(serves 2)
Adapted from Southernfood.about.com
1 c. stock
½ c. uncooked rice, long-grain such as jasmine
½ T. butter
Generous pinch of salt
2 c. chopped collard leaves, loosely packed
¼ c. coconut milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Bring stock to a boil. Add rice, butter and salt. Stir while adding collards a small handful at a time. Bring the mixture to a boil again before reducing heat and simmering for 10-15 minutes or until the broth is absorbed. Stir in coconut milk and let sit for five minutes. Fluff with a fork, season generously with pepper and serve.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Bok Choi with Gingery Butter
Bok Choi with Gingery Butter
• 2 medium choi, sliced crosswise into 1-inch strips
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated or finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
• Salt
• Black pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the choi and cook until choi is tender but still crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the choi in a colander and immediately run under cold water. Drain well.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and choi. Cook, stirring constantly, until choi is well-coated and heated through.
Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• 2 medium choi, sliced crosswise into 1-inch strips
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated or finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
• Salt
• Black pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the choi and cook until choi is tender but still crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the choi in a colander and immediately run under cold water. Drain well.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and choi. Cook, stirring constantly, until choi is well-coated and heated through.
Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Preserving Turnips
As we embark on the third week of turnips in your CSA share, I thought I would share some interesting methods of preservation in case you are turnipped-out for the time being. All of these ideas come from a wonderful book Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning, by the Gardeners and Farmers of Terre Vivant.
Lacto-fermented Turnips
Ingredients:
• Turnips
• Salt (kosher or other non-iodized)
• Filtered water (with a brita is fine, or boiled and let sit to dissolve the chlorine)
• Clean glass jar with a lid (cleaned with vinegar to sterilize)
Slice or dice turnips. Place in jar and pack down with clean hand. Add salt brine made with two tablespoons of salt to one quart of water. Place lid on jar loosely, so air can escape (otherwise mixture can explode). Pack down mixture with hand each day to keep turnips below waters surface; if a mold forms on the surface, simply scrape off with a spoon. Turnips are done when they have reached desired sourness. Can keep in a refridgerator indefinitely, or in a cool basement for several months.
(note: can be made with any combination of root vegetables, including radishes, kohlrabi, beets, etc.)
Vegetables Preserved in Oil
Ingredients and Supplies:
• Fresh young vegetables, including turnips and can also include zucchini, cucumber, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
• Fresh herbs (oregano, bay leaves, tarragon, etc.)
• Dill seeds, coriander seeds, and juniper seeds, if desired
• Vinegar
• Salt
• Oil
• Enamel or stainless steel saucepan
• Canning jars and lids
Slice the vegetables in ¼-inch rounds, or dice. Chop and mix the herbs and seeds
Pour enough vinegar into the saucepan to cover the vegetables. Heat the vinegar until it just starts to boil. Immerse the vegetables in the boiling vinegar for one to three minutes, simmering gently.
Drain quickly, and place vegetables into jars, alternating with the herb-seed mixture and a pinch of coarse (non-iodized) salt. Do not pack jars too tightly. Pour oil over vegetables, covering with a layer ¼ to ½ inch thick, but allowing 1 and ½ inches air space below the jar’s rim. Seal with a screw-on lid and store in a cool place (50-59 degrees F). The vegetables will be ready in one or two months and will keep for about a year.
String-dried Turnips
Ingredients and Supplies:
• Turnips
• Cotton thread or kitchen string
• Pie tin or cookie sheet
• Airtight box
Cut turnips into 1/8-inch-thick slices. String them on string, leaving space between slices. Hang the strings in a dry place and let dry for one or two weeks, depending on room’s humidity.
Once turnips are very dry, unstring them and put them in a single layer on the pie tin or cookie sheet. Place the sheet in an oven on very low temperature (140 degrees F) for five minutes. Let cool and store in an airtight box. May keep for several years!
Turnips preserved this way are very good for soup.
Lacto-fermented Turnips
Ingredients:
• Turnips
• Salt (kosher or other non-iodized)
• Filtered water (with a brita is fine, or boiled and let sit to dissolve the chlorine)
• Clean glass jar with a lid (cleaned with vinegar to sterilize)
Slice or dice turnips. Place in jar and pack down with clean hand. Add salt brine made with two tablespoons of salt to one quart of water. Place lid on jar loosely, so air can escape (otherwise mixture can explode). Pack down mixture with hand each day to keep turnips below waters surface; if a mold forms on the surface, simply scrape off with a spoon. Turnips are done when they have reached desired sourness. Can keep in a refridgerator indefinitely, or in a cool basement for several months.
(note: can be made with any combination of root vegetables, including radishes, kohlrabi, beets, etc.)
Vegetables Preserved in Oil
Ingredients and Supplies:
• Fresh young vegetables, including turnips and can also include zucchini, cucumber, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
• Fresh herbs (oregano, bay leaves, tarragon, etc.)
• Dill seeds, coriander seeds, and juniper seeds, if desired
• Vinegar
• Salt
• Oil
• Enamel or stainless steel saucepan
• Canning jars and lids
Slice the vegetables in ¼-inch rounds, or dice. Chop and mix the herbs and seeds
Pour enough vinegar into the saucepan to cover the vegetables. Heat the vinegar until it just starts to boil. Immerse the vegetables in the boiling vinegar for one to three minutes, simmering gently.
Drain quickly, and place vegetables into jars, alternating with the herb-seed mixture and a pinch of coarse (non-iodized) salt. Do not pack jars too tightly. Pour oil over vegetables, covering with a layer ¼ to ½ inch thick, but allowing 1 and ½ inches air space below the jar’s rim. Seal with a screw-on lid and store in a cool place (50-59 degrees F). The vegetables will be ready in one or two months and will keep for about a year.
String-dried Turnips
Ingredients and Supplies:
• Turnips
• Cotton thread or kitchen string
• Pie tin or cookie sheet
• Airtight box
Cut turnips into 1/8-inch-thick slices. String them on string, leaving space between slices. Hang the strings in a dry place and let dry for one or two weeks, depending on room’s humidity.
Once turnips are very dry, unstring them and put them in a single layer on the pie tin or cookie sheet. Place the sheet in an oven on very low temperature (140 degrees F) for five minutes. Let cool and store in an airtight box. May keep for several years!
Turnips preserved this way are very good for soup.
Bees at the Farm
By Nicole Sugerman
June’s full moon occurred on Sunday the 7th. In many cultures, each month’s full moon has a name corresponding to natural and cultural happenings around that time; for example, many of us still know the full moon in September as the ‘harvest moon’, referencing that month’s abundant food harvests. To some, the June full moon is known as the ‘mead moon’, which makes reference to a fermented alcoholic drink made from honey. This moon marks the time of the first honey harvest, after bees have been industriously collecting pollen from the flowering trees and plants all spring, and the hives are full of honey.
Some of you at the potluck saw the beekeepers who house their bees at our farm. Unfortunately, we do not yet keep our own bees to make honey for the CSA; as a start-up farm, we could not afford to invest in beekeeping infrastructure this season. However, in honor of the mead moon, I would like to offer my praises of the honeybees who do constant, truly invaluable work to grow your vegetables.
Pollination is the process by which pollen is moved from a plant’s anthers to its pistill, both parts of a plant’s flower. A part of reproduction, pollination is important for all the plants we grow on a farm, as seeds cannot be produced without the pollination process, and without seeds, no one would have the ability to grow vegetables next season. Many, many of the plants we grow depend on or benefit from bees for seed production, including cabbage, carrots, turnips, and sweet potatoes. This is hugely important, as the viable renewal of one’s seed supply leads the way to food independence and control over one’s own resources. Thank goodness we have bees helping us save our seeds!
But as a farm with a so-far limited seed saving repertoire, pollination interests us on a personal scale particularly for the crops that we grow in order to eat their fruits. Of the fruiting vegetables we grow, only some need bees. Tomatoes and peas are self-pollinating, meaning that the plant completes the pollinating process itself within each flower. Corn is wind-pollinated, meaning most pollination takes place via wind blowing the pollen between flowers. Plants in the cucurbit family, including melons, cucumbers, squash, and gourds, rely on bees for their pollination, as well as peppers, eggplants, and beans. So, every time you eat one of these vegetables, thank the bees who helped pollinate it.
One cannot write about bees these days without addressing colony collapse disorder, the mysterious honeybee die-off that has been the subject of much recent concern. Because of bees’ pollinating benefits, many large-scale growers bring in many beehives to pollinate their large orchards or fields. Since 2006, many of these large-scale honeybee hives have been suddenly dying without a known explanation. Some people think that bees’ immune systems are weakened due to pesticides, heavy travel, or diets supplemented by corn syrup, which are necessary when beekeepers take all the honey from a hive, leaving the bees no food for the winter. Whatever the cause of colony collapse disorder, bees are observably healthier when they have organic crops on which to feed, and when they are managed without pesticides or overly taxing regimens. We are happy to provide a home to two hives of healthy, pesticide free bees, who in return provide us plentiful pollination so that our fruits are bountiful and beautiful.
June’s full moon occurred on Sunday the 7th. In many cultures, each month’s full moon has a name corresponding to natural and cultural happenings around that time; for example, many of us still know the full moon in September as the ‘harvest moon’, referencing that month’s abundant food harvests. To some, the June full moon is known as the ‘mead moon’, which makes reference to a fermented alcoholic drink made from honey. This moon marks the time of the first honey harvest, after bees have been industriously collecting pollen from the flowering trees and plants all spring, and the hives are full of honey.
Some of you at the potluck saw the beekeepers who house their bees at our farm. Unfortunately, we do not yet keep our own bees to make honey for the CSA; as a start-up farm, we could not afford to invest in beekeeping infrastructure this season. However, in honor of the mead moon, I would like to offer my praises of the honeybees who do constant, truly invaluable work to grow your vegetables.
Pollination is the process by which pollen is moved from a plant’s anthers to its pistill, both parts of a plant’s flower. A part of reproduction, pollination is important for all the plants we grow on a farm, as seeds cannot be produced without the pollination process, and without seeds, no one would have the ability to grow vegetables next season. Many, many of the plants we grow depend on or benefit from bees for seed production, including cabbage, carrots, turnips, and sweet potatoes. This is hugely important, as the viable renewal of one’s seed supply leads the way to food independence and control over one’s own resources. Thank goodness we have bees helping us save our seeds!
But as a farm with a so-far limited seed saving repertoire, pollination interests us on a personal scale particularly for the crops that we grow in order to eat their fruits. Of the fruiting vegetables we grow, only some need bees. Tomatoes and peas are self-pollinating, meaning that the plant completes the pollinating process itself within each flower. Corn is wind-pollinated, meaning most pollination takes place via wind blowing the pollen between flowers. Plants in the cucurbit family, including melons, cucumbers, squash, and gourds, rely on bees for their pollination, as well as peppers, eggplants, and beans. So, every time you eat one of these vegetables, thank the bees who helped pollinate it.
One cannot write about bees these days without addressing colony collapse disorder, the mysterious honeybee die-off that has been the subject of much recent concern. Because of bees’ pollinating benefits, many large-scale growers bring in many beehives to pollinate their large orchards or fields. Since 2006, many of these large-scale honeybee hives have been suddenly dying without a known explanation. Some people think that bees’ immune systems are weakened due to pesticides, heavy travel, or diets supplemented by corn syrup, which are necessary when beekeepers take all the honey from a hive, leaving the bees no food for the winter. Whatever the cause of colony collapse disorder, bees are observably healthier when they have organic crops on which to feed, and when they are managed without pesticides or overly taxing regimens. We are happy to provide a home to two hives of healthy, pesticide free bees, who in return provide us plentiful pollination so that our fruits are bountiful and beautiful.
Vegetable Profile: Swiss Chard
'Beta vulgaris' is the scientific name for Swiss Chard. It is in the botanical family Chenopodiaceae. Other members of this family include spinach, lamb’s quarters (a common, edible weed) and quinoa. Swiss chard is actually the same species as beets. Chard and beets are subspecies of Beta vulgaris; one has been bred for its leaf production and one has been bred for its root production. All members of the Chenopodiaceae family are wind pollinated. Its pollen can travel up to 5 miles because it is so light. Chard is biennial, meaning it takes two seasons to produce seed. The word “Swiss” was used in the 19th century to distinguish it from French spinach. However, the first varieties have been traced back to Sicily.
Sources:
Ashworth, Suzanne. “Seed to Seed.” 2002 Seed Savers Exchange Inc.
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chard
Sources:
Ashworth, Suzanne. “Seed to Seed.” 2002 Seed Savers Exchange Inc.
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chard
June 9th Update from the Farm
By Nina Berryman
One of my most common exclamations as a farmer is, “I can’t believe it’s that time of the year already!” It comes out at the beginning of almost every month (“I can’t believe its June already!”), and during benchmark events, like the first tomato pruning. Here’s a quick overview of exciting events that have recently warranted my favorite exclamation.
Potato hilling! The picture above is of the corn and potato field, on the other side of Henry Avenue. I bet many of you didn’t know there was a second field to the CSA! This field is slightly less than one acre (about half the size of the vegetable field near the pick-up site.) Because there is no irrigation over there, we are only growing corn and potatoes at this site. Students from the AgroEcology class cut the potatoes and planted them with us in the spring. Just this week we hilled the potatoes for the first time. “Hilling” is the process of mounding the potato plants with dirt once they are about a foot and a half tall. By covering more of the plant with dirt, more of the plant is underground and then it will produce more potatoes.
Tomato staking and pruning! Tomato staking is one of the most labor-intensive tasks we have at the farm. It involves pounding stakes into the ground every two or three tomatoes, and then wrapping string between the stakes for the tomatoes to climb. We like to prune our tomatoes for a few reasons. Removing secondary branches from the plants creates more airspace, reducing the chance of disease. It also encourages the tomatoes to grow taller, forcing the plant’s energy to go up one or two main stems, instead of many branches. Concentrating the plants energy like this results in fewer- but larger- tomatoes.
Seeding fall Brassicas! We start all of our plants in a greenhouse at one of our other farm sites, in the Awbury Arboretum. Just last week we started seeding some of our fall crops that are in the Brassica family. These include cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. These crops are some of the slowest growing vegetables on our farm.
Winter Squash planting! We just finished planting our winter squash. This is not a small feat, as there are five full beds. These will be ready in late summer.
One of my most common exclamations as a farmer is, “I can’t believe it’s that time of the year already!” It comes out at the beginning of almost every month (“I can’t believe its June already!”), and during benchmark events, like the first tomato pruning. Here’s a quick overview of exciting events that have recently warranted my favorite exclamation.
Potato hilling! The picture above is of the corn and potato field, on the other side of Henry Avenue. I bet many of you didn’t know there was a second field to the CSA! This field is slightly less than one acre (about half the size of the vegetable field near the pick-up site.) Because there is no irrigation over there, we are only growing corn and potatoes at this site. Students from the AgroEcology class cut the potatoes and planted them with us in the spring. Just this week we hilled the potatoes for the first time. “Hilling” is the process of mounding the potato plants with dirt once they are about a foot and a half tall. By covering more of the plant with dirt, more of the plant is underground and then it will produce more potatoes.
Tomato staking and pruning! Tomato staking is one of the most labor-intensive tasks we have at the farm. It involves pounding stakes into the ground every two or three tomatoes, and then wrapping string between the stakes for the tomatoes to climb. We like to prune our tomatoes for a few reasons. Removing secondary branches from the plants creates more airspace, reducing the chance of disease. It also encourages the tomatoes to grow taller, forcing the plant’s energy to go up one or two main stems, instead of many branches. Concentrating the plants energy like this results in fewer- but larger- tomatoes.
Seeding fall Brassicas! We start all of our plants in a greenhouse at one of our other farm sites, in the Awbury Arboretum. Just last week we started seeding some of our fall crops that are in the Brassica family. These include cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. These crops are some of the slowest growing vegetables on our farm.
Winter Squash planting! We just finished planting our winter squash. This is not a small feat, as there are five full beds. These will be ready in late summer.
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