From the Garden this Week…

From the Garden this Week…

Snap or Snow Peas, Beets, Fava Beans, Lettuce Heads, Artichokes, Garlic Scapes, Green Onions, Swiss Chard, Radishes, Baby Carrots, Parsley and Spinach

Coming Soon… Basil, Potatoes and Cucumbers

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

In this transitional time, we still have lots of greens growing that will keep us supplied with vegetables, until our summer veggies are ready.  The first squash of the season is ready to harvest now and cucumbers will be ready in just a few more weeks.  Tomatoes will probably take until June, starting with cherry tomatoes. We have a lot of Swiss chard ready and if we don’t pick it now, it will start to bolt and flower in the warm weather.  This Swiss Chard Pie recipe is a good way to use up lots of greens.  I adjusted the recipe to use our green onions and garlic scapes that we have ready to harvest this week.

Swiss Chard Pie (adapted from marthstewart.com) 

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 

½ cup cold water 

¾ teaspoon coarse salt 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

1 bunch of green onions, sliced

4 garlic scapes, sliced

6-8 cups Swiss chard, stems cut into small dice and leaves torn 

red-pepper flakes, to taste 

Coarse salt and ground pepper 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan 

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

Grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 juice 

1 large egg yolk 

In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, extra-virgin olive oil, cold water, and coarse salt. Stir with a fork to combine, then turn out onto a work surface and knead 1 minute. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature, 30 minutes, while preparing filling. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large pot, heat oil on medium-high. Add onion and garlic scapes; cook until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add chard stems and red-pepper flakes; cook 2 minutes. Pack chard leaves into the pot; season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until chard leaves wilt, about 4 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated. Drain, pressing out any remaining liquid. Place chard mixture in a large bowl and toss with Parmesan, flour, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper. Roll two-thirds the dough to a 12 1/2-inch round to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Fill bottom crust with chard mixture. Roll remaining dough to a 9 1/2-inch round; place over filling. Pinch edges of dough together and tuck in to seal; cut several vents into center of pie. Combine yolk with 1 teaspoon water and brush over dough, avoiding edge of pan. Bake pie until crust is deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Thank You to Covenant Grove and our Monday Volunteers 

On Saturday, Brian and Garrett Elliott of Covenant Grove Church delivered heirloom tomatoes for our Summer Pick and Pull!  Yes, you will be able to come by the farm and pick your own tomatoes!  We hope you will bring a friend who will be become a regular subscriber!  On Monday, volunteers Heidi, Heidi, and Pat prepared beds, planted about 20 new tomato plants, and staked them up with newly donated wire panels to grow against.  Thank you, Covenant Grove and Cliff Harper, for donating the materials we needed to create this new addition to our Gardens.

Sugar Snap and Snow Peas…

Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad with Hard Cooked Eggs

2 cups sugar snap peas, washed, stem removed

1 bunch of radishes, washed and sliced into wedges

Juice and zest from one lemon, about 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Salt and fresh ground pepper

2 eggs, hard cooked, peeled and sliced

For this recipe, make sure to have all the ingredients ready prior to starting to cook. In a very large sauté pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it starts to shimmer. Add the radishes and cook over medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes.  Add the sugar snap peas and continue cooking 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, zest, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fresh herbs. Pour out onto a serving platter or bowl, add the eggs to the top and season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…by Cindi J. Martin, LCSW

Have you ever had a dream in your heart that didn’t seem to materialize? Perhaps you can relate to the Psalmist who wrote,

“Restore our captivity, O Lord, As the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (126:1b,5-6).

With our current circumstances, many of those who have been “Sheltering in Place” have come to feel like captives.  During such times we hope and pray for a change.  The Psalmist seems to indicate that we must keep going on – to and fro -- with hope, carrying our bag of seed with us, if we are to eventually experience the harvest.  Perhaps our tears are a necessary part of the growing and harvesting process.  The Old and New Testaments give us great instruction and examples about how to grieve losses without losing hope.  In fact, emotional integrity – the ability to be emotionally honest with ourselves, God and others -- is vital to maintaining spiritual, emotional, and interpersonal health and well-being during times of crisis and loss. If you are one of those people who hold back tears, perhaps the findings in studies about the relationship between crying and the reduction of stress will give you courage to let your tears flow when you are feeling sad or mad.  Research now has shown that crying actually LOWERS the stress chemical called Cortisol in your brain and that people who “hold back” their tears instead of “letting the tears flow” DO NOT get the benefit of stress relief. This is wonderful news for those of us who feel better when we cry!  If you don’t, try “letting go” instead of “holding back” and see if you don’t experience some needed freedom and relief.