Half way through our CSA, Recipes, and Movie night

This week marks half way through our first year of CSA boxes. We provided CSA box #6 to our CSA members yesterday. It included the following: kale, collards, napa cabbage, caraflex cabbages, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, herbs, peppers, beans, eggplant, and a few tomatoes. We are excited to have our pepper, bean, and tomato plants finally starting to yield.

Here are some fun new recipe websites we found to help you use what is in the box.

Kale & Collards - 14 Recipes on How to Eat More Kale and Collard Greens  (The Everyday Maven blogger compiled together 14 great soup and salad recipes for these healthy greens.)

Herbs - Seared Scallops with Herb Butter Sauce  (This herb butter sauce would go great over any fish or grains.  We used basil, thyme, and oregano. It is sooo tasty that I made a double batch.)

Zucchini and Peppers - No-Noodle Zucchini Lasagna (We made this one this week and it is time consuming, but marvelous. Makes enough that you can freeze some for later.)

Zucchini - Zucchini Pineapple ( Yes, turn this vegetable into a fruit! We have never heard of this before tonight, but we were given some to try and it is surprisingly delicious.)

Caraflex Cabbages - 10 recipes That Remind Us Why Cabbage is Awesome  ( We love the title and the recipes.)

Napa Cabbage - Napa Cabbage Salad  or Napa Cucumber Coleslaw (We have tried both and love both. For a healthier version, the napa cabbage salad still tastes good if you use less oil than they list.)

CSA members watching the farm-themed movie

Lastly, we just wanted to thank our CSA members/friends that joined us for our first Leafy Greens Farm potluck and movie night. It was a success! The food was great, the weather was beautiful, and the movie made us all think more about the meat and vegetables we eat. We look forward to our next potluck and movie night on August 17th!

Colorful and delicious potluck food!

Trying new recipes with our vegetables

Our most recent CSA Box includes the following: herbs, beets, carrots, onions, collards, red lettuce, green butterhead lettuce, caraflex cabbage, & broccoli. We wanted to send you a collection of fun new recipes to consider for these vegetables and herbs. Sure, you can eat all of these vegetables raw or make a regular salad, but have you ever tried carrot top pesto, lemon basil tea, or pasta with collard greens? What about a grilled lettuce salad? Check out the recipes below and let us know what you like the most.

Carrots Glazed With Balsamic Vinegar and Butter: http://www.food.com/recipe/carrots-glazed-with-balsamic-vinegar-and-butter-82032


Carrot Soup with Carrot Top Pesto:   http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/velvety-carrot-soup-pesto-50400000120383/



Carrot Top Recipes: http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotops.html#leaves

Grated Raw Beet Salad ( I use basil as my herb in this one): http://blog.sanuraweathers.com/2010/07/grated-raw-beet-salad/

Roasted Beets with Thyme: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-beets-recipe/index.html

Tarragon Chicken: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/tarragon-chicken-recipe/index.html

Grilled Lettuce Salads: http://goodveg.squidoo.com/recipes/sandwiches-salads/5-sensational-grilled-lettuce-salads

6 Healthy Collard Green Recipes: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_collard_greens_recipes

Braised Collard Greens: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/health/26recipehealth.html?_r=0

Lemon Basil Tea: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Lemon-Basil-Tea

New Lettuce Recipes: http://www.frugalupstate.com/recipes/what-to-do-with-too-much-lettuce-in-the-garden/

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

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

 

"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