Notes From the Farm

We continue to have balmy weather. The plants love it as long as we keep the water moving. This week you will have a very green selection of vegetables and herbs. You can eat it all raw and minimize the heat! Below are some recipes that include all the veggies in your box/bag (except the lettuce). Happy eating and stay cool!

This Week’s Veggie Feast

Napa Cabbage, Parsley, Bunching Onions, Fresh Garlic, Lettuce mix

New This Week

Pale and crinkled, Napa cabbage resembles a vegetable football that is lighter in flavor than a green or red cabbage.  With its mild flavor, napa cabbage is perfect for an Asian style coleslaw, stir fries, or use the whole leaves for stuffing.  For those of you who love fermenting vegetable projects, napa cabbage will make some excellent kimchi.  Searching saveur.com for ‘kimchi, will give you several ideas on how to make and use kimchi. Napa cabbage does well stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator.  Cabbage can last for some time in the fridge but its nutritional value will decrease with time.

Parsley is one of our favorite herbs on the farm. It is vibrant green, packed full of vitamins (A, C & K), lasts the whole growing season and is used in so many types of cuisine. It stores well in the fridge too.

Using green onions is fairly straightforward since the only inedible part is the very root end, which needs to be sliced off.  The white base can be cooked or added raw to salads, while the green tops are used as a raw garnish.

One of the wonderful things about garlic is that you can use it in so many stages of its development. We had the scapes or flowering heads one week, and now we have fresh green garlic. This culinary herb has not been cured for winter storage.  It should last for up to two weeks stored in a crisper. Fresh garlic is milder than mature cloves so feel free to use a healthy dose in cooking. One of the perks of young garlic is that you don’t necessarily need to peel the cloves, the skin is tender enough to consume.

Recipes

Parsley Hummus

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled, cut in half, green shoots removed
• 2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
•  Salt to taste
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling if desired
• 3 tablespoons sesame tahini, stirred well if the oil has separated
•  Plain low-fat yogurt as needed

Instructions

1. (Optional step): If you want to take the time to do this, remove the papery outer shells of the cooked chickpeas by gently squeezing them between your thumb and first two fingers. Discard the shells.
2. Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic. Process until the garlic adheres to the sides of the bowl. Turn off the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chickpeas, parsley and salt to taste and process to a coarse purée. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Turn on the machine and add the lemon juice and olive oil with the machine running. Add the tahini and process until the hummus is smooth. It should not be too thick or dry. If it is, thin out as desired with yogurt or water, or with the broth from the chickpeas if you cooked them. Season to taste with salt. Scrape out into a bowl or mound on a platter. Run a fork over the surface and drizzle with olive oil if desired. Serve with crudités or pita bread.

Source: NYT Cooking

Walnut Parsley Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 cup shelled walnuts, about 3 1/2 ounces
• 2 cups chopped parsley, about 1 bunch
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Pulse ingredients in food processor:Put the walnuts, parsley, cheese, garlic, and salt in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then pulse again.
2. Drizzle in the olive oil:While the machine is running, drizzle in the olive oil just long enough to incorporate the oil, about 20-30 seconds.Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to store. Will last several days chilled.Use with pasta or as a spread on bread or toast.

Source: Simply Recipes

Napa Cabbage Salad

Ingredients

Napa Cabbage Salad

• 1 large head napa cabbage, washed and finely-chopped
• 7 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut into matchsticks
• ½ to ¾ cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 to 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds (I use raw sunflower seeds)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (I use un-hulled sesame seeds for added calcium)

Tamari-Sesame Dressing

• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 3 ½ tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Instructions

1. In a large serving bowl, combine the cabbage, scallions, carrots, red pepper, and cilantro.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, tamari, and pure maple syrup until emulsified.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad, thoroughly toss to coat, and sprinkle with the seeds.

Notes

This salad holds up well even a day or two after being tossed in the dressing thanks to the cabbage. Just keep it refrigerated in an airtight container for best results.

Source: Blissful Basil