From the Garden this Week…

From the Garden this Week…

Kale, Broccoli Sprouts, Spring Onions, Spring Garlic, Parsley, Carrots, Fennel, Radishes, Red Butter Lettuce, Cabbage or Cauliflower, Frisee, and Oranges

Coming Soon… Beets, Snap Peas and Parsnips

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

When I read recipes online or in cookbooks, I always appreciate when I find a recipe where I have all of the ingredients on hand at the same time. That means that they are in touch with the seasonality of produce. One of our members mentioned that they enjoyed this fennel recipe to me and since I happened own the book, I rushed to check it out. Fennel is a polarizing vegetable so any help understand what eaters might like is helpful. If you are not ready to try this raw fennel recipe, I recommend cooking your fennel, the more you cook it the more you will tame the flavor. I like to roast it in the oven or caramelize it like onions in marinara sauce or a soup.

Shaved Fennel and Radish Salad (adapted from Salt Fat Acid

Heat by Samin Nosrat)

Dressing:

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Salad:

2 small fennel bulbs

1 bunch of radishes, trimmed and washed

1 head of butter lettuce, washed and chopped

½ cup parsley leaves

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a jar combine all of the dressing ingredients, cover securely with the lid and shake well.

Using a mandoline if you have one or a sharp knife, slice the fennel and radishes as thin as possible. Combine in a large bowl with the parsley leaves, chopped lettuce and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle the salad with the dressing and toss. Season with salt and pepper as needed, toss again and serve right away.

Please remember to return your purple bags. Thanks!

Frisee

This week we have frisee coming your way. This is a variety of endive, but it is usually used like lettuce. It is great mixed with your spring mix or spinach for a salad or you can eat it in a salad on its own. It has great texture used on a sandwich. It is a little bitter and makes a great hearty salad with some bacon and bleu cheese.

More from Salt Fat Acid Heat...

The salad recipe mentioned using the fennel cores that are left over after making the salad in this soup recipe. When I looked at the recipe, I realized that this was perfect for the veggies coming this week. The trick is to build the flavors in the soup by sautéing the onions and carrots and (fennel if you are using) and then the second step of cooking the tomatoes before adding the liquid.

Tuscan Bean and Kale Soup (adapted from Salt Fat Acid

Heat by Samin Nosrat)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 spring onion white and light green parts, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 fennel cores, diced

1 green garlic stalk, white and light green parts, diced

Salt and pepper

2 bay leaves

1 -15 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cups cooked beans (rinse and drain if using canned, if you cooked them yourself, use the liquid too)

3-4 cups chopped kale

2-3 cups chopped cabbage

3-4 cups water

4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Extra-virgin olive oil

In a large soup pot heat the oil over medium heat, add the diced onion, carrots, fennel and green garlic, season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir occasionally until the onion is translucent. Add the bay leaves and the tomatoes, cook the tomatoes for about 2 minutes then add the beans, kale, cabbage and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with a generous spoon of Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul . . . by Cindi J. Martin

We are quietly moving toward Holy Week and Easter. It is difficult to imagine that for the first time in our history as a nation, our people will not be able to gather together in churches to celebrate Easter. Our entire nation is being forced to “rest” in order to “rise”. There is a great book by Eugene Peterson called Under the Unpredictable Plant in which he explores (among other things) the importance of the “second day” when Jesus was in the grave (also the reference to Jonah). The second day was a Jewish Sabbath “rest” and sandwiched between the “work” of the crucifixion on the “first day” and the “work” of the of resurrection on the “third day”. Who thinks much about the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? I never thought about the rest of the grave in this way. How many of us remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy for rest and refreshment? In reality, farmers probably think more about the need for rest than most of us. I am told by our garden professionals that we must give our fields time off from planting in order to stay healthy. Plant the same plant in the same place more than one season and you will make the plant vulnerable to all manner of disease, pests, and reduced production. The soil can be active and planted with a cover crop, but it must be one that replenishes rather than drains the soil of nutrients. Do we know the soil of our hearts and what we are planting there as the gardener knows the soil and plants of her fields? During this enforced time of resting created by the Corona virus, perhaps we will discover that we needed rest more than we thought. Perhaps we will learn something new about ourselves. Perhaps when all this is over, we will have increased our capacity to tolerate and even enjoy more rest and refreshment for the benefit of our bodies, minds, and souls. It may feel like a crucifixion now…. like a cross we must endure…But may the cross give way to resurrection and new life in our lives and in our nation.