From the Garden This Week
From the Garden this Week…
Cauliflower or Napa Cabbage, Mixed Variety of Lettuces, Kohlrabi or Fennel, Rutabagas, Beets, White Daikon Radishes, Carrots, Broccoli, White Salad Turnips, Parsley or Cilantro, Meyer Lemons, Oranges and Tangerines
Coming Soon… Sprouting Purple Broccoli, Savoy Cabbage, Celery, Brussels Sprouts
Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno
I wanted to share this recipe that I made for a party, that I went to last weekend. I call it “spanakopita”, because that is what is resembles, but as I didn’t have spinach, so I used kale and broccoli greens, and I didn’t have feta cheese, so I used Romano, and I didn’t have phyllo dough, so I used puff pastry. So I’m not quite sure what to call it, but vegetables mixed with cheese and wrapped in dough, is wonderful. And, I love to get people to enjoy their vegetables. So I have included the recipe below. For this week’s vegetables, I would recommend grating the kohlrabi bulb or using finely chopped broccoli, cauliflower or beet greens. You could also use cauliflower or broccoli for this recipe; just use 2-3 cups of vegetables. And don’t through away those cauliflower greens! You can use them in the recipe as well. Finally, am sure you probably need another turnip recipe, so look on the back for simple braised turnips too.
“Spanikopita”
2 tablespoons butter
½ onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups finely chopped washed greens
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 ounces feta or Romano cheese, crumbled or grated
2 eggs
2 frozen puff pastry sheets
Remove puff pastry sheets from the freezer and let thaw (about 1 hour in advance). In a large sauté pan, heat the butter and onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the greens and salt. Stir and let the greens wilt. Cover and add a few tablespoons of water if necessary to keep it from drying out. Allow the greens to cook for 3-4 minutes and remove the lid if needed to let any excess water evaporate. Remove from the heat and let cool. To make the filling, combine the cooked greens with the cheese, 1 egg and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a separate small bowl, make and egg wash by mixing 1 egg with about 2 tablespoons of water and beat well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Open the puff pastry sheets and cut square approximately 3x3 inches. Add a large teaspoon full of filling to the center of each square and then fold the square in half, into a triangle. (The puff pastry is very forgiving, if they don’t look perfect, don’t worry, they will look better after baking.) Brush the triangle with egg wash and place on the prepared pan. Once one pan is filled, bake in the preheated oven about 10-13 minutes or until golden brown, continue making triangles until all dough is used.
Acknowledging the Amazing Work of Anna Hazen
Since the spring of 2017, our amazing Market Gardener, Anna Hazen, has been responsible for cultivating, amending and preparing the soil for her direct seeding and the planting of her homegrown seedlings that become your farm to table produce. I want to acknowledge Anna and express our sincere gratitude to her because without her, there would likely be no Wellspring Charitable Gardens. We are grateful to God for her and for each of you! We are in the process of now hiring a few more Market Gardeners with experience in CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) because of the growth of our garden! Pray with us that we can increase our current 15 subscribers a week to 30! Remember that 100% of your purchases are donated to our counseling
Vegetable Soups…
When you have too many vegetables make soup. There are some obvious combinations, like the Carrot-Ginger recipe here. But you can easily play with any of your favorite vegetables, or your not so favorite, and try mixing things up with your favorite spice combinations. If you like Mexican food you could make the same soup, but instead of the ginger, turmeric and coriander, use dried oregano and chili powder. Cream soups are great and they work well with all types of greens, or try using coconut milk, instead of cream and add some curry paste. The possibilities are endless, and usually the more vegetables you use, the better it will taste.
Carrot Ginger Soup (adapted from NYTimes Cooking)
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion 1 tablespoon chopped ginger 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 tablespoon turmeric ½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon salt 2 pounds carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 black Daikon radish, peeled (if desired) and chopped
4 cups water
Cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional) Lime wedges, for serving
In a large pot sauté over medium heat the onions and oil, for about 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cayenne and salt. Stir for a minute and add the carrots, radish and 4 cups water. Heat the water until boiling and stir occasionally. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until the carrots are soft. Blend with an immersion blender and taste. Season with salt and pepper if needed and serve with cilantro and limes wedges.
Braised White Salad Turnips
3-4 white salad turnips, cleaned and cut into wedges, and greens chopped
2 tablespoons butter
salt
splash of white wine vinegar
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Add turnips and cook until nicely browned on all sides. Stir in greens and let wilt for a minute or two. Add a dash or salt and a splash of vinegar.
Metaphors for the Soul…
I was out picking weeds among our garden rows this week and was struck by something Anna told me when we first started our winter garden. She said that certain plants like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage require a lot of square footage to produce just one head. Being a city girl, I had never seen broccoli or cauliflower grown from a seed to a full head of produce. The leaves are also edible but because of our abundance, we toss them in the compost pile. I never knew that! Another thing I observed was how large these plants are! Each plant is easily three to five square feet in diameter. Another thing that struck me this week was how many layers of leaves that a cauliflower has before it begins to show its white or purple head of beauty. Gardening has made me think a lot about the PROCESS of life rather than the PRODUCE of life. I could write a whole book about that. But I will spare you! Suffice it to say, there is joy in the time of waiting for things to ripen and mature. What in your life seems to be taking a long time to mature and ripen? Are you frustrated because you are focused mainly on the product? Maybe it is time to refocus and take time to notice the beauty of the where you are right now. When it comes to Christmas shopping, many of us have made the gift our loved one opens at Christmas the focus of our shopping. Maybe it is time to simply notice the process we go through as having value as well. While the birth of the Christ Child is a great day of celebration throughout the world on Christmas Day, so is the preparation of hearts to receive Him…and that is a process that can sometimes take a lifetime. God is not in a hurry to grow things.
