Monday, June 3, 2013

CSA Box #2

Well, it's June and the vegetables are going great on the farm. We have had some crazy weather lately and happy to say that all the wetness has only slowed down the growing process of some vegetables. As long as all the vegetables still look healthy, we are still okay with some slow growing. We missed posting about our first CSA box, but we wanted to make sure we gave you an update about CSA box #2.






From the left to right, we have the following vegetables: green onions, rainbow chard, fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, dill, taragon), loose lettuce (top), radishes, pac choi (top), romaine lettuce, and kale. 

Below are some great recipes using your vegetables you got this week. Enjoy!

Arulaga Pesto: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

Green Onion and Cheddar Scones: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cheddar-cheese-and-scallion-scones-recipe

Sesame Pac Choi: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1183/sesame-pak-choi

Crispy Kale Chips: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe/index.html

Swiss Chard Quesadillas: http://www.food.com/recipe/guadalajaran-swiss-chard-quesadillas-284506


Monday, May 20, 2013

Radishes

Radishes are one of the earliest vegetables that farmers harvest in the year. On Leafy Greens Farm, we just harvested a lot of radishes! Most people either love or hate radishes. Radishes can range from having a mild to an extremely spicy flavor. Most people usually just think about eating radishes raw, but radishes can be cooked in a variety of ways to decrease the spiciness and mixed with other vegetables for great salad of flavor. Check out the recipes listed below.

As far nutritional value, a 1/2 cup serving (about 12 medium radishes) of sliced radishes is only 12 calories and provides a good amount of potassium, vitamin C, folate, and fiber. According to several sources, radishes also can provide many health benefits including: improves blood circulation, good for liver and stomach, anti-congestive and thus gives relief from respiratory congestion, and helps reduce chronic headache problem.

In order to enjoy these healthy vegetables, I have compiled several radish recipes for you.

Roasted Radishes

Ingredients
  • Radishes
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Fresh lemon juice
Directions
  1. Toss radishes with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast on a
    baking sheet at 450 degrees, stirring once, until slightly tender and
    charred, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with salt. Drizzle with lemon juice. 



Simple Radish Salad 

Makes 1 or 2 servings

4 radishes thinly sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
Juice of ½ a lime
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
a sprinkle of salt

In a small bowl combine oil, lime juice, cilantro and garlic.  Toss with sliced radish and sprinkle with a little salt.
 



Glazed Radishes

Ingredients
  • 3 bags (6 ounces each) red radishes (about 45), ends trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
Directions
  1. Cut large radishes in half; leave small ones whole. In a 12-inch skillet, combine radishes, butter, sugar, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced and radishes are tender and glazed, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve.

Radish Greens Soup

Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 2 bunches radish greens (about 2 cups), cleaned
  • 6 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into1/2-inch dice
  • 4 1/2 cups Homemade Chicken Stock
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 5 radishes, zested
  • Chervil, for garnish
Directions
  1. In a medium stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onions, and saute until transparent, about 4 minutes. Add radish greens, and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken stock, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 35 minutes.
  2. Working in batches, pass the mixture through a food mill into a medium bowl. Stir in cream, and season with salt and pepper. Strain the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the original pot. Bring soup just to a simmer over medium heat. Serve garnished with radish zest and chervil


 

Saturday, April 27, 2013

"Lettuce" Plant more



Well, we don't always get the most perfect weather to plant, but we are not complaining. Today, we had our rain boots on and were planting in the mud.  Checking on the lettuces we planted a few weeks ago, inspired us to plant some more. Our radishes, carrots, and beets are popping. The cabbages are looking great. The little spinaches are getting bigger.  This farm will be booming with awesome edibles soon!

In one week, the lettuce grew many more leaves






Friday, April 19, 2013

Waiting, wading in, and working hard!





Well, the rains came full force this week!  After last year's drought, you will not hear any complaining from us about rain! The rains hopefully let our newly transplanted lettuces,broccoli, and brussel sprouts get settled into their new home at the farm.

 However, the intense rains sometime prevent us from getting spring planting done. First, we have a small creek crossing the road to the farm and  it becomes a full-blown river after a lot of rain! We've decided that if our car can't cross it, that is when we WADE IN! Walking through a small river and in the mud is a great work-out. Thank goodness for rain boots!


Secondly, we have to be very careful when the ground is so saturated. We spent so much time tilling and supplementing our soil with compost to make soft, fluffy raised beds for our veggies to grow in. When it is so wet, we sometimes step on our beds and squish all that soil into hard brick again. So, planting got put on hold for a little while this week.

Tomorrow, the sun will be out full force and we are excited to work hard to get more veggies in the ground.WE have a few more cabbages, spinaches, broccoli, and other veggies to plant tomorrow.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

What is green, red, and pink all over? --- Our baby plants at the farm!


We had a truck bed full of vegetable transplants at the beginning of the weekend and now we have most of our early spring vegetables in the ground! We are so excited to let these plants stretch their roots and grow.  We worked hard all weekend and wrapped all of our vegetables in row cover at the end of the weekend to protect from bugs. Our hands are stained with dirt and we are really worn out! Time to go catch some zzz's.

Baby lettuce

Damian planting lettuces

Watering the plants
Row Cover

At the end of the day, we have hands stained with dirt and love it!.