offerings Slowfire Bakery Bread Sweet Rowen Farmstead Farmer's Cheese Tangletown Farm Eggs Only ONE week of the Spring Share left! Sign up today for the Summer CSA Season! June 14 - October 4 Don't miss out on your weekly deliveries! Can you help us spread the word? We've found that neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family members are all encouraged to join our CSA when they hear from current members - you! Help us spread the word through Front Porch Forum - contact me and I'll help you craft a message! Around the farm... We're ready for summer!! After today, there is only ONE WEEK left of the Spring CSA share! Sign up today to keep your weekly veggie deliveries going all summer long! Summer's a great time to eat locally: fresh tomatoes from the vine, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, and so many greens - we're just getting started! We have some new surprise veggie varieties for you, too! At the end of last summer, like we do every share season, we sent out a survey asking about what veggies you liked/ didn't like and what you wanted more of/ less of. We read that survey - truly. And talked about it. Melissa used it to plan out her seed ordering and planting schedule. We all made notes and talked about what we should grow more of and what we may want to cut back on. So, we hear you! We're taking your feedback and incorporating that into our CSA planning for this summer. After next week's last Spring Share delivery, I'll send out a survey to gather your feedback on the spring season. We really want to hear from you! Along the way, members have shared feedback - positive and negative - and it has helped us figure out our veggie delivery program. Sometimes we send out brief surveys throughout the season. This week, some of our Chittenden County site members received a survey about delivery scheduling and the response was overwhelming: a Saturday delivery is not popular! We may tweak the Summer delivery schedule some, but we're keeping pickups during the weekday.   As always, thanks so much for joining us and supporting our local agricultural economy! ~ Taylar Storage and Use Tips  Greens: Full shares are receiving a bag of mixed field greens this week while half shares are receiving a head of Romaine lettuce. Romaine grows in a tall head of sturdy leaves. This lettuce makes a great salad or adds some crunch to a sandwich. Store it in the fridge in a large plastic tub with a piece of paper towel to absorb excess moisture and condensation. If you store wet lettuce in a produce bag, it will likely only last a couple days. Rhubarb (full shares): More of this delicious fruit this week! Only the stalks of rhubarb are eaten, the leaves of the rhubarb plant are not edible. This week we tried to cut off the green tops for you. Rhubarb is perfect for pie or a crisp but try it in a savory dish, like the Indian-inspired stew recipe below. Store in your fridge in the crisper drawer until ready to use. Chard (full shares): Chard is a dark leafy green with ruffled leaves and stems that may be brightly colored crimson red, orange, yellow. It's actually related to the beet, whose greens can be used like hard. Try chard on its own or in quiches and omeletes. Young and tender leaves and stems can be tossed into salads. Store wrapped loosely in plastic in the refrigerator; it will last several days. To prepare it, wash it well and tear or chop the leaves. If the stems are very thick, strip the leaves from them before proceeding so you can cook the stems a couple minutes longer. Steam, braise, and saute chard. Cook the stems longer than the leaves by starting them a minute or two earlier. Try chard in crecipes that call for beet or turnip greens or spinach. Broccoli raab or Red Russian Kale (half shares): Though its name might suggest otherwise, broccoli raab is not actually a broccoli. It belongs to the brassica family, along with mustard greens, turnips, and cousin broccoli. Like mustard greens it has a strong peppery bite, milder when the plant is young, stronger as it gets older. And like broccoli it grows florets but they remain small tucked between the large leaves, with taller flower stalks protruding from the plant. All of these parts of broccoli raab are edible, either raw or cooked. It is very high in calcium, potassium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Store broccoli raab and kale in your refrigerator crisper unwashed, either wrapped in a wet towel or in a plastic bag. It will keep two or three days. For longer storage, blanch and freeze. Arugula (full shares): Also known as rocket, arugula is a very popular and versatile green that can be eaten raw, but also stands up well in the sauté pan. It has a peppery mustardy flavor and is great on sandwiches to give them pep, and into salads to take it up a notch. It also does well with a quick wilt added to pastas, frittatas or calzones, or as a stand-in for lettuce on an Italian-inspired sub. It blends particularly well with goat cheese and balsamic and olive oil. It is delicious simply sautéed in a pan with olive oil with a sprinkle of coarse salt & pepper. I love throwing it atop a pizza. Radishes (full shares): These fresh French breakfast radishes are delightfully crisp and their flavor ranges from mildly peppery to a bit sweet. French breakfast radishes can be round in root shape but most are oblong and two - four inches in length. They're known for their vibrant coloring and crisp, midly spicy flavor. Heating removes both the radishes' crunch and their peppery bite; to avoid that you can add them at the end of the cooking process. Try glazed radishes made by placing a 2:2:1 ratio of butter, sugar, white vinegar in a pan and gently cooking until diced or quartered radishes are tender and the liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper. The tops are edible!  Cabbage, Red Savoy (half shares only): Cabbage comes in many forms and flavors, and this week we have a Red Savoy cabbage, with tender, crinkly, light green leaves (the red comes from the tough outer leaves, which we've removed already). Cabbage is best tasting when raw or quickly cooked, like in a stir-fry or very lightly poached. Store it fresh in the refrigerator; it'll last a long time. To prepare, remove the first layer or two of exterior leaves and then remove the core. Use a thin-bladed knife to cut a cone-shaped section wider than the area of the core out of the stem end. To shred it, cut the cabbage into quarters and cut crosswise into thin strips or use a mandoline. Try a nice slaw with shredded cabbage, carrots, and radishes with a cilantro- apple cider vinegar - olive oil (or Full Sun canola oil!) dressing. Perfect for warm weekend days! Veggie Storage and Use Tips are on our website too, so please bookmark the recipe and storage tip section. I am sure you will find it useful. Need to Skip a Week? If you're ever not able to pick up your share, please let us know at least one week in advance. We can either skip your share and give you credit, send it the next week, or donate it to the food pantry. It's up to you! Sorry, we cannot skip a share or change pick-up sites after noon on Monday. Localvore Lore This week's localvore / pantry items are: Today's bread from Slowfire Bakery in Jeffersonville is a Table Loaf: a relatively light blend of Quebec white flour w/ whole spelt & rye and sifted wheat from Maine, and malted barley from Peterson Quality Malt in Monkton.  It's somewhat rustic and pairs well with just about anything. To enjoy atop your fresh bread, we have Sweet Rowen Farmstead's Garlicky Tomato Farmer's Cheese. Made from milk of a heritage lineback breed of cows, this farmer's cheese is enhanced with the taste of garlic and tomatoes. It's great on bread, bagels, and crackers. Sweet Rowen Farmstead is featured in this month's edition of Edible Green Mountains. Read more about our friends and neighbors at Sweet Rowen here. Located just a couple miles from Sweet Rowen is Lila Bennett's Tangletown Farm. Lila's laying hens made it out to pasture full time a few weeks ago. The hens are happy to be back frolicking, foraging, and free ranging outside! You can find Lila and family every Saturday at the Montpelier Farmers' Market. Recipes You can find more recipes by searching our website and/or our blog.  Pasta with Chard Here's a recipe from the Moosewood collective - simple, quick, and easy, yet a tasty way to get your greens. Adding dried cherries and foregoing the cheese makes this recipe an excellent source of iron. Use ziti or another chunky pasta and a big bunch of chard. While the pasta water comes to a boil (always salt your water - it should taste like sea water), cut the chard stems into 1/2 inch slices and chop the leaves. Saute the stems first for a minute or two before adding the garlic and leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the leaves are wilted but still brightly colored. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Top the pasta with the chard and grated Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, or Asiago cheese or crumbled ricotta. Another nice addition to pasta with chard is dried cherries soaked in a few tablespoons of hot pasta water while the pasta cooks, plus some toasted walnuts. Buttered Cabbage For Christmas this year I received Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian - THE book on vegetables! I'll be sharing a lot of recipes from this book, which I've only just recently received. Bittman recommends this as a side dish or combined with other relatively plain dishes, like boiled potatoes, egg noodles, etc. Boil a medium to large pot of water - salt it well. Put 2-4 Tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and melt it; it's okay to let it brown a little bit but don't burn it. When the water boils, add the cabbage and cook, stirring every now and then, until it becomes tender, about 5 minutes. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain well; toss gently with the melted butter and serve. Indian- Spiced Lentils with Rhubarb and Greens Rhubarb doesn't have to be just sweet - try this savory rhubarb dish! 2 Tbs. olive oil, divided 2 Tbs. yellow mustard seeds 2 1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds 3 Tbs. minced fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.) 1 medium red onion, chopped (11/2 cups) 1/2 cup golden raisins 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed and drained 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth 1/2 lb. fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/4-inch slices, or 1/2 lb. frozen sliced rhubarb, thawed 6 cups baby spinach leaves (or arugula, kale, chard, or other cooking green) 1/2 cup chopped cilantro Heat 1 Tbs. oil in nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add mustard and cumin seeds. Cover skillet, and cook 2 minutes, or until seeds begin to pop. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more, or until popping stops, shaking skillet often. Remove from heat, stir in ginger and garlic, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, and set aside. Heat remaining 1 Tbs. oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and raisins; sauté 10 minutes, or until onions begin to brown. Stir in lentils and 3 cups broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 25 minutes. Stir in rhubarb and remaining 1/2 cup broth; cook 6 minutes. Add spinach, cover, and cook mixture 6 minutes more. Stir mixture to incorporate rhubarb and spinach leaves, then stir in spice mixture. Serve garnished with cilantro. Radishes Braised with Shallots and Vinegar Serves 2 to 4 as a side dish 1 tablespoon butter 2 slices bacon, diced (optional) 2 large shallots, finely sliced 1 pound radishes, about 2 bunches, tops trimmed and radishes sliced in half 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup water 2/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley Salt and freshly ground black pepper Heat the butter and bacon over medium-high heat in a wide, heavy skillet — preferably cast iron. Cook for about 5 minutes. When the bacon is cooked through and getting crispy, place the radishes cut-side down in the pan and cook undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes or until the bottoms begin to brown. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the balsamic vinegar and the water — the water should just come up around the sides of the radishes. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the radishes are tender. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced into a syrupy sauce. Add the the parsley and stir to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Quick Sauteed Greens Memorize this "recipe" as a versatile way to prepare your cooking greens! This is a fast and tasty way to enjoy your dark leafy greens. The cooking time varies depending on the type of greens and how young or tender they are. Most are done in 5 - 6 minutes. Easy to adjust based on how many greens you have. about 8 cups of chopped chard, kale, collars, broccoli raab, etc. 2 Tbsp olive oil 4 garlic cloves, minced a pinch or two of red pepper flakes (optional) 1/2 tsp salt ground black pepper Cut the stems of chard crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces and coarsely chop the leaves. Remove the tough stems of kale or collars and discard; then coarsely chop the leaves. Cut bunches of broccoli raab crosswise, separating out the lower stems to cook first. In a large skillet on medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic and red pepper and saute briefly. Add the stems of chard or broccoli raab and saute for a minute or two. Add as many chopped leaves as you can comfortably stir in the skillet. As the leaves wilt, add more. Saute until greens are limp and tender but still bight green. Season with S&P. Serve immediately. Variation: Add a splash of vinegar just before serving. Adding acid to greens is both a Southern style and a great way to ensure your liver absorbs the iron in the greens.