Still More Green Leafy Things

(A quick recap:  this is my second season belonging to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture---basically I pay a farm upfront for a share of their season's harvest).  Every week from now until October, I'll drive to my farm's pick-up spot and get my share of whatever is in season.  When I remember, I'll take a photo of the week's bounty, tell you what I got and what I did with it.  Hope you enjoy this ongoing project).

Week Two

Look familiar?

Pictured are (clockwise from top left):  Spring Greens, Pac Choi,  Radishes, Turnips, Lettuce, Red Russian Kale and Oregano.

Well, a culinary genius I'm not.  When faced with seven heads of lettuce, I did the obvious:  I gave one away and then ate plain green salad every day of the week. 

Of course, I had great plans---there is the Quesadilla Salad that features sliced avocados on the greens, with a Jalapeno cheese quesadilla on the side.  There is the Tuscan Tuna Salad and the Spicy Shrimp salad (all from this cookbook).   And, I will still get around to making them one of these days.

I did make a delicious pot of garlic mashed potatoes (plus 6 TBS butter). Although potatoes were not part of my CSA pickup this week, more turnips were, so I just boiled and mashed those along with the taters (thank you Melissa!).  Without a doubt, the best mashed potatoes I've ever had. 

And, there were the experiments.  I blanched and pureed a bunch of greens so that I could freeze most of them for use in soups and other recipes (Sneaky Chef anyone?).  But, then I also dumped them into a recipe that called for leafy greens, and it just wasn't the same.  Too much green pureed stuff.  Live and learn, I suppose. 

John, our farmer, also passed on the following recipes that were recommended by a new apprentice at the farm.  They both sound yummy (in a healthy kind of way) and will find a way to our table soon:

Kale salad

1 bunch kale, chopped (or other cooking greens such as collards)
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion sliced into thin half rings
1/2 to 1 avocado, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt, to taste
1-2 teaspoons of honey, to taste
cayenne pepper, optional
1-2 tablespoons olive oil, optional

Place kale into a large salad bowl with lemon juice and salt. Use hands to massage salt and lemon juice into kale until it softens and wilts. Add other ingredients and toss until well combined.

Chard (or other cooking green) with raisins and pinenuts

1 bunch chard, finely chopped (or other cooking green)
juice of one lemon
1-2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup golden (or black) raisins
1/3 cup pine nuts

Toss all ingredients into a salad bowl and marinate one hour

Enjoy your greens this week and you can have an extra scoop of ice cream, 'kay?

Comments

[AlphaDogMa]

Oooh. The kale salad and chard both look great -- may be even I can make those.

[Ali B.]

I love that you are doing this series! Love it!

The potatoes sound great, and the green-salad-a-day is a good thing.

My favorite thing to do with the turnips are to chop and roast them in a little olive oil. So simple, but really tasty. Couldn't stop eating them. Last year I was so crushed when the turnips finished.

[Yvie]

My son seems to love veggies. :D I'd like to try Chard with raisin and peanuts for myself. I really need to love those green leafy recipes. I guess I'll be needing that Sneaky Chef cookbook for myself too?

[mrs. q.]

Sharon is sending me her famous kale soup recipe... stay tuned.

[Alisa]

I would love to hear about how you ended up with your CSA. I've been looking into this for a couple of years, but I never found myself with the time to drive 30 minutes North every week to pick up the veggies. Just this spring, I found a CSA home in Salem and I can't wait until pickups start in a couple of weeks!