Greens, Greens, Greens & Eggs

Sylvain reminded me of how good a frittata can be, and it uses a lot of eggs. This recipe is for a 12" pan, but can be scaled down.   also good for the oregano.

It's sort of like a quiche without the crust, or a big thick omelet.  

May 29th Dundas Delivery

Thanks to Kerry for helping again this week, we were able to put together a tasty salad mix.  The boxes are quite full this week thanks to the Swiss chard and all the radish - still making space in the green house for more peppers!  The order of perishability is as follows:


Use the mix salad, spinach, and radish leaves first.  These are very tender and will only last a couple days before getting wilted.  The radish root will keep longer but are also nice in the salad. 

Oregano and spearmint are perishable too, but are still flavorful if wilted. it's possible to chop them up and dry them for use in soups.   When using spearmint, bruising first helps release the aromatic oils.

The sorrel and swiss chard will keep a while, longer than regular lettuce.  The trick is putting them in a plastic bag while they are moist.  Works well with most leafy greens.

Nettles and kale are very robust and will last more than a week.

The mix salad contains:  loose leaf lettuce, beet tops, wild sorrel, mizuna mustard, edible chrysanthemum, baby chard, arugula, and bits of chickweed.

Green wraps with Collards

Collards are tough and don't easily break apart when cooked. Their flexibility makes them perfect for a wrap.  There are a lot of recipe ideas online such as red-pepper-hummus-collard-green-wraps

May 22nd Delivery to Prior St

Thanks to Kerry for helping this week, we were able to put together a tasty salad mix.  The boxes are quite full this week thanks to the giant collards and all the radish - had to make space in the green house for more peppers!  The order of perishability is as follows:


Use the mix salad, spinach, and radish leaves first.  These are very tender and will only last a couple days before getting wilted.  The radish root will keep longer but are also nice in the salad. 

Chives are perishable too, but are still flavorful if wilted. it's possible to chop them up and dry them for use in soups.  same with the lemon balm.

the giant red mustard and swiss chard will keep a while, longer than regular lettuce.  the trick is putting them in a plastic bag while they are moist.  works well with most leafy greens.

the nettles and collard greens are very robust and will last more than a week.

The mix salad contains:  loose leaf lettuce, beet tops, wild sorrel, mizuna mustard, edible chrysanthemum, baby chard, arugula, and bits of chickweed.  details of the chrysanthemum and collard greens are here.

The chickweed grows fast, is very nutritious, and has a slight nutty taste. 

 Mizuna has a mild mustard flavour. 

Found some wild sorrel in the garden, its a bad weed with long reaching roots.  However, it tastes great - very pronounced lemon flavour.  I will keep some of it around, maybe in a big pot to keep it from spreading too much.

Lemon Balm is a herb and makes lovely tea, hot or cold.  Studies have shown that the tea is good for alleviating anxiety.  Here is a recipe for lemon balm sorbet.  

Freshii Kale

New fast food place featuring Kale of all things.  http://www.freshii.com/menu/limited

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES, MORE IRON THAN BEEF, MORE CALCIUM THAN MILK, CONTAINS FIBER, CONTAINS OMEGA FATTY ACIDS, BOOSTS IMMUNITY, RICH WITH VITAMIN A & C.


Their Kale Effect Bowl looks like a good way to use vegis.   It reminds me of the dragon bowl at Naam.  I will try this out with some Miso dressing tonight.  probably sauté some of the collard greens too.

Hollyhock Yeast Dressing

Yeast Dressing (from Hollyhock Cooks).  Kerry likes to add a bit of maple syrup to balance the bitter/tart flavors of some of the salad greens.  This will keep in your fridge for 2 weeks.

Into the jar of a blender add:
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (not brewer's yeast, which is bitter and awful - look for yellow yeast flakes)
1/6 cup water
1/6 cup tamari (soy sauce)
1/6 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoons garlic

With the blender running, remove the lid and slowly add (in a thin, steady stream):
3/4 cups canola oil or other light vegetable oil (don't use extra virgin olive oil as the flavor is too strong)

May 15th Delivery

BIG thanks to Alena for coming to the farm to help with harvesting.  Still working on efficiencies and happy for no rain.  There were all the same items as the First Delivery plus collard greens and the salad mix.  

Collard Greens are robust like kale and very high in potassium.  they are widely used in Southern style cooking.  they are related to cabbage and can be cooked in the same ways.

The salad mix had a bunch of different things.  This is the most perishable item by far, it should be consumed within a few days as the spinach is very tender.  There were also purple beet tops, sunflower sprouts, spiky mizuna mustard, a bit of red mustard, and some edible chrysanthemum pictured to the right.  

Squash transplanting workparty & dinner Sun, June 3, 1PM

The tomato party was a huge success.  Many thanks to Fabrice and Keith for the spot prawns and homemade mayonnaise dip!  the tomatoes are all doing well so you should expect to see some smaller cherry types in July even.

Next project is getting the squash in the ground.  I have started a bunch of summer squash - green, yellow, and striped zukes as well as various winter squash - butternut, kabucha, sweet meat, acorn, banana, and pumpkin.  they will soon be ready for transplanting.

Sun, June 3, 1PM will be the next farm event.  come check out the tomatoes, transplant some squash, and stay for a nice dinner.  This will be a family friendly event, all ages are welcome.  I will also be clearing out the greenhouse of any extra transplants I have - kholrabi, rapini, collard greens, tomatoes, tomatillos, squash, etc.  bring containers if you are interested.

email me if you are interested so I know how many to expect for dinner

Recipes for May

Sorrel & Nettle tart / quiche: 

http://growfoodslowfood.blogspot.ca/2012/01/recipe-sorrel-tart.html.  I added the nettles for their nice deep color when cooked, the sorrel yellows quite a bit. don't need a lot, maybe 1/4 nettles and 3/4 sorrel.  good use for eggs too.  if you dont like making pastry dough, frozen pie shells work too.  

Nettle Goma-ae: 
 if you like the spinach type, this one is a nice variation:  http://meelsmeals.blogspot.ca/2009/05/nettle-goma-ae-and-other-important.html

Nettle Pesto:  

handy sauce to have around for pasta, eggs, salads, etc.  http://honest-food.net/veggie-recipes/greens-and-herbs/nettle-pesto/.  I usually sub walnuts or sunflower seeds for the pine nuts 

Lovage Soup:  

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1748,154163-235205,00.html

Rhubarb Bars:  

http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/bar. also easy to freeze rhubarb and save until strawberries are here for jam/pies.

  

Raw Kale Salad:  

http://www.janespice.com/recipes/esalen-kale-salad.  I usually massage the kale with the lemon juice first then add the rest.  can also add the red mustard greens for a bit more bite

First Delivery

First boxes delivered today.  harvesting was hectic, but next time will be easier.  here are some photos I took at Dean & Cath's.  

Gregory and some radishes.  I left the tops on since they are good for cooking with too.  they will not keep very long so should be used up in a couple days.  they need to be cooked/sauteed since they are a little fuzzy when raw.  they add a nice subtle radish flavor to your dish.

lovely lovage.  very strong celery flavor.  it's a herb, don't add it raw to salads.  best in soups or added to anything calling for vegi stock. 

my favorite 'weed', stinging nettle.  it will sting so use gloves or you can get away with tongs if you are careful. it is strong stuff and will keep in your fridge in a closed bag for more than a week, so don't use this first.  very versatile, I love it with scrambled eggs in the morning.

giant red mustard.  it's sort of like romaine lettuce with a bite.  it's a great addition to stir fry recipes, soups, hamburgers, salads, etc.

it was combined in a bag with sorrel, a tart lemon tasting green.  I left the stalks on because they are nice and crispy like mini celeries.

 Breakfast nettle scramble with smoked lamb sausage.  lots of energy for a big harvesting day.  nettle keeps it's color well when cooked.

harvest lunch.  basic pizza dough covered with nettle pesto, swiss chard, and some kale blossoms.  the thing I like about making pizza dough is that it freezes well.  good to make a big batch and divide for freezing.










next time I'll take photos of everything.  the jar was homemade horseradish sauce comprising of ground up horseradish root, vinegar, and salt.  feel free to make some additions to make it sweet or creamy.

the Swiss Chard is versatile too.  the smaller leaves are quite nice raw in salad and the stalks are crunchy like celery.  it can be cooked in the same ways you use spinach.

the bunch of curly greens is kale.

the chives were starting to flower and I left the buds on since they have a nice onion flavor.  they can be used raw or cooked.

lastly, there was a bunch of rhubarb.  it freezes well and can be saved for use when strawberries are ready, which are already starting to flower so it shan't be long.