Broccoli Salad

2 Bunches Broccoli, cut into florets

1 medium red onion, chopped

½ c raisins

10-12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Dressing:

1 c mayonnaise

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Instructions:

Separate florets from broccoli stalks. Save the remainder of the broccoli for another use or freeze for later. Combine salad ingredients; top with dressing mixture. Chill and serve.

Source:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/broccolisaladrecipes/r/bl30321h.htm

Red Potato and Radish Salad

28 small red new potatoes

12 radishes

2 celery stalks, sliced

½ c thinly sliced red onions

¼ c chopped fresh dill

Dressing:

½ c vegetable oil

¼ c lemon juice

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.     In a saucepan of boiling salted water cover and cook the potatoes just until tender about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and let cool.

2.     Cut radishes in half and thinly slice; place in a large bowl. Add celery, onion and half of the dill. Cut potatoes into quarters and add to bowl.

3.     In a small bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour over potato mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours. Serve sprinkled with remaining dill.

Source: http://www.canadianliving.com/food/red_potato_and_radish_salad.php

Collard Green and Olive Pesto

6 large collard green leaves, center stems removed


12-15 large pitted Greek olive


2 large garlic cloves, peeled


1/2 c water


1 t balsamic vinegar


3 T pine nuts


1/3 c sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped


1/4 t cayenne pepper


1/4 t black pepper


1/2 t salt


1/3 c olive oil





Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add collards, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain, pressing to extract excess water. Coarsely chop. In a food processor, blend olives and garlic until finely chopped. Add collards, water, vinegar, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, cayenne, pepper and salt, and pulse until well chopped. With motor running, add oil in a slow stream, until well blended. Season to taste.

Source: http://www.fresh365online.com/recipes/2009/6/23/collard-green-olive-pesto.html

Blanching

During the volunteer day on Saturday my coworker Nancy asked what I was doing that night. Perhaps the long week was catching up with me and I replied, “Blanch.” She inquired who my new friend was who I was hanging out with named Blanch. I laughed and replied that I was actually planning on spending the night in my kitchen, blanching the plethora of greens coming out of the farm this time of year. Blanching is probably my favorite form of food preservation because it is so fast and simple. Blanching is the step before freezing. It is not always necessary, depending on the vegetable, and how long you want to keep it.

“Blanching destroys enzymes that cause food spoilage. Don’t blanch chopped onions, green peppers, sliced mushrooms, sliced zucchini or fresh herbs [It’s just not necessary, they can simply be frozen…or dried]. It also isn’t necessary to blanch vegetables that are to be stored less than 3 months. For longer storage it’s not a matter of life or death, but color and texture will turn out better if you blanch…At first there’s no difference, but after 4 or 5 months, blanched foods are much nicer.

1.     Put vegetable in colander and sink into boiling water

2.     Leave in just long enough for water to return to a boil, then start counting. For kale, leave in 2 minutes, for collards, three. If it takes longer than 2 minutes for the water to return to a boil, you are trying to blanch too much at once. The exact time in the boiling water is not a science, you can leave them in there until they change color and become bright and vibrant.

3.     Lift out the colander and let drip a moment. Then immerse in a bowl of ice water.

4.     After a minute or two, immerse in a second bowl of ice water.

5.     When fully chilled, drain, pat dry, and place in a package for freezing (I use ziplock freezer bags).

6.     When you are ready for a taste of spring in the dead of winter, simply thaw and use for cooking like usual.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emery, 9^th Ed.

What is a Braising Mix Bunch?

Braising is the process of lightly cooking something, typically with oil and water. It is sort of a cross between sautéing and steaming. This week you’ll receive a bunch of mixed greens that are sometimes seen in a smaller form in a salad mix. These greens are all in the brassicaceae family and if grown to be full size, you would recognize them as kale, mustard, bok choi, tat soi and mizuna.

Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bunches fresh summer greens, about 8 cups, washed and coarsely chopped. This could include a mixture of Asian greens, or mustard, collards, turnip greens, beet greens, kale – any toothy substantial green will do.
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/8 cup water or vegetable broth
Salt to taste
Optional flavorings: Sesame oil, ume plum vinegar, tamari
Optional toppings: sesame seeds, chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted pumpkin seeds

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add greens and garlic, stirring to coat with oil. Stir occasionally until greens are barely wilted, just a few minutes.

2. Add vegetable broth or water and stir, allowing greens to steam until barely tender. Salt to taste.

3. Add flavorings and toppings as desired and serve.

Serves 4.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/simple-braised-greens-garlic.html

Education Corner Update By: Clare Hyre, Education Coordinator

This week energy has been high with the students as they only have a couple weeks of school left! They have been busy mowing and weed-whacking the pathways, which goes SO far in keeping the appearance of the farm neat and tidy, as well as keeping weed seed from blowing into the beds. One class learned how potatoes grow when they hilled the potatoes, and another learned that beans are both seeds and the food we eat, when they seeded a string bean bed. We certainly couldn’t get all the work done to keep this farm operating without the help and participation from Saul students and teachers! Thank you!

Volunteer Day

I would like to give a big “thank you!” to everyone who came out on Saturday to help clean up our fence line! The next time you go to harvest mint for U-pick, you won’t recognize it! We got about a third of the whole perimeter of the farm done, which is quite an undertaking! Blaise, Virginia, Caitlin, Skyler, Mike and Nancy really pulled off a herculean task! Especially with the weeds we have- knot weed , stinging nettle and perennial grasses! The weather could not have been more perfect. Good snacks and good stories were shared all around!  Thanks again!