Green Garlic

If you've never had green garlic (a.k.a. garlic scapes), you MUST go and find some right now. Granted, I love garlic and put it in most of the recipes I make, but I would still recommend green garlic to just about anyone. As you can read in the description from www.wisegeek.com below, green garlic has a much more milder flavor than your average garlic...

Green garlic is young garlic which is harvested before the cloves have begun to mature. The resulting vegetable resembles a scallion, with a deep green stalk and a pale white bulb.

When garlic is grown normally, it is harvested when the lower part of the stalk visible above the ground starts to turn brown. The bulb of the garlic has differentiated into garlic cloves, and it is cured so that it will last in storage. Typically, garlic is harvested in the middle of summer. Green garlic, on the other hand, is harvested before the plant is mature. The stalks are still totally green, usually around one foot (30 cm) long, and the bulb resembles that of a green onion, rather than a segmented head of garlic.

The flavor of green garlic is still garlicky, but is much more mild with less of a bitter bite. When cooked, the green garlic sweetens, lending a new layer of depth to a dish.

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Bok Choy

We had never had bok choy before, and I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous to try it! Turns out we REALLY liked it.

In order to know how to prepare it, I read a bit about bok choy online... here's some info from www.essortment.com in case you've never used bok choy either:

When purchasing bok choy, select stalks that are pure white and firm. Additionally, look for leaves that are dark green and non-wilted. Do not select bok choy that has any brown spots on its leaves, as this type of bok choy is less flavorful. Baby bok choy, which is a younger version of bok choy, should also be purchased according to these standards. Once purchased, you can safely store bok choy in your home for up to three days provided that you refrigerate the bok choy in a plastic bag as soon as you arrive home with your purchase.

Because bok choy is a member of the cabbage family, you can cook it as you would a cabbage. When cooked, it has a sweet flavor and its stalks are firm. First remove its leaves from their stalks and cut the stalks into pieces. Next, take the leaves that were removed and cut them into pieces as well. Both bok choy's stalks and leaves are edible.

Another reason that bok choy is becoming popular to use is because of its nutritional value. One half cup of raw bok choy, which is approximately 56 grams, contains only 10 calories. Additionally, bok choy contains no fat or cholesterol and is a good source of calcium. It is also low in sodium and high in vitamins C and A.

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Formula for Our Favorite Stir-Fry

We have several go-to recipes in our cooking arsenal, and stir-fry is one of them. I'd say we probably make it about once a week or once every couple of weeks, so we've gotten pretty good at it. We never really make the same recipe twice, because it depends a lot on what veggies we add and the liquid we use to cook it... here's how we did it tonight!

Ingredients (definitely feel free to mix it up!):

Zucchini

Yellow Squash
Red Pepper
Green Pepper
Bok Choy
Green Garlic
Chives (from our garden!)
Cooking oil
Ken's Lite Asian-Sesame Dressing
Pineapple juice
Sriracha (Thai hot sauce)
Low-sodium soy sauce
White Rice

1. Cook rice according to package directions. (We normally use brown rice because I don't particularly love white rice, but we're moving this week and our pantry is more limited than usual. If using brown rice, be prepared for a longer cooking time!)

2. Drain tofu and slice into 6 even-sized slices. Press tofu between 2 baking sheets lined with paper towels. Use a heavy object to apply pressure (there will be a fair amount of liquid displaced from the tofu). We used a watermelon!

3. Cut each tofu slice into approximately 15 cubes, for a total of 90. Heat oil on HIGH and cook tofu, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Add whatever seasoning you'd like while tofu is cooking. We used soy sauce, but you could just use salt and pepper.


4. Chop vegetables and set aside (Dan tends to cut our stir-fry veggies into the shapes you find them in restaurants, but you can really do it however you like).


5. Once tofu is browned, remove from pan and set aside. Add more oil to the pan and cook vegetables (start with veggies that take longer, such as carrots or peppers and then move on to those that are softer/have shorter cooking times).


6. While the veggies are cooking, add flavoring liquids to taste - we usually use a combination of soy sauce, Asian-Sesame dressing, Sriracha (Thai hot sauce), and pineapple juice. Again, this really depends on your personal preference. If you choose to use Sriracha, be aware that a very small amount goes a long way - it's quite spicy!


5. Combine the veggies with the rice and serve!


My rating: 8.5/10
Dan's rating: 8/10

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Another Beautiful Meal from R & J...

Coffee, pepper and cinnamon crusted steak...


with turnip and green garlic pancakes, dill mascarpone and greens!

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Green Garlic, Dill, and Fresh Vegetable Quiche

Dan made brunch this morning, and it was AMAZING! I tried to recreate the recipe here, but it's somewhat approximate. I don't think it really matters though - feel free to tweak it to your own tastes!

Adapted from Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook, Bridal Edition^
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 pre-made pie crust*
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped**
1 green garlic stalk and bulb, chopped
3/4 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup skim milk
6 egg whites
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Combine all herbs and vegetables in a medium bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, scramble egg whites and milk. Add 1/2 cup feta cheese, salt and pepper. Add to herb and veggie mixture and mix gently.

4. Pour into pie crust. Add the rest of the vegetables and then top with remaining 1/4 cup feta cheese.

5. Place pie crust on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake approximately 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

^ We got this cookbook for our wedding 2+ years ago, and we LOVE it - I would definitely recommend it to newlywed couples. It's got tons of great tips and basic recipes that you can make your own. Our copy is well-used!

* Yes, I know some of you are probably cringing at the idea of using ready-made pie crust, but I find that it actually tastes better than some of the homemade crusts I've made. It's also a lot faster!!! :) Oh, and the New York Times even said it's alright!

Maybe next time I'll try making my own crust, but in the meantime, we're partial to Oronoque Orchards Deep Dish crusts - they're kosher, so there's no lard! You can find them in the freezer section.


My rating: 8/10
Dan's rating: 8/10

** we're not positive that he used 2 tbsp of dill, but the amount that we did use was a little overpowering - next time we'll cut it back just slightly.

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Mediterranean Salad

Tonight we used the mixed greens and carrot from our CSA to make a great salad! It also included almonds, feta cheese, kalamata olives, cucumber and red pepper.

The dressing was olive oil, pepper, and 12-year-aged balsamic vinegar from Fiore Artisan Olive Oils and Vinegars in Bar Harbor, ME. We stopped there on a trip last summer and sampled all of their oils and vinegars. Delicious!

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R and J's First CSA Meal

I don't have recipes to share, but here are a few photos that R and J took of what they made for their first meal from our CSA - looks quite tasty (except for that pesky bacon)!

Spinach and bacon quiche with a salad of greens, hazelnuts, orange, and an orange, ginger, honey, and garlic scape vinaigrette:

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Sautéed Hakurei Turnips & Braised Greens

Recipe Source: Culinary School of the Rockies

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Hakurei Turnips with greens (we also used potatoes - see below)
1 lb Greens such as Chard, Mizuna or Braising Mix
2 tsp oil, divide
½ cup water, apple juice or white wine
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Method:

1. Cut the greens from the turnips. Wash and tear all the greens into large pieces and remove the stems. Cut the turnips into bite sized pieces.


2. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the turnips stirring or tossing occasionally until they are crispy outside and tender inside.


3. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a warm plate. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat.

4. Add the washed and wet greens to pan in batches. Stir and mix as they wilt. Add the wine or other liquid and cook until it is mostly evaporated.


5. Plate greens and arrange the warm turnips on top. Enjoy!

Unfortunately we had to supplement the turnips in this recipe with red potatoes - we only had 2 turnips! (since we're splitting the farm share with R and J and this week's total portion of turnips was only 1 bunch). Luckily J and I found a bunch that had 4 turnips in it - most of them only had 2 total turnips. Hopefully this won't be a problem as the season continues and there's more quantity of specific produce available from the farm per week.

For the "greens," we used spinach from the CSA as well! We didn't love it nearly as much as the turnips though; it was very bitter (most likely due to our cooking and not the spinach itself - it tasted good when it was raw).

In case you were wondering, the wine we used in the recipe was A to Z Oregon Pinot Gris - we're actually going on vacation to the Pacific Northwest later this summer, and are trying to get a sense of wines we like from Oregon before we go!

My rating: 7/10 - mostly due to the turnips!
D's rating: 6/10 - "I would DEFINITELY make turnips again..."

Finally, here are some other turnip recipes we considered making:

- Turnip Griddle Cakes
- Turnip Gratin
- Mashed Turnips
- Herbed Couscous with Green Garlic and Hakurei Turnips (3rd recipe from the bottom)
- Young Turnip and Goat Cheese Gratin

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Hakurei Turnips

I've decided that I'm going to do a little bit of research about each of the veggies that we get from the CSA which we've never had before. This way, I can share this knowledge with all of you!

My plan is to also post photos and recipes that we've tried, as well as other ideas we've considered. (Unless otherwise stated, all photos that appear on the blog are ones I've taken! One of my personal goals is to improve my food photography skills between now and the end of this experience...)

Oh, and last but not least, we're going to give our ratings of the dishes we make!

First vegetable up, hakurei turnips...

This white "salad turnip" sets the standard for flavor. The flat-round, smooth white roots mature early, just after radishes, and are best harvested young, up to 2" diam. The flavor is great raw - sweet and fruity - and the texture is crisp and tender. The dark green hairless tops are useful raw or lightly cooked with the roots. Compared with other early white turnips, Hakurei tastes better and stays smoother as it sizes. (Source: Johnny's Selected Seeds)

Best known for its excellent flavor, this Japanese turnip produces uniform globe-shaped roots with snow-white skin and a crisp texture. The smooth dark green tops are mild enough to eat fresh out of the garden along with the roots. Hakurei plants tolerate cold temperatures, and the fruit matures early. The Hakurei’s mild and sweet flavor makes it a favorite salad ingredient. The nutritious tops can go right into the salad as well, or lightly sauté both together and enjoy them that way. (Source: Kitazawa Seed Co.)

Our impressions:

- The raw turnip was crunchy (but still softer than a raw potato) and just a little bit sweet. It tasted sort of like horseradish but without the sting (which is good because I HATE horseradish!)
- Cooking the turnip intensified this slightly sweet flavor, and gave it an even better texture. It almost melted in your mouth just a little...
- Overall, we really liked these turnips - I have no doubt that we will seek them out in the future!

My next post will have the recipe we tried tonight... stay tuned!

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This Week's Share - 6/9/10

• Bok Choy
• Carrot
• Dill
• Green Garlic (a.k.a Garlic Scapes)
• Hakurei Turnips
• Lettuce
• Mixed Greens
• Spinach

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Introduction

This blog is intended to be a record of our experiences with community-supported agriculture (CSA). My husband, Dan, and I joined Red Fire Farm's CSA this year; it's our first time participating in such a program. We've been considering it for a long time and finally jumped on the opportunity when our close friends, R and J, asked if we'd like to split a share with them.

We chose Red Fire Farm because we liked their philosophy and their literature was very comprehensive. They also seem to do a lot of community outreach and were very welcoming to those new to the idea of a CSA. Although the farm is located in Granby, MA (Western MA), we live in the suburbs of Boston. Luckily, the farm delivers to our area on Wednesday evenings!

As part of our share, we're also allowed to pick certain produce at the farm ourselves, including peas, green beans, and strawberries. We hope to make it out there a few times this summer, as we both love "pick-your-own!" They also have several festivals during the growing season - we'd like to go to their heirloom tomato festival at the end of August.

A little about me and my husband - Dan and I try to be as environmentally conscious as we can - we compost, recycle as much as possible, and bring reusable bags with us to the grocery store. I was a vegetarian for a long time, although I now eat kosher poultry and fish. We still don't eat meat very often, so we're excited to mix up our repertoire of vegetarian dishes!

Self-proclaimed "budding foodies," we like trying new things and are always on the look-out for good recipes. I LOVE to bake, so I'll be infusing the blog with some sweet recipes whenever possible. I also really enjoy reading magazines, so I'll post recipes from my favorite subscriptions when applicable.

Please also make sure to check out the links I've included to the right... they're websites I enjoy reading on a regular basis! I've also made a list of some cookbooks that I think may help us in this journey... feel free to suggest some for me to add!

I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I will enjoy writing it... thanks for coming along on this journey with us!

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