June 13, 2019 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Kale!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Pea Vine: Pasta with Asparagus & Avocado-Pea Vine Cream Sauce; Spring Noodle Bowl with Pea Vine Broth

Potato Onions: Spicy Kale & Coconut Fried Rice (see below); Spring Noodle Bowl with PeaVine Broth

Garlic Scapes: Spicy Kale & Coconut Fried Rice (see below); Garlic Scape & Mushroom Pizza with Turnips and Bacon; Pasta with Asparagus & Avocado-Pea Vine Cream Sauce (See Below); Spring Noodle Bowl with Pea Vine Broth; Spring Salad with Garlic Scape Herbed Croutons

Asparagus: Pasta with Asparagus & Avocado-Pea Vine Cream Sauce; Spring Noodle Bowl with Pea Vine Broth; Grilled Asparagus in Dill Butter

Baby White Turnips: Garlic Scape & Mushroom Pizza with Turnips and Bacon; Spring Salad with Garlic Scape Herbed Croutons

Dill: Spring Salad with Garlic Scape Herbed Croutons; Creamy Dill Chicken Salad; Salmon Cakes with Yogurt & Dill Sauce; Grilled Asparagus in Dill Butter

Baby Spinach or Arugula: Pasta with Asparagus & Avocado-PeaVine Cream Sauce

Salad Mix: Salad Mix tossed with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Red Oak & Red Butterhead Lettuce: Spring Salad with Garlic Scape Herbed Croutons

Lacinato Kale: Spicy Kale & Coconut Fried Rice (see below); Lemon Kale Muffins (see below)

Strawberries: Just eat them!

This week we’re going to kick off our cooking discussion with an easy, quick recipe utilizing this week’s featured vegetable, Lacinato Kale.  This recipe for Spicy Kale & Coconut Fried Rice (see below) is very easy to assemble.  You do need to plan in advance to have cold, cooked rice which could be made on the weekend or the night before. If you have the rice, the rest of this recipe comes together very quickly which is great for a weeknight dinner.  This can serve as a vegetarian main dish, or you could add fish, pork or chicken to the fried rice if you wish.  The other recipe featuring kale is for Lemon Kale Muffins (see below).  This comes from veggiedesserts.uk.co, an interesting site that has a lot of different ways to incorporate vegetables into both sweet and savory preparations.  All of the recipes I’ve tried from this site have always been good, so be brave and try some things you may not have considered before…like putting kale in a muffin!

Garlic Scape & Mushroom Pizza with Turnips & Bacon
Photo from DishingUpTheDirt.com

This past week Andrea Bemis posted a recipe on her blog, Dishing Up the Dirt,  for Garlic Scape & Mushroom Pizza with Turnips & Bacon.  This is a very timely recipe since we have both garlic scapes and baby white turnips in the box this week!  You’ll use the turnip greens to make a pesto to spread on the crust.  Then top it off with sautéed scapes, crispy bacon, mushrooms and salad turnips.  Delicious!  Serve this on its own, or with a simple side salad using this week’s Salad Mix tossed with Red Wine Vinaigrette.  This is one of my go-to vinaigrette recipes that is nice to keep in the refrigerator for when you want to put together a nice, simple salad.  Grate a little Parmesan on top and you’re set.

It’s a salad kind of a week!  We’re happy to have these pretty little red oak and red butterhead lettuces.  Here’s another recipe from Andrea Bemis for Spring Salad with Garlic Scape Herbed Croutons.  This recipe would be delicious made with a mix of the two types of head lettuce that are dressed with a light lemon-dijon vinaigrette that contains fresh dill.  The salad is topped off with hard-boiled eggs, salad turnips and radishes as well as garlic scape herbed croutons.  This one is filling enough to stand on its own for a nice lunch or dinner option or add a little grilled chicken.

Creamy Dill Chicken Salad
photo from LifesAmbrosia.com

Dill is the herb of choice this week and if you’re wondering what else to do with it, consider a few of these options.  This recipe for Creamy Dill Chicken Salad would be a nice lunch option.  You can turn it into a sandwich, but don’t forget to load it up with a handful of spinach, salad mix, arugula or several pieces of head lettuce.  Dill is also a natural accompaniment to fish, so these Salmon Cakes with Yogurt & Dill Sauce seem like a good option.  Serve these with a simple salad or perhaps Grilled Asparagus in Dill Butter.

This is our second and final week for pea vine.  If you didn’t have a chance to make the featured recipe from last week, Pasta with Asparagus & Avocado-Pea Vine Cream Sauce, I’d encourage you to give it a try.  I also like to make a simple broth with pea vine, so my other recommendation is this recipe for Spring Noodle Bowl with Pea Vine Broth.

I think we’ve reached the bottom of this week’s box.  Wait, I forgot the strawberries!  What should you do with them?  JUST EAT THEM!  This year’s strawberry season is off to a bit of a late start, but there will be more to come!  I hope you’ll consider joining us for our annual Strawberry Day coming up this Sunday, June 16.  We’ll have delicious strawberry ice cream to celebrate the event and we’re anxious to show you some of our vegetable fields!  Have a good week!

Vegetable Feature: Kale

Green Curly and Lacinato Kale in the field

Kale has come a long way over the past 20-30 years.  What once was a vegetable eaten by hippies or used to decorate salad bars and buffets became a well-known hipster “super-food.”  I’m not sure how kale became so popular, but I’m glad more people learned how to use and enjoy it because it really is a delicious and nutrient packed vegetable and there are so many different ways to incorporate it into your diet!

There are different types of kale.  This week we’re harvesting Lacinato kale as well as green curly kale.  Lacinato kale is sometimes referred to as Toscano, dino kale or dinosaur kale.  This type of kale is dark green in color and has more of a flat, slightly savoyed leaf.  Green curly kale is just as its name says—it’s lighter green in color with ruffled leaves.  We also grow a unique variety called Portuguese kale.  This is a much different kale compared to lacinato and green curly kale.  We’ve grown this in the past and have a small planting for this fall which we plan to harvest with all of you at our fall Harvest party!  Kale is usually available from mid-June through October or early November.  The flavor can change over the course of the season. Right now it is pretty mild flavored.  In the heat of the summer it might have a little stronger flavor and then after it gets kissed by frost, the flavor becomes a little more sweet and mild again.

Kale is part of the family of vegetables called brassicas or crucifers.  Vegetables in this family share some similar nutrient characteristics including being high in vitamins, minerals and sulfur-rich phytonutrients that aid in cancer prevention.  They are also high in fiber and low in calories.  In particular, kale is an excellent source of vitamins K, C, and A as well as lutein and beta carotene.

Portuguese Kale in field

Kale has a pretty mild flavor and can be eaten both raw and cooked.  The texture of a kale leaf is much different than some of the other greens we’ve had this spring such as bok choi and hon tsai tai.  Kale leaves are thicker and require a little more cooking time to make them tender.  If you choose to eat kale raw in salads and such, it helps to marinate the kale in a vinaigrette or dressing for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.  The acidity from vinegar, lemon juice, etc in a vinaigrette helps to soften the leaves.  The great thing about kale salads is that they are more durable in comparison to a lettuce salad.  You can put the dressing on the night before and the salad isn’t soggy the next day!  It actually is better the next day!  In its cooked form, kale is often used in soups.  It can also be steamed, baked, sautéed and even roasted, as in the case of kale chips.  It can also be made into pesto, added to pizzas, incorporated into lasagna, casseroles and gratins.  You can even add it to smoothies and use it to make baked goods!  Yes, you can put kale into muffins, cakes, etc!  Check out this week’s recipe for Lemon Kale Muffins!  Kale pairs well with many other vegetables including mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, other greens, root vegetables and potatoes.  It is also often used in recipes paired with beans and lentils as well as citrus, dairy and pork products.  It is often incorporated into pasta and rice dishes as well.  This week we’ve featured a recipe for Spicy Kale and Coconut Fried Rice that is pretty tasty and very easy to make!

Both lacinato and green curly kale have a thicker stem that the leaf is part of.  It is best to wash the kale in a sink of cold water first, then strip the leaves off the main stem.  Store kale in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or wrapped in a damp towel.  

Spicy Kale & Coconut Fried Rice

Yield:  3-4 servings

2 Tbsp coconut oil or sunflower oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp finely chopped green garlic or garlic scapes
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
¾ cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup chopped seasonal vegetable (mushrooms, carrots, peppers, etc)
1 bunch lacinato or green curly kale
¼ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
¾ cup large, unsweetened coconut flakes
3 cups cooked and chilled brown rice
1 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1-2 tsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha
1 lime, halved
Fresh cilantro, for garnish
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds (optional)

1. Heat a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat.  Once the pan is hot enough, add 1-2 tsp oil and swirl the pan to coat the bottom.  Pour in the beaten eggs and cook, stirring frequently, until the eggs are scrambled and lightly set.   Transfer the eggs to an empty bowl.  Wipe out the pan if necessary with a paper towel.
2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and add the garlic, ginger, green onions and additional vegetable of your choosing.  Cook until vegetables are just starting to get tender, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds or longer.  Add the kale and salt.  Continue to cook until the kale is wilted and tender, stirring frequently, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Transfer the contents of the pan to the bowl with the eggs.
3. Add the remaining 2-3 tsp oil to the pan.  Pour in the coconut flakes and cook, stirring frequently until the flakes are lightly golden, about 30 seconds.  Add the rice to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is hot, about 3 minutes.
4. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the pan, breaking up the scrambled egg with your spatula or spoon.  Once warmed, remove the pan from the heat.
5. Add the tarmari, chili garlic sauce and juice of ½ lime.  Stir to combine.  Taste, and if it’s not fantastic yet, add another teaspoon of tamari or a pinch of salt, as needed.
6. Slice the remaining ½ lime into wedges, then divide the fried rice into individual bowls.  Garnish with wedges of lime, cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.  

Recipe adapted from cookieandkate.com

Lemon Kale Muffins

Yield:  12 muffins

Photo from veggiedesserts.co.uk

2 cups packed raw kale leaves

½ cup unsalted butter, softened 

¾ cup sugar 

2 eggs 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 lemon, zest and juice 

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 

1 tsp baking powder 

½ teaspoon salt 

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line or grease a muffin pan. 
2. Tear the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces and boil or steam for a few minutes until tender. Refresh in cold water, drain and puree in a food processor or blender (it will still be a bit stringy). Set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the kale, vanilla, zest and lemon juice. 
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to gently combine. 
5. Fill the muffin cups ¾ full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe borrowed from www.veggiedesserts.co.uk.