Ramp Cheddar and Brebis Cheeses

We were delighted to receive another veggie share from Harmony Valley Farm today, along with our once-a-month cheese share. Here's what was in our veggie box, along with some luscious looking raspberries (Photo courtesy of Harmony Valley Farm):

I have to confess. Now that we are getting some more 'normal' veggies (that is, things this City Girl is used to) I'm having a harder time using up the box. I think I enjoy the challenge of using up new veggies. The usual carrots, cucumber, zucchini and greens are leaving me less than excited to use them up. That's too bad. So today's cheese selection managed to provide me with that challenge.

I had already planned to make homemade pizza or calzones with some of our cooking greens from either our garden or a previous box, I don't even remember which. But we were out of cheese. So you can imagine my surprise to find out that it was also a cheese share day. Perfect! We got Castle Rock Organic Dairy's Mild Cheddar, Otter Creek Organic Dairy's & Harmony Valley Farm's Ramp Cheddar, and Butler Farm's Brebis. Hmmm.....not exactly pizza cheese. I was hoping for a nice Monterey Jack or Mozzarella in the mix somewhere. So I whipped open my How To Cook Everything Vegetarian book and found the perfect solution, which I of course in the spirit of all things Mark Bittman, modified to make it my own. Plus one extra gem I was able to tailor to my ingredients and whip up.

Ramp Cheddar Calzone

(Yes, I forgot to take a picture until all we had left was this little piece...) 2 c Brebis cheese, broken into small clumps (I used the whole container)
2 c Ramp Cheddar, grated
1-2 c finely chopped, cooked greens (Mine looked like it was probably a mixture of kale and chard. But spinach, kale, chard, or the like would all work just fine.)

1 recipe of your favorite pizza dough (large enough to make 2-3 large calzones). If you choose to make just 2 calzones, you will have enough leftover filling to make the Savory Ramp Cheddar Bread Pudding recipe below, like I did.

Roll out pizza dough into 2 or 3 rounds, depending on the number of calzones you'd like to make. Pile as about 1/3 of the filling onto one half of the dough. Fold the other half over and fold up the edges to seal. Bake all calzones on cookie sheets at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.

Have some leftover filling like I did? (I only had enough dough for 2 calzones, because I used some to also make my four-year-old a pepperoni pizza.) No problem!!

Try this:

Savory Ramp Cheddar Bread Pudding
3 c milk
4 T butter
8 slices of day old bread
3 eggs
Cheddar Cheese, shredded, enough to add to the filling (if needed) to make total filling amount equal 2 cups

Heat milk & butter in a saucepan or microwave until warmed and butter is melted. Break bread into bite sized pieces in an 8x8 baking dish. Cover with milk and let soak for a few minutes. Beat the 3 eggs and stir, along with cheese & greens filling, into the bread and milk mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fennel Beet and Orange Salad

OK, confession time: I have NEVER eaten fennel or beets. They are completely new veggies to me. Seriously. New. So I had to come up with some way to try these things. And boy am I glad that Harmony Valley Farm's recipes came to the rescue! I made this salad to take to a potluck and was sorry that I forgot to take the little bit leftover back home with me it was so good! Oh, and I don't care for mustard so I omitted that part and it was still delicious!

Fennel Beet and Orange Salad
from Harmony Valley Farm
2-3 medium beets
1 head of fennel
2 oranges
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1.Preheat oven to 400 º. Remove beet tops and set aside. Trim stems to 1”, scrub beets, rub with oil, and roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool.
2.Thinly slice fennel bulb crosswise and sauté slowly with a small amount of oil over low heat until it is nicely browned. Remove from heat.
3.Zest one orange. Whisk balsamic with orange zest, Dijon, 2 Tbsp oil, and salt and pepper.
4.Cut peels and white pith from oranges. Cut crosswise into thin slices.
5.Chop fennel stalks and reserve fronds.
6.Peel cooled beets and cut into 1” chunks.
7.Toss browned fennel bulb with orange slices, beets, fennel stalks, and dressing.
8.Sprinkle with chopped fennel fronds to taste.

Cheese Fondue with my Veggie & Cheese Shares

When I saw the recipe for cheese fondue in the Harmony Valley Farm newsletter for my latest cheese share and thought of the fact that I had one green apple on it's last legs, cauliflower, zucchini, tofu, and homemade whole-wheat bread all plentifully available in my kitchen already, I knew this was a meal I would be sure to make. The only problem is I have a wife pregnant with twins and the fondue called for a beer. We are taking every precaution to make sure this pregnancy goes well, so that was definitely out of the question. So I did what any determined City Girl would do. I made up my own. Armed with Organic Cedar Grove Monterey Jack, Otter Creek Summer Cheddar, and Pasture Land Coop's Sogne cheeses I got to work.

Cheese and Onion Fondue
1 T butter
2 White Cipollini onions, bulbs only, chopped (save the green parts for another dish)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T flour
1 c milk or half and half
1 c Sogne cheese, finely grated
1 c Monterey Jack cheese, grated
2 c Cheddar Cheese, grated

Set the fondue pot to 'simmer' and add butter and onions. Cook onions for 2 minutes then add Worcestershire sauce and flour stirring well. Add the milk or half and half and heat until milk begins to thicken. You may need to increase the heat on the fondue pot slightly. Reduce heat back to 'simmer', and add cheeses one handful at a time. When melted, add the next handful.

I used an electric fondue pot with a 'simmer' setting to cook my fondue. If you don't have an electric pot, I'd recommend simmering the ingredients in a pot on your stove over medium-low heat instead.

The cauliflower, zucchini, and apple are all excellent in the fondue raw. For the bread, I cut it into large cubes and toasted in the oven for 10 minutes in a shallow baking pan. For the tofu, I buy mine at an Asian grocery already pressed. If you don't, you may need to press the tofu. I honestly have never done it. The Asian market is so much easier! You can chop it into large cubes, and dip in egg or milk, then breadcrumbs, and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

And here's the finished spread. Minus the apple. Because that was actually a last-minute addition.

Growing Cauliflower

Now, I've tried plenty of the usual veggies in my garden before. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, herbs... But this year is my first year trying cauliflower. And I am forever indebted to Harmony Valley Farm because on our visit there a few weeks ago, I heard them mention the fact that you must TIE your cauliflower leaves to cover the new baby head of cauliflower in order to keep if white. If you don't it will turn brown! I had no idea! So I finally tied my cauliflower the other day. Well, rubber-banded it that is. I found an excellent illustration here.

What about you? Are there any last minute surprising garden tips you got wind of just in time? Or any that you didn't but wish you had?

Oh, and here's our first harvest from one of the square foot gardens, a beautiful little cucumber:

Grapefruit Granita

In a few more days we'll get another fruit share, so we're still trying to make it through the last one. My favorite from the last box was the grapefruit. However since it's a little time intensive to eat compared to most fruits I decided to use most of it to make granita. It was excellent. Basically not much more than frozen, slushy grapefruit juice but it felt like a nice healthy summer treat.

Grapefruit Granita
juice from 4-5 grapefruit (about 2 cups)
zest from 1 orange
juice from 1 orange
1/3 c Splenda or sugar (or more to taste)
1/4 c water

Mix all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Pour into a 13x9 pan and freeze for about 2 hours, using a fork to break up the crystals every 30-45 minutes. If you are going to store before serving, but it into an air tight container once frozen. If you like it sweet you will definitely want more sugar. I like mine tart so thought this was perfect.

CSA Week 9

Last week we got another installment of our veggie & cheese shares from Harmony Valley Farm: Fresh garlic, White cipollini onions, Red beets, Fennel, Carrots, Thai basil, Cucumbers , Snow Peas, Baby bok choi, Salad Mix, Cauliflower, Otter Creek Summer Cheddar, Pasture Land Coop's Sogne, Cedar Grove Monterey Jack.
Plans for the loot? Well, I've honestly never tried beets or fennel. So thinking of trying those roasted since it seems to have been a big hit for some of the other veggies that were new to the City Girl household so far. I'm sure I'll make use of the cucumbers and carrots with the salad mix, and as snacks by themselves. And all that cheese? I'm thinking of a lovely cheese fondue which would also lend itself well to the cauliflower and a leftover zucchini from our last box. As for the rest, we'll have to see!

Radish Parmesan Pizza

Wow. I can't believe it's almost time to pick up a new installment of our veggie share from Harmony Valley Farm (this Thursday!) and we've used up our entire share! Well, except for a tiny bit of spinach that went bad. That really is a tragedy because I've discovered how easy it is to throw spinach into nearly anything! Ah well. More for the compost I guess!

One of my most exciting discoveries since joining a CSA has been that I LIKE RADISHES! Well, cooked radishes that is! I still don't care for them much raw, though I have a suspicion I might like them just fine if they were grated into a salad. I have tried them roasted on the grill, sauteed with butter, onions, and a bit of salt and now for my most recent experiment: Radish Pizza! Sound a little weird? It's not! It was really shockingly good.

Here's what I did.

Radish Parmesan Pizza
Prepare Pizza Dough (see my previous post)

Topping:
a bit of grapeseed oil
2 garlic scapes, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
4-5 small radishes, thinly sliced, for a SMALL pizza (cut up more for a large one!)
1/4 c Thoten or parmesan cheese

Throw the oil & garlic scapes into the skillet. Saute the scapes until they are just beginning to soften. Then add onions, rosemary and radishes. Saute until radishes are just beginning to brown slightly. Spread the mixture on the pizza dough. Top with cheese. You may use more if you like, but I liked using a scant amount of cheese for this one. Cook at 450 degrees 10-15 minutes or until crust is beginning to brown.

I took this pizza to a Fourth of July lunch with some relatives, along with a pesto spinach pizza, basic cheese pizza, and Mango Avocado Lime Salad and I'm happy to say they were all devoured!

Mango Avocado Salad

Due to our fabulous Harmony Valley Farm fruit share we seem to have an abundance of several things: mangoes, avocados, plums, peaches, and nectarines. WOW!! So I've been stewing on what to do with all of these things because we seem to be getting a bit more fruit than we can handle in two-weeks time before the next fruit share box comes our way.

While I'm still deciding what to try with my plums (plum wine or canned whole plums?) I stumbled upon the PERFECT use for my mangoes and avocados. Mango Avocado Lime Salad. At first I thought, "What??? Mangoes and Avocados together???" But tasked with providing lunch for a few relatives over fourth of July (a group of 5 adults and 3 kids) and trying to make the most of my CSA shares, I decided to give it a whirl.

I of course modified what I saw a bit to fit what I had on hand. I also couldn't resist adding some lime zest which the original recipe did not call for. It gave the yogurt such a yummy lime zing! Here's the City Girl version.

Mango Avocado Lime Salad

1 large mango
1 large avocado, firm and not too ripe
1 lime
8 oz vanilla yogurt

Cut mango & avocado into bite-sized pieces and mix together in a bowl. Firm avocado will hold up best, but go ahead even if you have one that's very ripe and soft. Zest the lime and add zest to the yogurt in a small dish. This will be the dressing for the salad. Squeeze juice from the lime into the mango/avocado mixture. Let the salad and yogurt sit overnight for the BEST fresh lime flavor you can imagine! When serving guests should drizzle the yogurt over their salad.

I tried this once by preparing it about 30 minutes before it was served. The results were not nearly as good as the time I let it sit overnight. So do some early prep work and you'll have a FABULOUS summer salad!

CSA Weeks 5 & 6

I've been on a gardening kick so I figure it's time to get back on track with a post on the CSA adventure. There's lots to report on! For starters we started getting our scrumptious fruit shares!! We got the first one two weeks ago and are still eating through the last of our plums and peaches from that box. I have to say it's been about the most delicious fruit this city girl has had in a long time! And there's another fruit share coming tomorrow. It'll include Sugraone Grapes, Gold Pineapple, Tommy Atkins Mangoes, Red Raven Plums, Arctic Sweet Nectarines, Gold Dust Peaches, and Star Ruby Grapefruit. How lucky am I? I'm contemplating whether I should try my hand at plum wine or just can a bunch of the huge amount of plums we have. I'll keep ya updated!

Then there's the veggie box we got last week. I have to admit I feel I'm not making as good of progress through this one as I'd like. It came with lots of greens (for both salads and cooking) and I had just bought a huge bunch of lettuce from the Minneapolis farmer's market the week before. Yikes! I think we need to get our rears in gear around here and start eating some salads!

Last night I made a dent in our veggie supply with a brand new city girl original creation. And boy was it good! Everything in it except for the cornmeal and liquids came from our CSA or the Minneapolis farmer's market. Yum! Here's the scoop.

Layered Parmesan Polenta Bake
serves 4-6

1 c milk
2 c water
1 t salt
2 c cornmeal
1 t fresh sage, chopped
1 t fresh rosemary, chopped
1 T oil (I used a garlic flavored oil)
2 c fresh spinach (not packed), chopped
3 spring onions, chopped - bulb and stalk portions kept separate
2 garlic scapes, chopped
1 t fresh basil, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced thin
3/4 - 1 c Thoten or Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat oven to 400. Combine milk, water and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the sage, rosemary and cornmeal, whisking while you add it to prevent lumps. Simmer on low, whisking frequently, until thick. Pour thickened mixture into a 2 qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 c of cheese, or more if desired.

Heat oil in a skillet and cook scapes and bulb portion of spring onions until softened. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Spread evenly on top of polenta. Top with another 1/4 c cheese (or more).

Add basil, tops of the spring onions and zucchini to skillet and cook until tender. Layer in the casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is beginning to brown.

Using up the box!

Thursday is time for another box of veggies already! So I have some work to do in order to use up the stuff from our last box! Today I made huge progress by adapting the Autumn Minestrone from my Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special cookbook to what I had left in the fridge. It was delish!! Apologies for not including pictures...I took some and they somehow disappeared into the ether when I transferred them from camera to pc. So here's the City Girl version:

Root Vegetable Minestrone
2 T vegetable oil
1 c chopped spring onions and/or scallions in any combination
3 garlic scapes, minced
2 kohlrabi, diced
3 small potatoes, diced
2 small sweet potatoes, diced
1-2 t fresh oregano
4-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
6 c water
1 bunch yukina savoy, chopped (about 3 cups loosely packed)
1 c chopped pea shoots
1 can white beans

Saute onions & garlic scapes in oil for 5 minutes. Add kohlrabi, potatoes, sweet potatoes , oregano, basil, salt, pepper and water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes and kohlrabi are almost done. Add the yukina savoy, pea shoots, and beans and simmer for another 5-7 minutes.

Mmmm....dare I say this might be the best soup I've ever made?

More glorious rhubarb....and strawberries!

The abundance of strawberries in our garden is starting to grow! The other day my four-year-old and I picked almost four cups worth of bright red beautiful strawberries. My netting is actually working to keep out the squirrels! Or is it the fake owl? Hmmm....

Curiously, for some reason we have many strawberries that are turning out with two little pointed ends instead of one. As my four-year-old describes it, "It has feet!" Good thing they still taste the same as the others!
So to use up a bunch of the strawberries and rhubarb from our garden I made a pie. My first strawberry rhubarb pie ever and my first time making a lattice crust on top. Turned out pretty good!

And to use up another bunch of rhubarb, tonight I made Rhubarb Pork Chop Bake. If you're looking for something new to do with your rhubarb this is a must try recipe!!! It was so good that this is going to have to be a tradition from now on in the City Girl household come rhubarb season. It's basically pork chops cooked with a sweet rhubarb stuffing. I'd say you could add a couple more pieces of bread than they call for. Mine seemed kinda scant...but it was still delish! And I got to serve it along side some salad made with greens from our garden and our Harmony Valley Farm CSA share topped with fresh CSA strawberries. Yum!!

Hon Tsai Tai, Sunchokes and Veggie Storage Tips

Okay, so my Chinese friend was interested in helping me a little more with my hon tsai tai. He suggested another way to prepare it using bacon. His advice was to chop bacon into small pieces and cook bacon with a little bit of stir fry oil. Then, remove the bacon, and cook chopped hon tsai tai in the remaining oil. Add back the bacon and mix it all up, and voila! One more way to serve this beautiful veggie! He said in China they have a kind of smoked meat that we don't have here, and that bacon is probably our closest equivalent.

I tried his advice, along with some Sunchoke and Potato American Fries. I could kinda feel my arteries clogging as I ate all that bacon (maybe I'd use less next time?), but it was pretty good for a once-in-a-while kinda meal. I should also say that I did add a handful of spinach and some of my leftover green garlic puree to the stir fry too.

A coupla tips for the sunchokes - boil a few along with some potatoes ahead of time, then keep 'em in the fridge. It seems you can add sunchokes almost anywhere you'd use a potato. I've been adding a bit of my chopped pre-cooked sunchokes and potatoes to some eggs in the morning for breakfast. Yum! Another great use for sunchokes is this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G sunchoke dip. It's something akin to hummus and you can use up the whole batch of sunchokes in one batch if you want. I made mine without the chiles since I wanted it to be friendly for my four-year-old.

And lastly, one thing this city girl struggles with when I get a new box of veggies is how to best store 'em. Occasionally our Harmony Valley Farm newsletter will have some advice such as 'wrap in a damp paper towel and store in the crisper'...but not always. So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a site with great info on how to store nearly any veggie. And of course I'm gonna share it with you! Enjoy!

Vegetable Storage Guidelines (courtesy of Angelic Organics)

What a Way to Use Those Parsnips!

Parsnips are one of those things in the box that this City Girl actually LOVES. So no difficulty using these up. But once again I decided to get creative with those lovable roots. I was inspired by a combination of Pizza Luce's Baked Potato Pizza, Harmony Valley Farm's Whipped Parsnips recipe, and the most recent Harmony Valley Farm blog entry detailing the creation of some spring veggie pizzas, especially the part about using green garlic to create a 'sauce' for the pizza. I came up with Loaded Parsnip Pizza.

Here's what I did.

1) Prepare pizza crust from scratch (or you can take the easy way out and buy one). This pizza crust recipe from 1,000 Low Fat Recipes is City Girl's favorite. AND to top it off it's pretty healthy! It makes enough for two large pizzas so be prepared to make a second or else freeze the rest for a later date.

Pizza Dough
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 c warm water
1 t sugar
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 c unbleached, all purpose white flour
1 t salt
1 t olive oil

Combine the yeast, water, and sugar in a bowl. Once the yeast begins to foam, mix in the oil, salt, and 1 c of the flour. Gradually add the rest of the flour until a ball of dough forms. Stir in the flour until it is too stiff to use a spoon, then knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth and springy.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, or on a piece of waxed paper, cover with a damp towel, and allow to rise for as long as desired, but at least 30 minutes (45 for softer crust).

Punch down the dough and divide it into 2 balls (or 4 for small pizzas). Let rest 5 to 10 minutes, then roll or stretch each ball into a pizza pie shape. Dough can be frozen tightly wrapped, for about 2 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator (this can take 12 hours or more), then bring it to room temperature, allow to rise 30 minutes or longer before using.

2) Make Whipped Parsnips recipe on HVF website.

3) Cook 10-12 strips of bacon (more or less to your desire) and dice. Finely chop 6-8 chives.

4) Green Garlic Paste: Dice 3 green garlics, stems and bulbs, and puree in food processor with up to 1/4 c olive oil. The goal is to get this to a pesto-like consistency so add olive oil a bit at a time until it seems right.

5) Assembly time!! Assemble in this order:
green garlic paste (I used about half of what was made, and ended up wishing I used it all so don't skimp!)
whipped parsnips spread evenly over the top
grated cheese (I'd recommend cheddar or a marble-jack rather than mozzarella), and sprinkle top with bacon and chives. I went light on the bacon and wished I'd used more so don't skimp on that either!

Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is lightly brown. Ta da!! There ya have it - Loaded Parsnip Pizza! AMAZINGLY GOOD!!! Enjoy!

Hon Tsai Tai, Pea Vine, and other Veggie Delights

Wow. I am so enjoying the bounty of our latest box of goodies from Harmony Valley Farm. So far, we have made from our box:

Pea Vine, Hon Tsai Tai Stir Fry
Orange Pea Vine Salad

Roasted Rhubarb and Apples

Rhubarb Bundt Cake

And I have to say that the stir fry was hands-down the BEST stir fry I have ever made! I am so far psyched with the green garlic, hon tsai tai and pea vines. My four-year-old still says 'eeeew....I don't like that....' at most dishes featuring these new veggies but the veggies shall not be defeated! I read somewhere that a child needs to be introduced to a new food some umpteen number of times before they will decide to like it. So if he has to eat peanut butter and jelly all summer (the old stand-by once he's tried a few bites of the prepared dinner) until he finally gives in that's fine by me! I have faith that he will come around because these dinners have been some of the best this city girl has cooked up in a LONG time!

And yes, you read right, that was ROASTED rhubarb on my list!! This was definitely a recipe for those who like the more natural tart taste of rhubarb. I think next time I will add more sugar or throw some splenda into the mix. The original recipe came from The Wednesday Chef but of course City Girl had to make a few modifications based on what was on hand:

Roasted Rhubarb

7 ounces rhubarb
1 large apple, peeled and sliced
1 lemon
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1/4 c brown sugar (or more to taste)
whipping cream (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the rhubarb strings by using a knife to cut under the top of the string just a bit and then peel it off, down the length of the rhubarb, with your fingers. Cut the rhubarb into 2-to-2 1/2-inch pieces and place in a medium bowl with the apples.
2. Grate the zest of half the lemon into a small bowl and then squeeze the juice of the whole lemon into the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and sugar and stir to combine. Pour over rhubarb and apples and toss to coat.
3. Pour the rhubarb and apple mixture into a baking dish and arrange the pieces so that they lie flat. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

*Some feel that de-stringing the rhubarb is not necessary. I have read that it's better to do so and so gave it a try this time around. It was actually kind of fun to do and the little strings of rhubarb curled up when peeled off and made a pretty little pile on my cutting board.

And last but definitely NOT least, here are the other amazing delectables we cooked up over the past few days.

Pea Vine, Hon Tsai Tai Stir Fry

2 cups of loosely packed pea vines - woody stalks removed, softer stalks and leaves chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 c chopped hon tsai tai - chopped, purple thick stalks separated from the rest
1 green garlic - stalk only, thinly sliced, reserve the garlic head for another use
2 green onions - sliced
1-2 T stir fry oil
Soy Sauce

Cook the chopped purple pieces of hon tsai tai in stir fry oil over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until they begin to soften, stirring often. This part of the hon tsai tai is much 'woodier' than the rest and will require longer cooking time. Once they are beginning to soften, add the green garlic and green onions and cook for 1 minute. Then add the pea vines. The woody stalks of pea vines can be quite tough too, which is why I removed the bottoms of mine. The top half and the leafy parts seemed tender enough. When the pea vines are beginning to soften, add soy sauce to taste. The green garlic and hon tsai tai in this dish lend an AMAZING flavor to the stir fried greens!

You can add any meat you like to this, by stir-frying the meat first until almost done. We stir-fried some chicken separately so that our four year old could have some plain old meat with his rice.

Orange Pea Vine Salad
(City Girl's new fave summer salad!)

3 c spring salad mix, loosely packed
3 c spinach, loosely packed
1 c pea vines, loosely packed
1 sunchoke, cut into thin matchstick pieces
1 orange, peeled and diced

Dresssing:
1/4 c orange juice
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 T sesame oil
Few dashes of soy sauce
1 T sugar

Mix the salad ingredients first in a large bowl. In a separate dish mix the dressing. Pour desired amount of dressing over the salad and toss. The dressing will make enough for a few salads, so you can store the rest in the fridge for later use. This salad is a refreshing spring treat, and the splash of orange flavor with sesame oil gives it a bit of Asian flare! Enjoy!!

CSA - Week 3

I get my box every two weeks - so there is no week 2 here. Straight from week 1 to week 3. And boy is it another great mix of veggies! Here's what we picked up today: A garden herb pack (NINE real herb plants that I can add to my garden!! What a treat!), Green Garlic, Green Onion, Parsnips, Sunchokes, Spinach, Salad Mix, Spring Radish, Pea Vine, Rhubarb, Asparagus, Hon Tsai Tai.

Hon-what? Yeah, that's what I thought too! I Googled this one and found next to nothing on it, but did find out it's an Asian green. So I asked my co-worker who is from China if he's cooked this vegetable before and had any tips. Turns out he had! Here's what he said:

"I really love eating this vegetable. It's only available in certain places in China, but it's very popular in my home town! You're very lucky by asking me...Oh, here is how we cook it: add oil and some chopped fresh garlic if you like, then stir fry with some salt, add a little vinegar at the end. Hope this helps."

He couldn't believe I was getting it here in Minnesota! Don't I feel lucky now?!!

I also want to share this FABULOUS guide posted in my CSA's newsletter last week. I think I'm gonna have to print this one and post it in the kitchen somewhere. It's chock full of good advice for us first time CSA subscribers! Enjoy!

How to Approach an Unfamiliar Vegetable for the First Time
(Courtesy of the Harmony Valley Farm May 21, 2009 Newsletter)
1.Try it raw. Cut a piece off and taste it. Face your fear head-on and give it a try. Most veggies are at least edible raw, and many are quite tasty. (If any of our veggies are toxic in their raw state, we promise to warn you first.) This will give you an idea of what it tastes like, what its properties are, what flavors will complement it, and what you may want to use it for. You should try your veggies each week, since the flavor and texture will change based on the weather and the plant’s maturity. The recipe that worked so well for green garlic in its first week might not work as well two weeks later, as the plant has had more time to grow and the leaves may be quite a bit tougher.

2.Is this like any vegetable you are used to? Most veggies can be sorted roughly into the following categories: a)Garlicy or oniony b)Firm and crisp c)Firm and starchy d)Leafy and tender e)Leafy and firm/tough f)Veggies not otherwise specified

3.Cook or prepare your new veggie the way you would prepare a similar veggie. If you find a veggie that reminds you of a carrot in flavor and texture, how about using it in a dish in place of a carrot to see how it turns out? In general, here’s some simple rules of preparation for our veggie categories:
a)Many variations of onion and garlic and their relatives will show up in your box throughout the season, some with slightly different flavors. They can all be used in place of plain old garlic cloves or onions in your usual recipes; simply adjust the quantity to your liking. Strength or flavor will vary from one plant to the next, and from week to week, so be sure you are aware of the potency of your onion or garlic before using it in a recipe.
b)Firm, crisp and pleasant raw: think carrots, radishes, etc. Slice or grate and add to sandwiches or salads.
c)Firm and starchy: think potatoes, sunchokes, winter squash, etc. Moisture and slow cooking times are needed to break down starches. Try boiling, steaming, or slow roasti ng with plenty of oil.
d)Leafy and tender: salads! Some of the more strongly flavored greens you may wish to mix with milder ones. It depends on your taste.
e)Leafy and firm or tough: kales, chards, etc. Usually, remove the center rib if it is very tough, cut into bite-size pieces and steam or sauté. I also like many of the tougher greens raw, but they must be cut very small or you will spend a lot of your day chewing them.
f)Veggies not otherwise specified: okay, not everything fits neatly into five categories.

4.Get adventurous. Try a new recipe, or add your new veggie to an existing recipe. Toss it into your spaghetti sauce. Add it to your chili or chicken soup. Most times that I have used this approach, I have not been disappointed. Many times, I have been delighted.

5.Use available resources. Our website has a great archive of recipes for most of our produce, as well as previous years’ newsletters and veggie info sheets that give cooking tips. You should also try to get your hands on at least one good cookbook geared towards seasonal eating. I find that when I search “conventional” recipe sources, I end up finding lots of recipes calling for foods that are not in season at the same time and I must make lots of substitutions and adjustments. (Substitutions and adjustments are okay!) I think that willingness to try something unfamiliar and make substitutions to work with what you have are key to enjoying your CSA experience.

Two Small Victories

Today I dropped off my bike at the repair shop for a tune up and a few minor repairs. Believe it or not it hasn't been ridden in over four years! It's definitely in need of a bit of TLC. In a couple of days I'll be able to pick it up and take it for a spin - let's hope I remember how! Hopefully in the next couple weeks I'll be up for doing my first commute to work via bike!

Another not so minor victory today - I used up the last of my CSA share! Well, sort of. I did have one small bit of sorrel that went bad. I was going to use it in a quiche with my tiny bit of remaining ramps. Instead I used the last few stalks of my asparagus with the ramps and a bit of chives. I must say it is excellent!

Here's the recipe I tailored myself following some guidance from my How to Cook Everything cookbook. (I LOVE that book!)

Asparagus and Ramp Quiche

1 frozen pie crust (I use Pillsbury)
6 eggs
2 cups heavy cream (or 2 c any combination cream, milk and/or half and half)
5-6 stalks of asparagus, coarsely chopped
3 ramps, white part finely chopped, stalk and leaves chopped
1-2 cups of cheese, shredded (I hear goat cheese is excellent. I used part sheep cheese, part cranberry cheddar because that's what I had on hand. Really this is rare! I am normally a plain cheddar and/or mozz kinda gal but we recently took a trip to Wisconsin and stopped off at a wonderful cheese shop on the way home!)
1-2 T of vegetable oil
4-6 chives, with bud, finely chopped

Cook white part of ramps in 1-2 T oil over medium-high heat until they start to brown. Lower heat to medium and add remaining parts of the ramps, and asparagus. When asparagus starts to soften, add chives and cook for 1 additional minute. Put vegetable mixture on a plate to cool.

Unroll pie shell into a deep dish pie plate. (If you do not have a deep dish pie plate as I didn't, you will have some extra filling that you can bake without a crust in another small baking dish if you like. ) Poke the pie shell with a fork all over and pre-bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes or until just starting to brown. Remove from oven and lower temp to 325 degrees.

While pie shell is cooking, mix eggs in a medium bowl. Heat cream in small sauce pan just until barely warmed, add to eggs. Add cheese, and the cooled vegetable mixture.

Pour quiche mixture into the pre-baked pie shell. Bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until set. Enjoy!!

CSA - Week 1

Well, I did it. This city girl finally got her rear in gear and joined a CSA. I was a little nervous about how I would manage to use up all the fresh veggies coming my way. Would I find the time to find recipes and make the home cooked meals it required? Would I even like them? My partner, gotta love her, informed me very clearly that she "would not eat half of the vegetables they give you." Hmm.

The thing is some CSAs allow you to sign up for less frequent deliveries if you think you cannot keep up with a once a week delivery. Or some people choose to go in on it with a friend and split them. Luckily for us I found Harmony Valley Farm which has many glorious options! So, I signed us up for veggies every other week. And fruit every other week (opposite the veggies). And cheese once a month. Before you start to think I went a little overboard for a first-timer, let me point out that I did miraculously manage to hold myself back from also ordering the coffee share. If you knew anything about me and coffee you'd know that's a true feat! And, also a feat, a week since getting our first veggie box my partner has eaten more than half the veggies they gave us. In fact, she's eaten exactly what I have, except for the black radish chips (more on those later).

All in all, this has been a glorious week of amazingly good, nutritious, veggie filled recipes! I'm completely thrilled with the whole experience so far (aside from the larger than normal mounds of dirty dishes!) Over the next few days I'll try to post some of the recipes we've tried. But for starters I'll share the absolutely scrumptious dinner we had tonight:

Beef and Black Radish Stew (Khuplama)
This was the best thing I've made in a long time! It cooks for a while, but it was so easy. And I got to use up one more of those radishes. The only think I did differently from the recipe is to skip the cayenne and cilantro and added some chili powder. Do you know radish is one of those things that my partner swore she would not eat? And she had no idea it was in here!

Potato, Parsnip and Ramp Pie

Great side dish. I adapted the recipe quite a bit to fit what I had on hand so I'll re-type it here the way I did it. In hind sight I think it could have used a couple cloves of garlic too. Here's what I did:

1 lb potatos & parsnips, peeled & cut into 1-inch cubes
1 c cheddar, grated
1/2 c half & half
3 eggs
salt & pepper
One pre-made pie crust (I use Pillsbury frozen pie crusts)
3 ramps, chopped - use all parts of the ramps

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the potatoes & parsnips. Let boil for 15 minutes until tender. Drain. Return the potatoes & parsnips to the pot, add the cheese & mash. Stir half & half & eggs together then stir into mash. Salt & pepper generously. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Lay the pie crust in a 9" pie plate. Pour the mashed mixture on top of the crust and spread out. Trim any excess pie crust. Sprinkle ramps on top of the mash.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the mash has set & the edges are golden brown. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

4 servings.

Wanna-Be-Granola-Girl

I am a city girl at heart. I love my car, hair products, nice clothes, nail polish, central air, convenient foods and convenient life. I do not come naturally to all-things-green! But secretly I'm a Wanna-Be-Granola-Girl. There. I said it. Cat's out of the bag. So short of quitting my job and moving to a hobby farm to live the kind of sustainable life that I haven't a clue about, what's a city girl to do?

Well, I'll tell you! For starters here's what's on my plate for the next few months:

1. Join a CSA. For you other not-yet-so-green-city-dwellers that's short for Community Supported Agriculture. You sign up with a local farm to have farm fresh goodies delivered to a spot near you, usually weekly. I joined Harmony Valley Farm and will get organic veggies every other week, organic fruit on the opposite weeks, and once-a-month organic cheese. Yummy! (I think!?) Last week we got our first box of goodies and I have to confess I had never even heard of some of the items it contained: Parsnips, Chives, Salad Greens, Sorrel, Arugula, Ramps, Sunchokes, Black Radishes, Spinach, and Asparagus. Our cheese share contained organic cheddar, mozzarella and blue cheese.

2. Start composting - I'm attending my first how-to workshop next week hosted by our local recycling center. I'll bring home my first compost bin (deeply discounted through the recycling center) and let ya know how it goes!

3. Beef up my gardening skills to grow more of my own food. Sure I've done the usual tomatoes, peppers, and herbs, but I'm a pretty new gardener and not that adventurous. I'm just starting to put in my first "square foot gardens" and hope that this method is really as easy as it sounds! I've bought tomatoes, chives, leeks, onions, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, several varieties of lettuce, and several herbs to plant.

4. Bike Commuting. I'm not sure how many miles it is from my home in Saint Paul to downtown Minneaoplis where I work, but within the next few weeks I'll start bike commuting. My four-year-old's preschool is close to home so I don't anticipate any logistics problems. And the exercise will be amazingly good for me! I've got a biker friend who will help me get outfitted and plan my route.

5. Cloth Diapering, the ultimate adventure for a city-girl-gone-mommy!! My partner and I are expecting identical twin boys at the end of the summer and are already signed up for the one and only cloth diaper service in town. Just thinking of the cost of disposables for two makes me more than willing to give cloth a try. I'll be sure to keep you posted on this one when we get there!

Is that enough for ya? It is for me, for now at least! Check back for more posts as I embark on my green adventures. Next up will be recipes from my CSA adventure!