Every week we'll send you snapshots of veggies in your share. You can always find more recipes and storage info on our blog and website.
Mesclun: The mesclun this week is a diverse mix of baby greens. All greens are pre-washed and ready to eat. Unopened, this bag will last for at least a week or 10 days. Opened, it will start to deteriorate after a few days.
Braise mix: Standard shares are receiving a bag of braising mix. This mix includes spinach, sorrel, arugula, kale, and mustard greens. You won't find a mix like this anywhere else and I am not exaggerating. Store in the crisper, dry and in a plastic bag. Saute or put in a casserole, on top of a pizza, make creamy greens, etc. etc. etc. Good stuff.
Basil: Yes! Basil is back! A popular herb for Italian dishes, basil is sensitive to water and cold. You may discover some crumbly white stuff on it; just brush it off and gently rub with a moist finger if you'd like. This is a soymeal nutrient. Large shares: your basil is INSIDE your bag of mesclun!
Green Garlic: This green garlic, also called garlic scallions, is a bulb of fresh garlic. You can eat the entire stalk - every bit of the green leaf is edible! These are young garlic plants that have not bulbed up fully. While these little gems look a lot like bunching onions, take a closer look and you'll see that their leaves are flat, not tubular, and they have a distinct garlic aroma. It can be stored in your fridge wrapped in a wet paper towel and wrapped in plastic for about a week. To prep, treat it like a small leek: trim off the very bottom of the bulb and use all the tender light green parts. Dark green leaves can also be saved for stock.
Pac Choi: Part of the cabbage family, it packs in nutrition with high scores for vitamins A and C and calcium. Pac Choi is mild enough to be chopped up for a salad, particularly if you give it a quick wilt in a hot pan. It's also great in stir-fries and sautes and in asian soups (and other soups too). As leaves become more mature they are more often served cooked. Pac Choi has a mild flavor. The leaves taste similar to Swiss chard and the stems (called ribs) are deliciously crispy and can be substituted for celery in recipes. Store pac choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.
Chard: 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: 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.
Frozen Zucchini: Fancy and Everyday Large shares are both receiving a package of frozen zucchini. Let it thaw then make sure to wring it out well before using. Try mixing the zucchini in with stir fry or make a nice loaf of zucchini bread. I often throw shredded zucchini in my waffle batter for a little extra veggie in the morning.
Featured Recipes
Cabbage with Fried Egg and Toast
This is not just a good breakfast, it makes a delightful lunch and dinner. Makes you believe that cabbage can be this good.
1/2 head cabbage, sliced into large ribbons
4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1 egg
1 slice good bread
sea salt and pepper
crushed red pepper flakes
Toast the slice of bread. Heat the oil over medium heat and sautee the onions until soft and translucent. Add the cabbage and cook until just softened (just until the color becomes vibrant as the cabbage heats). Pile the cabbage and onions onto the slice of bread, add a little more oil to the empty pan, and fry the egg. Place the egg on top of the cabbage, and season with sea salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Zucchini-Potato Frittata
Frittatas are so adaptable and this one would be happy to have the addition of some of the peppers from a couple weeks ago if you still have them left. The addition of herbs can change the tune of a frittata as will the type of cheese used so lots of room to be creative. This one is perfect for the share this week. The recipe has been adapted from Andrea Chessman's Serving up the Harvest. Serves 4-6.
1 medium zucchini (or half a bag of frozen)
4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or sunflower)
1.5 lbs potatoes
1 large onion
1/4 lb bacon or some ham, diced
6 eggs
1 cup grated cheddar
Thaw zucchini. Squeeze out extra juice and set aside.
Heat 3 TB oil over medium-high heat in a large well-seasoned cast iron skillet or ovenproof nonstick skillet. Add the potatoes and onion, reduce the heat to med-low, and cook, flipping and stirring occasionally until the potatoes are soft, about 20 mins (you can cover to speed the process and hold in moisture). Increase the heat to medium-high and continue cooking, tossing occasionally, until potatoes are brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon but keep the skillet on the burner.
Add the zucchini and bacon to the skillet and saute over medium high heat, until the bacon/ham is cooked. Remove zucchini and bacon. Keep the skillet over the heat.
Beat the eggs and pepper to taste in a medium bowl until well blended. Fold in the potatoes, zucchini and bacon, and cheese.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add 1-2 TB oil to the skillet as needed to lightly coat the bottom. Pour in the egg mixture, reduce heat to med-low, and cook without stirring until the bottom is set about 10 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the top is set, 5 to 15 minutes, checking every 5 mins.
Place a serving plate on top of the skillet and carefully invert. The frittata should fall out of the pan. Cut into wedges and serve.
Pickled Cabbage
Here's a quick and easy way to make "pickled" cabbage. This would be great on top of a burger, or just eaten as a side dish.
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 head cabbage, shredded (about 3 cups)
1 cup thinly sliced onion
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, coarsely crushed in resealable plastic bag with mallet
1 teaspoon celery seeds
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Heat vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage, sliced onion, crushed coriander seeds, and celery seeds; sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté until wilted and crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in white wine vinegar and sugar. Sauté until all liquid is absorbed, about 30 seconds.
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, collards, broccoli raab, braise mix, 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.
Broccoli Raab & Potato Pasta
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
2 lbs. Nicola potatoes, cubed
1 bunch broccoli raab, trimmed
4 cups cooked fusilli pasta
1/2 cup Reggiano cheese, grated
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. You will be using this water for three steps of the preparation. Place the broccoli rabe in the water and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the pasta and the potatoes to the same water and cook until the pasta is al dente.
In a large pan heat the olive oil, crushed red pepper and garlic. Add the broth and let reduce by half. Add the potatoes, pasta and rabe to the pan and toss for a minute of so. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and sprinkle the cheese over the top.
Creamy Braising Greens
This recipe was made up by one of our past CSA managers, so excuse the imprecise measurements. Try serving it alongside roasted chicken and whipped root veggies - I enjoyed some creamy braised greens over whipped rutabaga last week - yum! But it's not for those watching their cholesterol.
2 T butter
1/4 cup of finely chopped onions (or shallots)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T flour
3/4 cup (or more) of cream or half n half, room temp or even warmed up (helps prevent lumpiness)
a generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
a generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
a generous pinch of salt
Bag of Pete's Braising Mix (of course!), blanched and roughly chopped
Over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the onions and garlic until just soft and fragrant.
Lower the heat! With a whisk, add the flour and cook/stir for 2 minutes. All the while whisking, add the cream, getting out all the lumps before they can cook hard, and continue to whisk and cook over low heat until the cream gets thick, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the seasonings to taste and then stir in the greens. Serves 2 or 3 grown ups.
Pac Choi Saute
1 bunch pac choi
1 bulb kohlrabi, sliced and cut into medium julienne (optional)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin sticks
1 bunch mustard or bitter greens, rough chop
2 tbsp. ginger
2 tbsp. tamari
1 tsp. honey
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ cup water
2 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. oil, any neutral oil works
Wash the pac choi shake excess water off.
Separate the stalks and leaves. Cut the stalk diagonally and cut the leaves across.
Heat wok or large sauté pan and add oil. When oil is ready, add ginger and toss for 30 seconds, until the ginger is aromatic. Add the pac choi, adding the stalks first, carrots and kohlrabi. Add the mustard and the pac choi leaves.
Stir in the tamari, honey, and salt and on high heat for 1 minute.
Add the water, cover the pan and simmer for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir the sesame oil in.
Chicken or shrimp can be added to this to make it a complete meal. In a separate pan, sauté the protein and cook all the way through. Add it to the pan when you add the water to the vegetable mix.
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