Nettle Fritters and Radish Salad

Nettle Fritters:

This recipe looks fun.  Instead of the wild garlic, you can use the baby garlic.







Chopped Salad with Radish and Beans:


This salad recipe can be slightly adjusted to use chopped snap peas and lima beans.  Very impressed with the organization of the website this is from too - easy to search.





Chocolate Strawberries:

Chocolate, strawberries, and some hot pepper?  Not the most conventional of toppings, but a nice one nonetheless. I love the contrast of the sweet-tart of the berries, the bittersweet of the chocolate and the ba-da-boom of the Sichuan. Just a little something different to keep everyone on their toes.

June 26th Dundas delivery

The flowers in the salad mix are Nasturtiums and taste peppery.

Broad beans are also known as Fava beans and need to be shelled.  Right now they are young and tender and can be eaten raw or lightly sautéed.  Both the snow peas and snap peas should be eaten with the shell.

 Here's a nice pasta recipe that uses thinly sliced snow peas and basil.  Fava beans would be a nice addition.

Here's a recipe for grilling greens - collards, chard, kale, etc!   the result is tasty, resourceful, and the perfect go-to accompaniment for a summers worth of grilled meats…oh, I imagine this would make a killer burger topping.

Here's another variation using aluminium foil so they get steamed a bit.

This one puts them right on the grill for a charred flavour.

Sauteed Kale with Anchovies is an interesting flavour combination that works well with stronger tasting greens like collards or kale.

June 19th Prior St Delivery

Finally some peas and beans.  Two types of peas - the larger flat Sweet Peas and the thicker Snap Peas. Both should be eaten with their shells.  The large pods are Broad Beans.  Not too many beans ready yet, but here's some info on grilling them when they are young and tender.  They are nice in soup or on pasta.  I have more than 100 plants, so there will be much more.

First of the strawberries was available this week - many more to come for the next few weeks.  There will be more rhubarb in the next box too - they go so well together.










The bunch of herbs is Greek Oregano, which is mild.  It can be dried by hanging it upside down and this will also intensify the flavour.


The bunch of curly leaves is Curly Kale.  I found a good article on the benefits of massaging Kale http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/how-to-massage-kale_n_1601200.html

Recipes for Greens

Sauteed Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisons:

This is a classic Sicilian side dish, prepared with leafy greens, toasted pine nuts and raisins.  It's sweet, savory, salty, spicy and just a little bitter. So as my mother would say, well balanced. We used dinosaur kale (aka Lacinato or Tuscan kale) but you could easily use collard greens, mustard or turnip greens, or spinach. Any leafy green will do.   sauteed greens with pine nuts and raisins

Kale Sausage with White Beans:

Of course, it's hard to go wrong when you mix kale with Italian sausage and white beans. But, baby steps people. Baby steps.
Kale with sausage and white beans

Nettle Pasta:

The pasta is a breeze.  Nettles are easier to deal with than you think. Here I quickly blanch them straight from the bag they came in, in the same water I cook the pasta. One pot, no stings. I add toasted almonds for crunch, feta because its tangy creaminess plays nice with the nettles, and onion sprouts. Bit of garlic.

nettle pasta recipe

Hollyhock Sesame Maple Dressing:
Another great salad dressing from the Hollyhock cookbook.

1/3 cup tamari/soya sauce ¼ cup water 
¼ cup maple syrup 
2 tsp Dijon mustard 
1 tsp minced garlic 
1/3 cup sunflower/safflower oil 
3 Tbsp sesame oil 


BLEND everything except oils. 
In a measuring cup, COMBINE oils. 
SLOWLY BLEND in oils to other ingredients. 
STOP BLENDING as soon as the oils have been added. 

Notes: 
Makes 1½ cups. Can be refrigerated for 1 week (in theory, but I’ve never had it around that long!) Try it over green salads, steamed vegetables, as a fish marinade, or just dip bread into it.

June 5 Prior St Delivery

Thanks to Alena for helping with the harvest - time left over to do some basil transplanting even.  The most perishable item is the cilantro and radish leaves, followed by the spinach and the salad mix.   The most robust are the nettle and collards.  For best storage, sprinkle the greens with water and place in a plastic bag.

The baby garlic is a hint of what's to come.  It's a single clove so handy for chopping.  And the leaves can be used like garlic chives.

Kale flower buds are quite sweet and can be cooked like rapini or broccoli.  Here is a good article on them with a nice pasta recipe for them at the bottom.  The stalks with the flowers are tougher than the younger ones without, so discard the bottom half.