May 21, 2020 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Greens!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Overwintered Spinach: Easy Crustless Spinach & Feta Pie (see below); Evergreen Salad in Sunflower Thyme Marinade

Chives: Easy Crustless Spinach & Feta Pie (see below); Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Arugula & Citrus (see below); Chive and Cheese Breadsticks; Radishes with Chive Butter

Green Garlic: Easy Crustless Spinach & Feta Pie (see below); Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Arugula & Citrus (see below)

Asparagus: Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Arugula & Citrus (see below); Cheesy Garlic Roasted Asparagus; Canal House Shaved Asparagus & Arugula Salad

Sorrel: Strawberry-Orange Sorrel Smoothie; Sorrel Hummus; Poached Fish in Sorrel Coconut Sauce

Red Radishes & Diana Radishes: Dal with Radish Raita; Radish Top Pasta with Chickpeas and Parsley; Roasted Radishes with Chive Butter

Baby Arugula: Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Arugula & Citrus (see below); Evergreen Salad in Sunflower Thyme Marinade

Saute Mix: Easy Crustless Spinach & Feta Pie (see below); Evergreen Salad in Sunflower Thyme Marinade

Little Gem Head Lettuce: Chicken Taco Lettuce Wraps; Evergreen Salad in Sunflower Thyme Marinade

Welcome back for our third week of “Cooking With the Box!”  I hope you’re enjoying delicious meals and having fun with these spring vegetables.  Based on the activity in our private Facebook group, it looks like things are happening in your kitchens!  If you haven’t yet joined our Facebook group, I’d really encourage you to do so.  There has already been a lot of great interaction amongst members, including some first-year members who are tackling & conquering nettles, ramps and other unfamiliar foods they’ve never prepared before!  I also have to say I’m very proud of one of our CSA kiddos who made gluten-free parsnip, lemon & poppyseed muffins!  One of the reasons we love growing for CSA is because it gives members a chance to not only prepare their own healthy meals, but also because it gives families a chance to cook together.  I loved cooking with my mom when I was a kid and have a lot of great memories of laughing with her while we prepared meals and baked.  So, I’m challenging you this week to involve all members of the household in helping to cook through this week’s box!

This week’s box is filled with beautiful leafy greens!  This is the season for greens and they all look so fresh and beautiful!  In this week’s vegetable feature we aren’t featuring any one vegetable, but rather are talking about “greens” in general terms as they can be used interchangeably in recipes.  One of our featured recipes this week is for Easy Crustless Spinach & Feta Pie (see below).  This recipe was shared in our Facebook group several times, so I figured it must be a good one!  It uses up to a pound of greens!  While the original recipe calls for spinach, you can use a mix of spinach along with saute mix, arugula and/or radish tops if you like.  The second recipe is for Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Arugula & Citrus (see below).  This is a nutrient packed salad that may be eaten at room temperature or cold.  It features not only asparagus and arugula, but also green garlic and chives.  It’s dressed with a light citrus vinaigrette to bring it all together.

Chicken Taco Lettuce Wraps
photo from gimmedelicious.com

We also have a cute little head of Little Gem lettuce in the box this week.  You can use it as a salad item and combine it with other greens in the box such as the baby arugula and/or saute mix.  I have been looking forward to these little heads because I like to use the leaves as wrappers for chicken or egg salad, black bean “tacos” and other fillings such as this recipe for Chicken Taco Lettuce Wraps.  We’ll likely be sending more of these little head lettuces next week, so if you have extra filling leftover save it to eat next week!

I was looking back at some of our archived recipes and came across this one for Evergreen Salad in Sunflower Thyme Marinade.  This is a tasty salad that would actually be good made with this week’s Spinach, Saute Mix and/or Little Gem Lettuce.

If you’re joining us for the first time this week, I want to refer you to our blog post last week where we featured Sorrel.  We featured several recipes including a Strawberry-Orange Sorrel Smoothie that I’ve made several times over the past week!  I also made a batch of my favorite Sorrel Hummus, but this week I want to make Poached Fish in Sorrel Coconut Sauce.  There are only 4-6 ounces of sorrel in this week’s box, so I’ll halve the recipe and make it for 2 people.

Roasted Radishes with Chive Butter
photo from finecooking.com

The radishes in this week’s box are so beautiful!  We’ve included two different varieties including the standard red radishes everyone is familiar with and Diana radishes.  The Diana radishes are the purple and white ones.  Radishes grown at this time of year are generally more well-balanced in flavor.  I seldom get past dipping them in salt and butter and popping them in my mouth.  If you want to actually use them in a recipe I highly recommend this Dal with Radish Raita.  This dish makes a great vegetarian main dinner dish.  Of course I would be slacking on my job if I let you get away without eating your radish tops too!  Check out this recipe for Radish Top Pasta with Chickpeas and Parsley.  Are you one of those individuals who doesn’t care for radishes, regardless of the season?  If so, consider eating them cooked!  This is a tasty looking recipe for Roasted Radishes with Chive Butter.  When you cook radishes, the sharpness in the flavor mellows and radishes are actually very tender, mild and often slightly sweet.

Canal House Shaved Asparagus & Arugula Salad
photo from food52.com

What are you going to do with the bunch of precious asparagus!  This recipe for Cheesy Garlic Roasted Asparagus looks pretty delicious!  Another good suggestion is to make this Canal House Shaved Asparagus & Arugula Salad, especially since we have both arugula and asparagus in the box this week.  This was posted on Food52.com by one of my favorite bloggers, Alexandra Stafford.  She actually took this quick and easy salad and turned it into a meal by spreading it out on a pre-baked flatbread/tortilla or other flat bread like item.

Last but not least, it’s time to make Chive and Cheese Breadsticks!  This recipe offers a shortcut of using frozen bread dough, which helps to cut back on prep time.  These would make a delicious accompaniment to a big, fresh salad!

I hope you have a great week and make sure you “Eat Your Greens!”  Next week we’re hoping to harvest sweet little baby white turnips along with some overwintered onions.  We’ll also likely harvest our first crop of spring-planted spinach and maybe even some salad mix!  Have a great week!---Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Look at All These Greens!

By Chef Andrea

“Food is the most intimate connection we have with our Earth, as we literally become the food that we eat…..It is not a coincidence that certain foods give us what we need during specific times of the year:  high-water-content foods in summer, such as crispy cucumbers and tomatoes cool us down;  sweetly rich, starchy, calorie-dense foods like pumpkins and beets to fuel us through the winter.  By taking our cues from nature we align ourselves with the rhythms of the Earth, and consequently our bodies’ needs, meanwhile sensually tuning in to the exquisite yet fleeting deliciousness of each cycle.”—Sarah Britton from My New Roots.

This is the time of the year when leafy greens are abundant and make up a large portion of a seasonal Midwestern diet.  As we come out of winter, you may find your body craving green vegetables.  Thankfully, nature’s design provides us with nutrient rich greens bursting with vitality to bring us out of our winter dormancy.  Some greens, such as nettles and sorrel, are perennial or wild crops that just come up in the spring on their own.  Then there’s the overwintered spinach that was planted last fall, spent the winter under a cover in the field, and now we’re harvesting the new growth this spring.  These crops help us get a jump start on the season providing fresh vegetables ahead of other crops that we have to plant and wait for in the spring.  However, some crops such as the baby arugula, saute greens and mini heads of lettuce in this week’s box grow to harvestable size in just 4-6 weeks.  These crops are also more cold hardy and thrive in cooler temperatures.  All of these greens are an important part of our spring diet both because they are available but also because they have valuable vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that benefit our bodies in many ways, especially in the spring!

Saute Mix

So this week we’re not going to talk about a specific vegetable, but rather a more generalized approach to embracing this class of vegetables we’re going to simply refer to as “greens.”  For starters, lets embrace the fact that greens are nature’s fast foods! They are tender enough to eat raw, but may also be lightly steamed or sautéed.  Either way, they can become a meal in a very short period of time..like minutes!  Toss the greens with a light vinaigrette and you have the base for a salad.  It could be just a simple salad of greens and vinaigrette or you can add anything you want to turn it into more of a substantial salad that could serve as your entire meal.  Raw or cooked vegetables such as asparagus, radishes, carrots, etc along with dried or fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, croutons, hard-boiled eggs, grilled beef, shredded chicken, fish or cooked beans.  The combinations of ways you can build a salad are limitless and the greens serve as the base upon which to build your masterpiece!

Wilting Amaranth Greens in saute pan

Cooked greens can be very simple or may be incorporated into a wide variety of other dishes and preparations.  You don’t really need a recipe to cook greens.  Basically, put them in a pan with either a little bit of oil and/or a little liquid.  The liquid could be a little bit of water, fruit juice, wine, broth, cream or milk, or even just a splash of soy sauce.  You just need to create some steam with heat and liquid.  Put a lid on the pan for a minute or two just until the greens wilt down.  Once wilted, take the lid off and you’re done.  Eat them on their own or incorporate them into a wide variety of things including quesadillas, grain dishes, pasta, eggs, casseroles, smoothies, soups—so many options.  The other thing about cooking greens is that they go from a big fluffy pile that looks like a lot, maybe even too much for you to ever eat your way through, to a pile that will fit in the palm of your hand once they are cooked.  You’ll go from saying “What am I going to do with all these greens” to “Where did all my greens go?  As I’ve said so many times before, don’t be intimated by a vegetable, especially a bountiful pile of leafy greens!

Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Arugula & Citrus

Yield:  4 servings as a light meal or more as a side

2 cups water

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ cup green garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 cup quinoa

12 ounces asparagus, woody ends trimmed, sliced into 1-inch lengths

Finely grated zest of ½ large orange 

½ cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped

1 cup finely chopped chives

1 cup roughly chopped baby arugula

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Citrus Dressing

Juice of ½ large orange  

Juice of 1 lemon 

2 tsp honey or maple syrup

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1. Begin by boiling about 2 cups of water in a kettle.  Heat remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil in a saucepan, add green garlic and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly until translucent.  Add sesame seeds and quinoa and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often until lightly toasted.  Add 1 ½ cups boiling water, reduce to a gentle simmer, cover pan, and cook for 10-12 minutes until all the water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender.  Remove from heat.  Leaving the lid on, set aside to steam for another 5 minutes before fluffing up with a fork.  Cool to room temperature.  
2. Meanwhile, blanch asparagus in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 1-2 mintues or until just tender.  Drain and refresh in cold water.
3. To make the citrus dressing, simmer orange and lemon juice in a small saucepan until reduced by half.  Remove from the heat, add honey or maple syrup, then pour in olive oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly to form a lovely emulsified dressing.  Taste and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 
4. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and stir in orange zest, almonds, chives, asparagus, arugula, feta cheese and the dressing.  Toss well and adjust seasoning if needed. 

Recipe adapted from Emma Galloway’s book, My Darling Lemon Thyme.

Easy Crust-less Spinach and Feta Pie

Yield:  4-6 servings

photo from skinnytaste.com

1 pound fresh spinach and/or other leafy greens (10 oz frozen spinach or greens)

½ cup chopped green onions, chives or green garlic

2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

½ cup crumbled feta

2 Tbsp grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

⅔ cup milk

1 tsp olive oil

2 large eggs, beaten

½ tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Lightly grease a pie pan with oil.
3. If using fresh spinach and/or greens, you need to cook them first.  Heat a medium size pan over medium heat.  Add a few tablespoons of water and the greens.  Cover the pan and simmer for a few minutes or until the greens are wilted.  Put the greens in a colander and rinse with cold water.  Once cooled, squeeze the excess water out of the greens and roughly chop them with a knife.
4. Mix the spinach and/or other greens along with the green onion, dill, parsley, and feta cheese.  Spoon the mixture into the pie dish.  
5. Bake for 28-33 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let the pie stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe was adapted from www.skinnytaste.com and was shared by a member in our private Facebook group this year as well as in previous years.  I figured a recipe that makes a return appearance in the group is worth sharing with others!  It’s also a great recipe for using a large quantity of greens.  Don’t be afraid to mix and match whatever leafy greens you have available.

Vegetable Feature: Fall In Love With Arugula

By Laurel Blomquist

     Arugula is one of the dozens of brassicas we grow.  Some folks call it rocket for its fiery taste. Personally, I think arugula is best in the spring and the fall, when the flavor is more balanced and it’s a little sweeter. In any case, the greens are full of flavor and therefore often mixed with other greens to tone them down, especially if eaten raw.
     Arugula is especially popular all around the Mediterranean, which is where this plant originated. It’s eaten on pizzas and pastas and even made into a digestive liqueur in Italy.  It’s used commonly in salads and omelets in Greece. It is recommended for newlywed couples in Saudi Arabia, possibly because of its ancient reputation for stirring the libido. In Egypt, arugula is eaten with fava beans for breakfast, and seafood for dinner while those in Turkey make it into a sauce with olive oil and lemon juice to eat with fish. In Slovenia, it is mixed with potatoes or soups, or served with cheese burek, a kind of pastry.
     As a brassica, arugula has some amazing health benefits. It’s an excellent source of fiber, Vitamins A, C, and K, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and manganese. In addition, arugula contains protein, thiamin, riboflavin, Vitamin B6, zinc, copper and pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5), which raises good cholesterol while lowering bad. Arugula scores over 600 on the ANDI, or Aggregate Nutrient Density Index, which puts it in the top 10 nutrient-dense foods available!
     Additionally, arugula’s flavonoids prevent cholesterol from getting stuck in your arteries, lowers blood pressure, increases blood flow, lowers inflammation and improves blood vessel function. Generally, arugula is great for the heart and circulatory system to name just a few health benefits.
     Arugula pairs well with roasted and cured meats, cheese, cream, fruit (pears, apples, berries, citrus, etc), fruity vinegars, mustard, nuts, mushrooms, winter squash and more! It can be used in salads, on sandwiches, included in pasta dishes and much more.  However you use it, arugula is one fall vegetable you don’t want to miss out on.

Arugula Pesto & Apples

Recipe by Andrea Yoder

Yield: 1 ½ cups

2 cloves garlic
¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts
3 cups lightly packed arugula (approximately ½ of a bunch)
2 oz or ½ cup shredded Parmesan
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & black pepper, to taste

1. Place the garlic cloves and pumpkin seeds or pine nuts in a food processor.  Process briefly, then add the arugula, shredded Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of salt and black pepper.  Turn the processor on again and, while it’s running, pour the olive oil through the feed tube in a thin, steady stream.  Once all of the oil is incorporated, process until it is a moderately thick paste.  Stop the machine and scrape down the sides as needed to make sure all the ingredients are well-incorporated.
2. Taste the pesto and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.  Refrigerate until you are ready to use.  For best flavor and consistency, bring to room temperature before using.  You can store the pesto in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or put it into smaller quantities and freeze it for later use.

     Arugula pesto can be very pungent if you eat it on its own, but when combined with other foods it becomes very balanced and a complementary ingredient.  In addition to using it on a pizza, as is highlighted in this newsletter, you can use arugula pesto in a lot of other ways.  Here are a few ideas to get you started.  1) Stir a spoonful into scrambled eggs or a frittata.  2) Use arugula pesto as a spread on a hot roast beef sandwich along with garlic mayonnaise, sliced roast beef and melted mozzarella cheese.  3) Spice up your morning bagel by spreading the pesto on top of cream cheese on your bagel.  Top it off with fresh tomato slices.  4) Make a baked potato and top it off with sour cream, bacon bits and a few dollops of arugula pesto. 5) Make an omelet or a crepe with stone ground mustard, arugula pesto, slices of ham and gouda cheese.

Pizza with Arugula Pesto, Roasted Butternut Squash & Apples

Recipe by Andrea Yoder

Yield:1 (8-9 inch) pizza

Pizza dough for an 8 to 10 inch pizza

2-3 cups butternut squash, peeled & cut into ½-inch cubes

1 Tbsp sunflower or olive oil

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

3-4 Tbsp arugula pesto (or to taste)

1 medium apple, thinly sliced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

3-4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Preheat the oven to 375-400°F.  First, roast the squash.  Put the squash cubes in a medium mixing bowl and drizzle with the olive oil.  Toss to lightly coat the squash, then add the cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.  Spread the squash in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Place in the oven and roast for about 20-30 minutes.  Stir the squash and then return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes or until it is tender and golden on the outside.  Remove from the oven and set aside.  Note, this step may be done in advance.

2. Prepare the pizza dough.  Press or roll it out into an 8-9 inch round, or larger if you like a thinner crust.  Place the dough on a pizza stone or baking pan.  Parbake the crust in the oven for about 5-7 minutes.  Remove from the oven.

3. Evenly spread arugula pesto on the warm pizza crust, making sure you spread it all the way to the edges.  Next, lay out the apple slices on top of the pesto.  Sprinkle thinly sliced onion on top of the apples.  Spread the roasted butternut squash on top of the onion and finish off the pizza by spreading shredded mozzarella over the entire pizza.

4. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown and the crust is baked to your liking.

Vegetable Feature: Fennel

by Andrea Yoder
Fennel is such a beautiful vegetable.  As you walk between the rows of fennel in the field, you can’t help but run your hand over the soft, feathery fronds.  You’ll definitely be able to identify fennel from other vegetables in your box this week as it has both a unique appearance as well as a distinct aroma.   Most of the fennel plant is edible, however the white bulb at the base of the plant is the most commonly used part.  The soft, fine, feathery green portion extending off the stalks is what we refer to as the “fronds.” The fronds are also edible and can be used more as an herb, seasoning or garnish to add a bit of flavor to soups, salads, flat breads, pizza, beverages, etc.  The stalks are often too fibrous to eat, however they have a lot of flavor in them and can be added to simmering soups, stocks, etc.  If left to continue growing, a fennel plant will eventually produce seed and fennel pollen which can both be used in cooking as well.
Fennel has the flavor of anise, or mild licorice.  The bulb is crisp and sweet and can be eaten raw or cooked.  Raw fennel should be sliced paper thin and can be used to make a quick summer salad such as the recipe featured in the newsletter this week.  Fennel contains a volatile oil called anethole which is responsible for its licorice flavor and aroma.  When sautéed, roasted or otherwise cooked, the oils volatilize which lessens the intensity of the flavor and the sugars in the vegetable start to caramelize.  Thus, cooking mellows and sweetens the flavor while the color changes from bright white to a golden hue.  I’d encourage those who may not care for the intense flavor or raw fennel to try it in its cooked form.  You might find you actually like it!
Fennel is often used in gratins, cream soups, seafood dishes, simple salads and antipasto platters.  It pairs well with a whole host of other foods including lemons, oranges, apples, honey, white wine, olives, beets, tomatoes, potatoes, fish, seafood, pork, cured meats, beans, cream, Parmesan cheese, feta cheese, cucumbers, dill and parsley.
Fennel has a lot of beneficial health properties as well.  It is a good source of calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins C & A.  The volatile oil I mentioned earlier, anethole, has been shown to reduce inflammation and help prevent some cancers.  It is also a natural digestive and breath freshener.
Fennel should be stored in the refrigerator, loosely wrapped in plastic. When you are ready to use it, you may need to peel off the outer layer of the bulb.  Cut the bulb in half and make a V-shaped cut into the core at the base of the fennel bulb.  Remove most of the core, then slice thinly or cut as desired.

Shaved Fennel Salad

Recipe featured on 101cookbooks.com by Heidi Swanson

Serves 4-6
1 medium-large zucchini, sliced into paper thin coins
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed and shaved paper-thin
⅔ cup loosely chopped fresh dill
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice, plus more if needed
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
fine grain sea salt
4 or 5 generous handfuls arugula
Honey, if needed
½ cup pine nuts, toasted (may substitute almonds)
⅓ cup feta cheese, crumbled

1. Combine the zucchini, fennel and dill in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside and marinate for 20 minutes, or up to an hour.
2. When you are ready to serve the salad, put the arugula in a large bowl. Scoop all of the zucchini and fennel onto the arugula, and pour most of the lemon juice dressing on top of that. Toss gently but thoroughly. Taste and adjust with more of the dressing, olive oil, lemon juice, or salt if needed. If the lemons were particularly tart, you may need to counter the pucker-factor by adding a tiny drizzle of honey into the salad at this point. Let your taste buds guide you. 
3. Serve topped with pine nuts and feta.

Cucumber-Fennel Fizz

Recipe featured on food52.com

Yield: 2 drinks

1 cucumber 

1 ½ tsp fresh lime juice 

1 Tbsp unfiltered apple cider vinegar 

4 ice cubes 

1 inch fresh fennel 

1 can club soda or ginger ale 

2 short stalks fresh fennel for garnish 

10 frozen blueberries 

3 ounces gin (optional) 

1. Skin cucumber, cut into 4 chunks, and toss into blender. 
2. Add lime juice, apple cider vinegar, ice, and 1-inch fresh fennel. Add gin if using. Blend until smooth and foamy, about 2 minutes. Don’t be tempted to add more liquid unless your cucumber is exceptionally dry and it refuses to blend. (In which case add a dash of soda.) 
3. Share the cucumber mix between two glasses, adding either club soda or ginger ale in a 1:1 ratio. Add 5 frozen blueberries to each glass. Garnish with a sprig of fresh fennel.