What Can you do with Excess Vegetables from your garden or CSA?

We have had some requests from our CSA members to post more information about what they can do with excess vegetables. In our opinion, it is wonderful to make our summer vegetables last well into winter by canning and freezing. Freezing is by far the easier option, but most of the time there is still a little preparation involved. You can choose to prepare meals with your veggies and freeze them for the winter months or store quantities of the same vegetable to be used at a later time. Canning is far more labor intensive and requires special equipment, but stored properly the canned vegetables can last for years. There are certain vegetables better for canning than others - tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, okra. Especially, if you are into the puckery pickle flavor, than canning might be for you. Below, we will go through some ideas for freezing and canning summer vegetables.


Freezing Leafy Greens (Spinach, Kale, Collards, Chard)
If you don't always have the time to make something with them before leafy greens start going bad, freeze them.  When you want to use it, just defrost and add it to whatever dish you're making!
 
The trick is to blanch them first.  What is blanch, you ask?  We'll get to that in a minute, but first you need to prepare your greens.  Wash them in cold water.  At this point, I usually chop my greens roughly since most of my recipes call for sliced or chopped greens.  You don't have to do this, but I find it makes it easier for me later on. 
 
Once you've prepared the greens, it's on to blanching.  Blanching means that you cook the greens in boiling water just for a couple of minutes to stop the bacteria and enzymes from breaking down your veggies in the freezer.  (You can find the specific blanching times below.)  Start the timer as soon as you place the greens in the water and cover the pot.  You can use the blanching water up to five times before having to replace it with clean water.
When the timer goes off, you will need to shock the greens in ice-cold water to stop the cooking.  I use my big pasta pot with the strainer.  Then all I have to do is pull the strainer out and move the greens to the ice bath in a large bowl.  You keep the greens in the ice bath for the same amount of time that you cooked them for.  

Once they've cooled, take them out, squeeze as much water out as you can and let it drain a little.  I like to make one-cup-sized balls (so I know how much each packet is in the freezer) and set them on a clean kitchen towel to drain a little more.  Once they're drained to your satisfaction, put them in freezer bags, remove all of the air (Ziploc Vacuum Bags work great here), and then layer them in the freezer.  Make sure you label them with what is inside and the date!  You can store them for about 9 months in a regular freezer or up to a year in a deep freeze.

Blanching Times: 

Beet Greens - 2 minutes

Chard -2 minutes

Collard Greens - 2 minutes

Kale - 3 minutes

Spinach - 2 minutes

 

Freezer Salsa 

10 -12 large very ripe tomatoes
2 large cooking onions or 2 medium Spanish onions
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
8 jalapeno peppers or 1 can diced green chilis
2 -3 sweet green peppers (or mix of green and red)
2 (5 1/2 ounce) cans tomato paste
1/4 cup white vinegar or 1/4 cup cider vinegar or 1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Peel,core, seed and coarsely chop tomatoes.
2. You should have 10 cups.
3. Peel and finely chop onions.
4. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
5. When hot, add onions and garlic.
6. Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft.
7. Meanwhile, seed and finely chop jalapenos.
8. Seed and coarsely chop sweet peppers.
9. When onions are soft, stir in tomato paste.
10. Add tomatoes, peppers, vinegar, paprika, sugar and salt.
11. For extra heat stir in cayenne.
12. Bring to boil and lower heat until it gently boils.
13. Cook uncovered stirring occasionally until thickened, about 30 minutes.
14. Store covered in refrigerator for 1 week or freeze.
15. Flavor improves in the refrigerator or freezer.

 Freezer Spaghetti Sauce  

• 4 onions, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 16 cups chopped tomatoes

• 2 tablespoons dried oregano

• 2 tablespoons dried basil

• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 2 tablespoons salt

• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Directions

In a slow cooker saute together the onion, garlic, green pepper, and vegetable oil. Cook until onion is transparent. Add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, sugar, salt, and ground black pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 hours on low heat. Stir frequently. Let sauce cool. Pour sauce into quart size freezer containers. Store in freezer. When ready to use sauce, stir in can of tomato paste.

Freezing Herbs

Chop herb and put into ice cube tray with olive oil. It is that simple! Pop your iced herbs into soups, pastas, or other recipes.

 Canning Salsa

For canning advice and directions, I want to direct you to one of the best websites I have found: www.pickyourown.org.  It may not have the best website design, but it is great. Check out their info about pickles and salsa.

Pickles: http://www.pickyourown.org/makingpickles.htm

Salsa: http://www.pickyourown.org/salsa.htm

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