Shishito Pepper Pickles

 These recipes can be used for other vegetables.

Pickled Shishito Peppers

2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 cups water

4 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 tablespoons honey or sugar

2 tablespoons coriander seeds or pickling spices

1 pound shishito peppers, sliced crosswise into rings

1 green onion, sliced 

 

Boil two 8-ounce mason jars in boiling water to cleanse them. Let them air dry completely.

In a saucepan over high heat, bring the vinegar, water, garlic, peppercorns, salt, honey or sugar and coriander seeds to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and boil for 5-8 minutes.

Take the brine off of the heat and add in the shishitos and green onion. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes, then spoon the mixture into the clean jars, seal the jars and let them cool to room temperature. (The lids will pop as they cool, which will mean that they are sealed properly).

Once the peppers have cooled, place them in the refrigerator. Let the peppers sit for a week or so to let the flavors meld. Serve on sandwiches, on a cheese platter or spice up a salad. 

 

 

Easy Quick Pickled Shishito Peppers

Serve with black beans, tacos, chili, salads, or spice up your hummus.

Ingredients

• 1/4 lb shishito peppers sliced thin
• 1-2 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

• Grab a pint jar and add 1 tsp salt to it.
• Add sliced peppers, garlic, vinegar and water. Add another tsp of salt.
• Add enough water to cover the peppers. Close the lid and shake it like you mean it.
• Place in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Notes

If your peppers are hot, you are going to want to wear gloves. Shishito peppers are generally mild but others may not be. Pickling is versatile. Throw anything in the jar: sugar (if you like it sweeter) garlic, herbs, spices, onions, etc… Use any kind of pepper: jalapeño, banana, serrano, habanero, etc… To tangy for your taste? Add less vinegar and more water next time. 

How To Pickle Shishito Peppers

The steps for pickling shishitos are simple and can be used to pickle a variety of foods. Use these steps to try pickling cucumbers, other peppers or any other crunchy veggies from the garden!

Ingredients:

• 20 Shishito Peppers
• 1 cup Water
• 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar (or white vinegar)
• 2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Black Peppercorns
• 1 tsp Mustard Seed
• 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
  

 Instructions

• Sterilize the jar by boiling for 10 minutes.
• Clean the peppers under cold water.
• Slice the shishito peppers into 1/4 inch thick rounds, discarding the stems.
• Fill the jar with sliced peppers, leaving 1/2 inch of room at the top.
• Combine the remaining ingredients (brine) in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.
• Once a rolling boil is reached, remove brine from heat.
• Carefully pour the hot brine over the peppers into the glass jar. Use a ladle if your pan is not pour-friendly.
• Seal the jars and shake to combine all the ingredients.
• Store in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 weeks once opened.

Notes

This brine recipe can be used to pickle other vegetables, such as jalapenos, cucumbers or any other stiff veggies from the garden.

Chinese Pink Celery

 Small, leafy, and aromatic, Chinese celery grows in a rosette stemming from the base of its roots. Fragrant, this ancient Asian vegetable-herb has hollow, thin crispy stems and delicate wispy leaves. Rarely eaten raw, its flavor is pungent and slightly peppery. Cooking sweetens and tames its taste, while softening its texture. 

Pungent and peppery, Chinese celery tastes similar to regular celery, only much stronger - it is rarely eaten raw. Toss in stir-fries, fried rice dishes or vegetable sautés. Pair with ham, lamb, chicken, turkey or game entrées. To store, place in a perforated plastic bag; refrigerate. Do not wash until ready to use. To clean, rinse quickly under water. Gently shake off excess water; pat dry.

Barese Chard

 Barese Swiss chard is chard bred to grow and look like bok choy. If you’re a gardener know that flea beetles love bok choy. Holes in produce does not bother us, but the holes don’t settle as well with everyone else. So, what’s nice about Barese is that bugs don’t like Swiss chard. We can grow something very similar to bok choy, but not have to worry about flea beetles.

The leaves taste like bok choy and the stems like Swiss chard. As for cooking, you can cook it any way you would Swiss chard or bok choy.

Barese Chard Stir Fry

Do not have some of these ingredients, no problem just use what you have in the frig. No noodles, use rice or other grain.

• 1 carrot, cut on the bias
• 1 portobello mushroom, sliced
• 1 bunch mini broccoli, including leaves, cut into large pieces
• 1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise and then in 1/2 inch pieces
• 6 garlic scapes, cut into 1 inch pieces, or garlic clove
  
• 4 scallion, white ends cut on the bias – reserve and chop greens to top the finished stir fry
• Handful of snow peas
• 1 head barese Swiss chard, rough chopped
• 4 leaves from a large Napa cabbage, rough chopped
• 2-4 Tablespoons canola or peanut oil
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp Sambal Eolek (chili paste)
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 heaping tsp grated ginger
• 1 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 package soba noodles

Directions

1. Cook soba noodles according to directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Prepare all vegetables.
3. Mix together soy sauce through grated ginger. Taste and adjust to your liking. Stir in corn starch making sure there are no lumps. Set aside.
4. Heat a wok or large stock pot over high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons oil and swirl to coat wok/pan.
5. Add carrot and stir fry for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and stir fry for another minute. Add broccoli, zucchini, garlic scapes, and scallions. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add peas, barese Swiss chard, and Napa cabbage. Stir fry until greens wilt. Add oil at any point when pan gets dry.
6. Add soy sauce mixture and stir fry until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
7. Place soba noodles in a bowl and spoon vegetable stir fry on top. Finish with scallions.
   

Barese Swiss Chard & Goat Cheese Filling

 This filling can go into ravioli but it can also be used a number of other ways. Spread it on some bread and make an amazing grilled sandwich. Toss it with hot penne pasta for a tasty dinner. Warm it in a small ramekin dish to make a savory dip for crispy crostini.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup potato, cooked and rough smashed
• 1 cup barese Swiss chard, blanched, water squeezed out, and chopped
• 1/2 cup Spanish chorizo, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoon onion, minced
• 1 Tablespoon parsley, minced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add olive oil and swirl to coat pan. Add onion and saute for a couple minutes until softened. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add parsley, chorizo, Swiss chard, and potato. Cook through. Set aside to cool.
3. Once cooled completely, stir in goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
4. At this point, you can stuff your ravioli, make your grilled sandwich, or whatever you plan to do with the filling and enjoy!

 

Garlic Scapes

Garlic Scapes
Scapes grow from hardneck garlic bulbs, and farmers trim them because they draw energy away from the forming bulbs. They taste sweet, like a chive or scallion with a milder but familiar garlicky zing. Finely sliced, scapes can be used just the same as garlic cloves: sautéed with vegetables, puréed into pesto and hummus, roasted with meats and vegetables.
To store and prep your scapes:
• Scapes couldn't be more low-maintenance. They rarely have a speck of dirt on them, and they will keep for weeks (months!) tucked in a bag in your vegetable drawer.
• Before using them, cut off the stringy, fibrous tip from the flower end, and trim off the very bottom of the stem.
More ideas for cooking your scapes:
• Use scapes just as you would garlic, finely chopped (though not necessarily minced as you typically would with garlic) and sautéed in butter or olive oil. Make a summery sauté with scapes, zucchini, onions, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes -- any of your favorite summer vegetables. Top pizza with sautéed scapes and the garlicky olive oil you sautéed them in.
• Add scapes to your scrambled eggs: finely chop one garlic scape; sauté over low heat in butter until slightly tender and scrape out of the pan; scramble two eggs in the pan with more butter if needed; add scapes back, plus a pinch of salt, and a small handful of grated cheese; season with lots of pepper and serve with toast.
• Purée the scapes raw and add to hummus, pesto, aioli, and mayonnaise.
• When scapes are steamed until tender, their resemblance to green beans is striking. Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil or butter. Lightly stir frying is also nice.
• Cut them into 6-inch lengths, and pickle them with spices (mustard seeds, peppercorns, fennel seed, cumin) and a vinegar-salt-sugar mix.
• Just as you would chives or scallions, finely chop scapes and bake them into savory biscuits, muffins, or scones.
• Scapes can be grilled but be careful: they quickly turn from brown and caramelized to burnt and inedible. Trim the ends of the scapes as described above. Toss scapes with olive oil and salt, and grill over high heat -- no more than 4 minutes total.
• Finally, because scapes are milder than garlic, they can be chopped and added raw to any salad or slaw.

From another source:

There's nothing better than returning from the farmers market to transform a bunch of garlic scapes into tempura-battered appetizer—complete with a sidecar of garlic aioli. This time of year, bags filled with the serpentine stems can be found everywhere at farmers' markets, and unlike many of the fleeting jewels of summer, garlic scapes are a bargain. 

Garlic scapes grow from hardneck garlic bulbs, and farmers trim them because they draw energy away from the forming bulbs. They taste sweet, like a chive or scallion, with a more mild—but familiar—garlicky zing. Finely sliced, scapes can be used just the same as garlic cloves, such as sautéed with vegetables, puréed into pesto and hummus, or roasted with meats and vegetables.

They also can be lightly battered and fried, which tempers their pungency, giving them almost a green bean quality, both in taste and texture. When fried, moreover, scapes become more than just a flavor enhancement—they can be the main show, too. A one-pound bag of scapes, trimmed into six-inch lengths and fried in small batches, will definitely feed a crowd.

How to Store Garlic Scapes

Scapes couldn't be more low-maintenance. They rarely have a speck of dirt on them, and they will keep for weeks (even months!) tucked in a bag in your vegetable drawer. Before using them, cut off the stringy, fibrous tip from the flower end, and trim off the very bottom of the stem.

How to Use Garlic Scapes

Use scapes just as you would garlic, finely chopped (though not necessarily minced as you typically would with garlic) and sautéed in butter or olive oil. Make a summary sauté with scapes, zucchini, onions, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes—any of your favorite summer vegetables. Come Friday night, why not top a pizza with sautéed scapes and the garlicky olive oil that you sautéed them in?

 

You can also treat garlic scapes as you would chives or scallions—finely chop them and use as a garnish, or fold them into the batter for savory biscuits, muffins, or scones, or even whisk them into an egg scramble. 

Purée the scapes raw and add to hummus, pesto, aioli, and mayonnaise. When scapes are steamed until tender, their resemblance to green beans is striking. Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil or butter.

Because garlic scapes have a relatively short season, one of the best ways to preserve their beauty is by trimming them and pickling them with spices (mustard seeds, peppercorns, fennel seed, cumin) and a vinegar-salt-sugar mix.

 

Tokyo Bekana

 Tokyo Bekana is a loose-headed, lightweight cabbage that is often mistaken for lettuce due to its similarities in flavor and appearance. The large leaves have a frilly consistency with ruffled edges and are green with prominent white veins spanning across the surface. Connected to the leaves, the narrow white stems are smooth, crunchy, and juicy, widening at the base. Tokyo Bekana is crisp and tender with a mild, sweet, and spinach-like flavor with mild pepper nuances.

 Tokyo Bekana cabbage is best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as sautéing, steaming, and stir-frying. The frilly green is mild, lacking in traditional cabbage flavors, and can be shredded and tossed into green salads, mixed into pasta dishes for added crispness, braised as a side dish, or sliced and added to soups. Tokyo Bekana cabbage can also be lightly stir-fried and mixed with cooked vegetables and meat, used as a lettuce wrap, or pickled into a sweet and spicy condiment. 

 

Chinese Greens

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 6-10 cups washed, stemmed and chopped bulky greens (cabbage, bok choy, or Chinese cabbage, spinach, beet greens, Tokyo Bekana)
• 1/4 cup Chinese rice wine
• 1 tablespoon vinegar or fresh lemon juice (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sugar or honey (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce or tamari soy sauce

Directions

Heat the oil in a wok and add the garlic and ginger root.  Sauté very briefly.  Add the greens and toss to coat with oil.  Add the rice wine, vinegar or lemon juice, honey or sugar, fish sauce, and a splash of water.  Delicate greens (spinach and beet greens) will take about 1 minute.  Sauté bulky greens (cabbage, bok choy, Chinese cabbage) 5-10 minutes, or until tender.  If you use tamari soy sauce instead of fish sauce, add it just before serving.

Source: New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

 

Provencal Tokyo Bekana

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 3 (3-by 1-inch) strips orange zest
• 3 pounds bok choy or Tokyo Bekana (2 to 3 heads), cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
• 1 pound tomatoes (3 medium), chopped
• 1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté garlic with thyme, bay leaf, and zest until garlic is pale golden and mixture is very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add Tokyo Bekana, tomatoes, olives, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until Tokyo Bekana is crisp-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Discard bay leaf and stir in parsley.

Source: Gourmet

Cucumber Recipe Link

Here is a link to many ways to use your cucumbers.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/healthy-cucumber-recipes/?_cmp=healthy&_ebid=healthy5212020&_mid=346501&ehid=f0f4b9036c727d44fedb4ad83d54b10bb6e8dee8&os_ehash=f0f4b9036c727d44fedb4ad83d54b10bb6e8dee8

Upland Cress

In season  upland cress is similar in appearance to its better-known cousin, watercress, but boasts a deeper pungency that would be a shame to miss. A member of the mustard family, upland cress packs a sharp, peppery heat more akin in flavor to horseradish than the tea sandwich staple.
Below the Mason Dixon line, upland cress is known as “creasy greens” or “creasies,” and when stewed with ham hocks, is as loved a dish as black-eyed peas or cornbread. Traditionally gathered by foragers in the Appalachian Mountains who started looking out for the hearty winter leaves while there was still snow on the ground, the leaves were believed to have medicinal benefits and used in many folk recipes to help heal wounds. Those claims may not be entirely far-fetched as the cress is indeed rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, and calcium.
For the simplest preparation, use upland cress the same way you would watercress. Left raw, the leaves can be chopped and mixed into a salad, tucked into a sandwich, or strewn over broiled fish as a garnish. Use a food processor to blend a handful of upland cress with a cup of Greek yogurt and a garlic clove or two for a lively accompaniment to grilled meats. Below are two recipes that showcase upland cress at its finest!
Upland cress is best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as steaming, boiling, or sautéing. When used fresh, the leaves can be tossed into salads, layered in sandwiches and wraps, mixed into pasta, or plated as a garnish. When cooked, the leaves are commonly mixed into soups, blended into sauces, or lightly sautéed and served alongside cooked meats. Upland cress can be used both raw and cooked similarly to greens such as kale. Upland cress pairs well with meats such as fish, poultry, ham, and smoked turkey, avocado, apples, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and Greek yogurt. The leaves will keep up to one week when wrapped in damp paper towels, placed in a sealed container, and stored in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.

Upland Cress Pesto
    1 bunch Upland Cress
    2 tablespoons pinenuts
    grated pecorino
    sea salt and ground white pepper
    sunflower oil, or any other neutral flavoured oil
Place the cress into a processor with a drizzle of oil and pulse until roughly chopped. Add in the pinenuts and pulse again until they have are roughly chopped.
Add a heaped tablespoon of grated pecorino and another good drizzle of oil and pulse again until a paste forms – you don’t want a smooth mixture so be careful as your process.
Spoon the pesto into a bowl and taste, adjust with salt and pepper and add more grated pecorino and olive oil to form a thick slurry.


Beet and Upland Cress Salad
    1 cup upland cress
    2 cups salad mix
    2 meiumd steamed beets, sliced
    ⅛ cup dried cranberries
    ⅛ cup chopped pecans
    ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
    Balsamic vinaigrette
Lay down a bed of washed and dried cress and salad mix. Top with listed ingredients.
Dress with balsamic vinaigrette. To make some: Whisk together equal parts Balsamic Vinegar & Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Optional to add some fresh minced garlic. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in your fridge for around 1 week.

Cress Sauce
Spoon this sauce over salmon, over cold chicken or ham, or hard boiled eggs

1 bunch cress
1/2 cup mayonnaise ( or yogurt)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
Remove any tough stems from the cress.
Place everything in a blender or processor. Whirl until smooth. Add salt and pepper as desired.

Cucumber recipe link

Here is a link to lots of cucumber recipes.
www.tasteofhome.com/collection/healthy-cucumber-recipes/?_cmp=healthy&_ebid=healthy5212020&_mid=346501&ehid=f0f4b9036c727d44fedb4ad83d54b10bb6e8dee8&os_ehash=f0f4b9036c727d44fedb4ad83d54b10bb6e8dee8

CSA weekly update

I am thinking about using the blog for the weekly update. I will still send an email each week mostly as a reminder to pickup your veggies with a general list of what is in your bag. A more detailed description will be posted here. This will allow me to write the updates ahead of time instead of trying to do it Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Maybe maybe not.

Turnips #2

Turnip Salad with Mustard Dressing
1/3 cup mayonnaise or plain yogurt
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped chives
1 pound turnips peeled and shredded
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lettuce leaves for serving if desired

In a large mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise/yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, and chives. Blend well.
Add the turnips and toss. Season with salt and pepper and cover. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Spoon onto lettuce leaves and serve.

 

Eat the Whole Vegetable

A good article about using everything roots, stems and leaves.

http://www.thekitchn.com/5-vegetable-tops-that-you-should-never-throw-out-tips-from-the-kitchn-215903

Greens #2

Experience the vitality of fresh garden greens.
The more common cooking greens, arugula, collards, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, beet greens, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, spinach, and radish tops - may be used interchangeably. Experiment with the different greens available to you and get to know their unique and mild to pungent flavors.
Their vibrancy and freshness are a gift of flavor and health. Greens are packed with nutrition. Properly prepared, greens offer generous amount of Vitamins A and C, some B vitamins, and folic acid, as well as minerals such as calcium and iron. Greens are very high in dietary fiber and low in calories. In the health world, dark leafy greens also receive attention for their roles in disease prevention.
So don't forget to eat your greens.
From Asparagus to Zucchini,  Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition



Asian-Style Saute
2 tbsp sesame oil
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound mixed greens, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp tamari
fresh ground pepper
Heat oil in wok or large skillet. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes, remove and set aside. Saute greens until just wilted. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, tamari, pepper and garlic. Serve as a side dish or with rice.


Will's Collard Greens    Will Allen, Growing Power
this recipe works for all kinds of cooking greens
1 bunch collard greens  separate stems and cut into small bites
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar/honey
1 tsp minced garlic

Wash and stack the leaves, roll them and slice thinly. Heat oil in medium pan add salt, pepper, garlic, stem pieces and sugar. Add greens and cook until tender. Stir often to avoid burning the greens.


Fresh Greens Pasta Pie  Crystal Lake Gardens

6 ounces vermicelli
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5 eggs
2 tsp cooking oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh greens
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
several shakes hot pepper sauce if desired

Cook vermicelli, drain. Stir butter and parmesan cheese into hot pasta. Beat 2 of the eggs and stir well into pasta. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased plate and use a spoon to shape the pasta into a pie shell, cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a skillet, add onion, cook until tender. Beat remaining 3 eggs and conbine with spinach, mozzarella, milk, seasonings and onions. Spoon mixture into pasta shell. Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Shishito Peppers

Shishito Peppers whether eaten as a snack or incorporated into a main dish, crunchy, sweet shishito peppers are delicious and occasionally pack a punch—one in ten are superspicy!
 Saute peppers in olive oil, over high heat, until they just begin to blister- serve hot, sprinkled with sea salt. Excellent for tempura, yakitori, and sauteed.

Sautéed shishitos are absolutely the best thing to nibble on with drinks, and they're insanely easy to prepare. Deborah Madison

1. 1. Here's what you do. Heat a little olive oil in a wide sauté pan until it is good and hot but not smoking. Add the peppers and cook them over medium, tossing and turning them frequently until they blister. They shouldn't char except in places. Don't rush. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to cook a panful of peppers. When they're done, toss them with sea salt and add a squeeze of fresh lemon. Slide the peppers into a bowl and serve them hot. You pick them up by the stem end and eat the whole thing, minus the stem, that is.
   You can probably do fancier, cheffy things with them, but they're terrific like this. For variety, I sometimes use a little toasted sesame oil instead of olive oil and finish them with togarashi. If you have leftovers, an unlikely event in my experience, chop off the stems and put the peppers in an omelet or some scrambled eggs.  

5-Minute Blistered Shishito Peppers Recipe

 Chief Foodiecrush-er

 Many recipes call for adding oil to the pan before adding the peppers but when I’ve done this in the past, the smoke from the oil is pretty heavy. And I hate a smoky kitchen. Searing in a dry pan did the job just fine, minus the smoke.

 I used three different flavored salts for flavoring the peppers: Natural Crystal Flakes with Wild Garlic, Smoked Applewood Salt and Truffle Salt. It was fun to experiment and see how the different salts flavored the same basic preparation of the peppers. You could of course use plain kosher salt or any other salt you have a hankering for. I think a saffron flavored salt would be dyn-o-mite.

A hot cast iron pan creates the perfect char for this bite-size pepper appetizer tossed with flavored salts.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces shisito peppers
• ½ lemon, sliced
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher or flavored salts

Instructions

1. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until the pan is hot. Add the peppers to the hot skillet and cook the peppers, turning occasionally then add a few slices of lemon. Cook until the peppers become fragrant and begin to blister, and nudge the lemons so they don't stick, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil plus a squeeze more lemon then sprinkle with flavored salts. Serve immediately.

Information about CSA's and tips to use your vegetables

CSA: 9 Things Your Farmer Wished You Knew
CSA stands for “community supported agriculture,” and it refers to a defined group of individuals who have pledged to support a local farm, to share the risks and benefits of food production with the growers. “CSA” can be used as an adjective to describe the economic model of a farm, a noun to refer to the share of vegetables received, and a verb, meaning, to participate in the know-your-farmer, visit-your-farm and cook seasonally movement by eating a diverse weekly assortment of always fresh and sometimes unusual vegetables.
1. Foremost, We Are Farmers
Not magicians, nutritionists, psychics, dictators, cheerleaders, or Rachael Ray. Our primary aim is to plan & plow, seed & plant, grow crops not weeds, and harvest at peak freshness and flavor. We’re not here to feed you per se, but to give you the tools (vegetables) to feed yourselves. We aim to inspire but we cannot possibly prepare you for what you are about to experience—your CSA is for you to discover. We also are not event planners, marketing managers, or customer service representatives, though we do try our best to be those things, checking emails over lunch or after dinner.
2. Our Compost is Your Compost
Pile in! Waste is the number one struggle listed by CSA-members, but it is not a burden you have to bear. If you know you won’t eat it, you can share it with a neighbor, you can put it in your freezer until winter, or you can compost it. Encountering the full-circle of your diet is part of the mindfulness that a CSA might instill in you, if you let it. Think fertility not filth. There is a learning curve to CSA, and waste is part of it.
3. Ugly Food is Good Food
And without you to eat it, we’d waste a lot—of time, energy, land, and money. No, two small and/or ghastly celeriac will not make a soup, but they can add a certain salty tang (no strings attached) to your favorite roast or stew. And don’t you think Siamese twin zucchini have a certain charm?      Note from us here at Blue Spring Farm:  Our CSA members get the first harvests of crops and they get the best.
The ugly vegetables are the ones we consume during the season or dry, freeze and can for our winter food supply. When we have more 2nds than we can deal with we take them to our local food back or offer them at discounted prices at the market.
4. Weird Vegetables are Crop Insurance
We also think they’re beautiful and undercelebrated and tasty and add biodiversity to our farms. We plant a huge array of vegetables because some things, inevitably, do not grow as planned. The sequence and severity of sun and rain create wildly different seasons with differing amounts of success across vegetable type and variety. This is not failure on the part of the farmer (generally) but inconsistency on the part of nature.
5. There Will Be Greens
We have several months of frozen ground every year, and tender green sprouts are the first to successfully emerge. It takes much more sunlight and significantly more time to grow buds, flowers, fruits, rhizomes, roots, and bulbs. Your first few CSA boxes will contain mostly greens because this is all the world can do with a seed in such short time. The rest of your CSA boxes might still contain a lot of greens. These are called “leaves.” In the plant world, everybody’s got ‘em. You have all winter to miss ‘em, so learn how to harness their extremely nutritious goodness while you can (turn your fridge down a couple degrees, get a juicer, make green smoothies, learn to veggie chip, and green-up your stirfrys, pasta, soups, quiche or risottos).
6. Farms are Not Grocery Stores
Our goal is not to give you everything you want in the amounts you think you need. That is the work of a magician. Or a grocery store. While we are working to learn how to best grow everything perfectly every season, this takes an enormous number of advanced skills and intimate knowledge of a piece of land. CSAs are also not market-stands, where we can afford to spend more time harvesting a smaller number of goods every week—things like beans and peas and cherry tomatoes that are expensive to harvest in large numbers by hand. CSAs are what we say they are and also what you make of them.
7. We are Not Capitalizing on a Trend
We aren’t really capitalizing on anything. To meet our customer’s expectations, we keep prices low. We always give you at least a little more than what you pay for, but usually significantly more. The vegetables are a labor of fourteen-hour-day love and minimum-wage love and also the fruits of exhaustion and working second jobs. Mostly, we believe in a movement that honors transparency and commitment, and that hopes for the day that physical labor and care for the land will eventually outlive chemical fertilizers and outrageous subsidies. Yes, your CSA is fun and challenging and healthy, but it is also a vote for small-scale, human-powered agriculture, which is bigger than you and really important.
8. Your CSA Might Just Change You
If you weren’t much for staying-in and cooking a meal using whole ingredients, you might be now. Accepting unknowns, working creatively within limitations, learning new ways of cooking, and adapting your diet to fit the seasons and the produce of your particular farm… these are the tenets of CSA. Picky eaters and people who don’t like vegetables, beware, a CSA could transform you, in a matter of seasons.
9. A CSA Might Not Be For You and That’s Okay
Before you buy a CSA, read the membership agreement. Shop around. Ask questions. CSAs help farmers in the off-season when they have the highest cost of pre-season materials, soil amendments, and seeds, but farmers have costs all year round, and there are other ways to directly support local farms: like the farmers market. Eating at restaurants whose sourcing you trust is another important part of the equation. You can also buy your Thanksgiving turkey direct, put away a side of grass-fed pork in your freezer, join a buying club, or try an egg or milk CSA—they tend to be more straightforward.
A mixed vegetable CSA is a commitment not everybody’s ready for, and there’s certainly a learning curve. It takes a few seasons to overcome the daikon radish and learn how to kohlrabi. It’s hard, we know! But don’t give up. There are many ways to support farmers, source ethically, and eat according to the seasons. So buy a cookbook, check online recipe sites and season your cast iron skillet. We’re all in this together.

This post was created by a user and has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone can post awesome lists and creations.

Getting Hooked On Cooking With CSA

by Katherine Deumling of Cook With What You Have

A CSA share offers a plethora of produce every week and with it varieties we may have never seen before, let alone cooked—a delight and a bit of a challenge, for sure.

Fresh, delicious vegetables chosen for me week after week is my idea of heaven. It hasn’t always been but I get more hooked every year. I’m hooked on the deliciousness, on not having to make any decisions about what vegetables to purchase, and on the creativity it inspires.

So, how does one get hooked?

Stock your Pantry, Two Ways:

Shop mostly to restock rather than for specific dishes. You’ll spend less time (and money) running to the store for last minute items and can instead spend your time cooking, eating, and creatively using what you already have.

This is a basic list but you certainly don’t need everything listed to cook many dishes. And, your pantry will reflect your particular taste. This is just a loose guide.

Purchased Goods for Pantry, Fridge and Freezer:

• Lentils; French green, red, brown
• Beans: black, pinto, white, chickpeas
• Grains: brown and white rice, barley, farro, cornmeal/polenta, quinoa, pasta, couscous, bulgur
• Seeds & nuts: sunflower, pumpkin, hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, etc.
• Spices: cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, dried chilies, turmeric, caraway, paprika, cardamom
• Herbs: thyme, oregano
• Vinegars: cider, rice and red wine
• Oils: olive, sunflower, coconut, sesame
• Hot sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce
• Dairy products
• Eggs
• Lemons and limes
• Meat and fish in freezer: sausages, bacon, chicken, etc.

Semi-prepared Items:

When you have a little spare time you can add semi-prepared items to your fridge/ pantry that will make life much easier and tastier when you don’t have those extra few minutes to get a meal on the table.

• Make a jar of vinaigrette and keep it in the fridge. Dress lettuces and greens as well as roasted vegetables or plain chickpeas/beans with the same vinaigrette, adding some chopped herbs and toasted seeds. Be creative!
• Cook a good quantity of beans. Put beans out to soak before you go to work in the morning. Cook them that evening while you’re in the kitchen cooking something else for dinner anyway and have them ready for the next day or freeze half.
• Cook twice as much rice, barley or farro as you need for any given meal and freeze half of it to make fried rice, rice and beans or a soup the following week on a particularly busy night when you need the head start.
• Toast a cup of sunflower or pumpkin seeds and keep in a jar. Your salads will be better for them; your soups will have added crunch; your snacks will be cheaper and more nutritious!
• Use a whole bunch of parsley or cilantro to make a quick, savory sauce with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar. Stir in some thick yogurt for a creamy version. Having a flavorful component like this on hand means a plain bowl of rice or beans or a fried egg turns into a meal in no time.
• Make chicken or any other meat, fish or vegetable stock and freeze.

Free Yourself from Strictly Following a Recipe & Learn to Improvise and Substitute.

The more you cook—and you will be cooking (!)—the easier and more fun it is to substitute and adapt as you go. Families of vegetables such as brassicas and alliums have certain common characteristics that in many cases let you substitute one for another. However, there is no real shortcut to learning how to do this so experiment as much as you can—you’ll have plenty of opportunity. Here are a few general guidelines to get you started.

Root vegetables love to be roasted as do brassicas like kohlrabi, cauliflower, romanesco, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Cut up, tossed with a little oil and salt and roasted in a single layer, they are delicious as is or can serve as the foundation for soups, mashes, salads, etc.

Onions, like their allium compatriots, shallots, scallions, leeks and garlic, are pungent raw and quite sweet cooked. If you don’t have an onion by all means use a leek, though leeks are sweeter and you might add a little acidity to balance it out and leeks are not so good raw. Scallions (green onions) and shallots can be substituted for onions and vice versa in many recipes, raw or cooked.

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, celery root, rutabagas and turnips and sometimes winter squash can often stand in for one another in mashes, gratins, soups and stews.

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spring rabe and romanesco, all brassicas, have similar flavors and behave similarly in many dishes, though certainly not all. Mashed cauliflower is delicious but I would not mash Brussel sprouts.

Leafy greens are eminently substitutable. Chards, beet greens, kale and collards, are all good raw (very thinly sliced) when young and tender. They behave quite similarly when cooked and can be mixed and substituted for each other at will. Turnip, radish, and mustard greens are all tender and often interchangeable, though radish tops are a bit fuzzy raw. Make sure to blanch those.

Get Good at a Handful of Dishes that Showcase most any Vegetable.

It’s not so hard to keep up when you have a handful of recipes that can accommodate most any vegetable and in a variety of combinations.

A simple frittata elevates most vegetables, from leafy greens to peppers, peas, herbs, potatoes and both summer and winter squash.

Pan-fried vegetable fritters/savory pancakes/patties transform mounds of vegetables of all kinds into savory nuggets. Broccoli with parmesan, leftover mashed potatoes, leeks and plenty of parsley, rutabaga and carrot latkes, Japanese-inspired cabbage pancakes with scallions, sesame oil and soy sauce. . .

Fried rice with loads of finely chopped vegetables; simple Thai-style coconut milk curries; and soups and stir-fries, of course, are all good vehicles for delicious CSA produce.

A quick, stove top version of mac ‘n cheese with whatever vegetables you have, chopped finely, never fails to be devoured.

Finally, recipes can often accommodate way more vegetables than they call for. Perhaps a recipe calls for 1 lb of pasta and 3 cups of vegetables. Invert that ratio and use ½ lb of pasta and 6 cups of vegetables or just add more vegetables and have plenty of leftovers. You’ll figure out how to make such changes and have recipes and tips work for your particular selection of produce.

Get comfortable making a few of these dishes and make them your own, with different spices, herbs, cheeses.

And then. . .

Cooking (with a CSA) can in fact simplify one’s life—a way through the general madness and a treat for the senses and body. Yes, this is work and it takes time and organization but the deliciousness of that regular infusion of produce is well worth it!

Random photos

 Paper Mulch in beds for cabbages and broccoli.

 Cabbages planted and being covered with row cover to keep out insects. Broccoli and kale to be in the next bed over.

 Some of the lettuce varieties for this year.

 Cleaning, sanitizing and tagging CSA delivery bags.

 Randy and June seeding winter squash.

 Deep plowing and renovating about 1/4 acre of beds. Garlic and onions in the background.

 Carrots, first crop ready in a few weeks.

 Snap peas on the vine, harvest soon.

 Melons

 Summer squash

 Tomatoes starting to peak out of their wind shields.

 First crop of beans.

 Onions starting to bulb up.

 Harvesting Napa Cabbage

Loaded and ready for the cool room.

Turnip Greens

Turnip Greens Stir fry with Potato Recipe
Turnip Greens - 1 bunch
Red Onion - 1 large finely chopped / sliced  ( 2-3 medium size)
Potato - 1 medium size ( cut into small cubes )
Grated Coconut - 2tbsp
Garlic clove - 1
Green chillies - 2-3
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
For tempering :
Canola oil - 2 tbsp (can use any vegetable/cooking oil)
Mustard seeds - 1-2 tsp
Dry red chilli - 1-2
Curry leaves - 1 sprig (4-5 leaves)

Directions:
1. Wash the Turnip Greens well and place them on a kitchen towel or stand the leaves in a bowl to drain the water off. Chop the leaves into thin strips.
2. Using a mixer grinder, pulse together the grated coconut with garlic and green chillies , make sure it does not become a paste.
3. In a large frying pan heat the oil and crack mustard seeds , then add the dry red chillies and curry leaves and saute for 1 minute.
4. Add the red onions, cubed potato, turmeric powder and add salt and saute until onions becomes soft and pink.
5. Now toss in the leaves and cover and cook until the leaves are tender. (for about 5 -10mins)
6. Add the grinded coconut mixture and cook with the lid off on medium heat until the potato gets cooked and the entire thoran is dry.
7. Serve hot with plain rice and maybe some curry if you like.
Read more @ http://manjuseatingdelights.blogspot.com Manju's Eating Delights:


Spicy Skillet Turnip Greens
 A quick recipe for spicy skillet turnip greens for a comforting, home-cooked meal.
Serves: 6
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 medium onion, cut into wedges
    1 pound turnip greens, cleaned and chopped
    ¼ cup water
    pinch brown sugar
    ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to preference)

Instructions
    Drizzle olive oil into skillet over medium heat.
    Add onion and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Then add ½ of turnip greens. Allow to cook down and add the remainder of the greens.
    Add water, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Adjust the amount of red pepper to your personal taste.

Preserving Herbs

4 Alternatives To Drying Herbs

Keep those garden-fresh herbs handy all fall and winter without losing flavor.

By Jean Nick July 31, 2015

Farmers’ markets and gardens are bursting with tasty fresh herbs this time of the year, so it is a perfect time not only to enjoy them fresh but also to try preserving them for use later—especially the frost-tender ones, such as basil and pineapple sage, which will be gone with the first nip of frost. Preserving fresh organic herbs is a great way to add flavor to your food, plus by not purchasing pesticide-grown plants you support a healthy environment at the same time! And you’ll save money by not having to buy tiny bottles of the dried stuff that loses its flavor before you have time to use it up.
Drying herbs couldn’t be simpler and is a great way to preserve parsley, rosemary, mint, thyme, and many others. But some herbs will be mere shadows of their former selves when dried, hardly worth the time and effort it takes to do it. Luckily, there are lots of simple alternatives, such as freezing and making herbal butters and vinegars, and pretty much all herbs are suited to these methods.

Freezing Herbs
Freezing herbs is easy, even if you have a small freezer. The simplest way to freeze herbs is to spread dry, clean whole or chopped leaves onto a baking sheet, freeze overnight, and put the frozen herbs into sealed containers in the freezer for later use. Frozen herbs prepared this way last for months before they start to get tired-looking. I like to freeze chives for sprinkling on baked potatoes in the dead of winter, when my herb patch is locked under snow.

For longer storage, freeze herbs by snipping leaves into small bits, packing the bits into an empty ice-cube tray, filling about ¾ full with water, and freezing; one measured tablespoon of herbs per cube is a good amount. The next day, top off with water and freeze again (this covers the floating bits with ice to prevent freezer burn). Pop the finished cubes into a sealed container in the freezer. Drop frozen cubes into soups, stews, and such, for fresh-cut flavor.
Pesto also freezes well—freeze it in an ice-cube tray and store the cubes in airtight containers in the freezer. First, discover the secret of making gorgeous, emerald-green pesto.
Herbal Butters
Another great method for preserving herbs is to make them into flavored butter and freeze that. Mince 1 part herbs (one type, or a blend) and mash into 2 parts softened organic butter, shape into a log, and freeze. Cut off slices of herb-flavored butter as needed to melt over vegetables, meat, or fish, or to sauté in recipes for the taste of summer all winter long. My favorite flavored butter is made with minced garlic and parsley, which makes awesome garlic bread!
Try making your own organic butter.
Herb-Flavored Vinegar
Herb-flavored vinegar is a delicious, pretty way to savor herbs long after the growing season is past. You don’t need any special equipment to make them; just reuse attractive glass bottles, so your tasty gifts will also be tasteful.
To make flavored vinegar, you will need bottles and cork stoppers to fit them (vinegar eats metal lids, even coated ones), enough good commercial vinegar to fill them, and fresh or dried herbs and spices. I like to use white-wine vinegar for delicate flavors like lemon balm, and organic apple-cider vinegar for more robust flavors like rosemary.
Wash and pat dry any fresh herbs—tarragon is a classic vinegar flavoring—and slide the whole leaves into the bottles, using a chopstick or wooden skewer as needed. Peeled garlic cloves and any kind of small peppers (slit down the side) are also nice choices for making flavored vinegar. Use about ½ cup of herbs per 2 cups of vinegar, or more if you want a very concentrated flavor. Fill the bottles with room-temperature vinegar and cork. Store in a cool, dark place. The flavor will continue to strengthen for 4 to 6 weeks. Use herb-flavored vinegars in salad dressings and marinades, splashed over veggies, or anywhere a recipe calls for vinegar or lemon juice.
To store vinegar longer, melt some beeswax (in a small steel can set in a pan of simmering water), and dip the corked end of the bottle into the wax to coat the top ¼ inch of the glass and the exposed cork. Let the wax harden, and repeat several times to build up a good coating. For extra-special gifting, drape a short length of ¼"- to ½"-wide ribbon over the top of the just-dipped bottle after the first dip. Hold the loose ends against the bottle neck and dip the top again, ribbon and all. The ribbon looks really classy, and makes it easy to remove the wax seal later.
Herb-Flavored Oils
You can also use your glass jars and corks for flavored oils. But placing herbs, garlic, peppers, fruit, and such, that contain even a trace of moisture into any oil is asking for trouble: The oil seals out the air and makes the perfect environment for botulism bacteria to thrive in the plant material. To be safe, you must store herb-flavored oils in the refrigerator and use them within a few weeks.
As an alternative, you can dry the herbs and other flavorings in a food dehydrator, or in the sun, until they are completely dry before adding them to a light-flavored organic olive oil or other cold-pressed oil. Add about 2 tablespoons of crushed dried herbs to 2 cups of oil.

Tags: herbsorganic gardening

 

 

 

 Preserving the Harvest from an Herb Garden

Techniques for freezing and drying herbs

By Kathy LaLiberte

 

Freezing

 Freezing preserves essential oils, and it's the oils that give herbs their flavor. Freezing herbs is easy. There's no need to blanch them; just rinse, remove the leaves from the stems and let them dry on a flat tray. You can then put a bunch of these leaves together in a bag and freeze them. You'll end up with a clump of herbs that you can cut up and add to sauces, soups, etc. Or you can freeze the leaves individually first on a flat tray (like a cookie sheet) and then place them in a plastic bag; when you open the bag later, you can pick out as many individual leaves as you like.

Another great method is to blend the herbs with oil to make a paste, which you can then freeze in a plastic container, bag or in ice cube trays. You can freeze just one kind of herb, such as basil, or make your own blend, such as oregano, thyme, parsley and sage.

Drying 

 Some herbs, such as oregano, sage and thyme, can be air-dried. Just hang small bunches in a well-ventilated room, away from light. When leaves are dry, remove them from their stems and store in an airtight jar.

Unless you live in a very arid climate, herbs such as basil and parsley, which have thick, succulent leaves, are better dried in a dehydrator. Drying can also be done in the oven at the lowest temperature setting you have. Watch carefully, herbs can burn at temperatures above 150! Once dry, store them in an airtight container.
Whatever method you choose, be sure to harvest herbs after the flower buds appear but before they open. That way, you'll be sure to get the highest concentration of essential oils. Early morning is the best time to pick your herbs, after the morning dew has evaporated but before the sun gets too hot.

 

Tomatillos #2

 Tomatillo and Jicama Salad
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar (1/4 tsp honey, or agave nectar)
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of cayenne
6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 pound tomatillos, thinly sliced
1 medium jicama, shredded
4 ounces Monteray Jack cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 red bell pepper or other ripe sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro ( can use parsley if you do not like or have cilantro )

In small bowl whisk together lime juice, sugar, salt and cayenne. Gradually whisk in oil and stir in garlic.
In a salad bowl, combine tomatillos, jicama, cheese and red bell pepper. Scatter on the cilantro and mix in. Pour on the dressing and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
From Judy Gorman's  Vegetable Cookbook



White Bean Chicken Chili
Recipe by: Thea
It's great to make whenever there is left over chicken or turkey around! . If you would like the soup to be spicier, you can add some red chili flakes or salsa. Serve with these toppings for people to choose from: limes, cilantro, cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla chips."
Ingredients
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    1 onion, chopped
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
    1 (18.75 ounce) can tomatillos, drained and chopped or about 2 1/2 cups fresh
    1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes or 2 cups fresh
    1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
    1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
    1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
    2 ears fresh corn or frozen, canned in the off season
    1 pound diced, cooked chicken meat
    1 (15 ounce) can white beans
    1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
    Add all ingredients to list

    Heat oil, and cook onion and garlic until soft.
    Stir in broth, tomatillos, tomatoes, ( if using fresh  cook with onion and garlic until soft ) chilies, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
    Add corn, chicken, and beans; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Tomatillo and Squash Soup
from The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

About 12 tomatillos, 1 1/2 lbs
3-4 , 1 lb, ripe tomatoes
10 - 12 cloves garlic
salt to taste
4cups peeled and diced winter squash
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water, more if needed
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large yellow onion, quartered and sliced
1 small bunch cilantro coarsely chopped
2 dried hot peepers ( can use fresh and saute with the onions)

Remove husks from tomatillos, wash and cut in half. Trim the tomatoes and quarter. Arrang tomatillos and tomatoes and all but 1 clove of the garlic on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with slt and roast at 450 degrees for 35-45 min. Remove and let cool.
Combine the squash, vegetable broth ans 2 cps water in soup pot and simmer covered for 45 minor until squash is very tender.
Heat olive oil in pan and add onions, garlic clove, minced, until soft ans carmelized.
When roasted vegetables are cool enough to handle, combine tomatoes, garlic and tomatillos in a blender or food processor with a little water and puree.
Add the puree to the broth and squash along with the onions and chopped cilantro. Add water if needed.
If using dried chiles, blister in pan or over flame. Chop, removing seeds for a milder flavor and stir into soup. Simmer everything together for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot with warm tortillas or any good bread.


Connecticut Salsa
from the Gardeners Community Cookbook recipe by Nina Bloomer
Delicious for breakfast with eggs, for dinner served with chicken or pork or as a taco topping.

20 tomatillos, about 1/14 lbs
2/3 to 3/4 cup cilantro leaves
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 medium onoins , finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Remove husks from tomatillos, rinse. Add to a pot of water and simmer until soft, 8-10 min. Drain and cool. Transfer to a food processor. Add cilantro and garlic and process until smooth.
Heat oil in a pan, stir in onions and cook slowly until wilted 1-2 min.
Add the tomatillo mixture and salt and bring to a boil.Remove from heat right away and transfer to bowl. Cool and then refrigerate.
Serve chilled, at room temperature, or reheated. Will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.


Strawberry Tomatillo Crisp
Dana McFall, Deb and Lola's Restaurant from Asparagus to Zucchini

4 cups coarsely chopped, husked tomatillos
about 1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp cornstach
15-20 ripe strawberries, cleaned and sliced
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Place tomatillos in saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring in sugar ans salt until it has the flavor of a nice tart apple. Cook 10-15 min. Combine cornstarch with 3 tbsp water and stir into tomatillos until mixture thickend, remove from heat and cool.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread filling in individual baking dishes ( 1 larger one ). Top with strawberries.
Topping - Mix remaining ingredients until crumbly, using your fingertips. sprinkle topping over fruit, bake 5-10 min. Serve with ice cream. 6-8 servings.


 Pepian Sauce  (Tomatillo Pumpkin Seed)
    4 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
    1/4 cup diced onion
    4 tablespoons pepitas divided
    3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
    1 clove garlic, peeled
    1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

    Place tomatillos, onion, 3 tablespoons pepitas, 2 tablespoons cilantro, garlic, broth and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Transfer to a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, 12 to 15 minutes. The mixture will resemble a thick paste. Remove from the heat and stir in sour cream. Set aside.  Use on chicken, eggs, fish, sandwich spread.

Sorrel

Because of its bitter flavour, sorrel is often combined with other ingredients. It can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in soups, purées and stuffings and goes particularly well with fish and egg dishes. The sourness of this herb also complements most types of fish, especially oily varieties such as salmon and delicate white fish such as lemon sole; it's also a natural ally of shellfish such as crab and lobster. Try adding butter and chopped fresh sorrel to the pan once the fish has been fried, then serve the pan juices drizzled over it. If fish isn't your thing, add sorrel to a roast chicken or Spanish tortilla, or chop it into a simple goats' cheese salad. Blanch the leaves before use if they taste too sharp.
 http://www.thekitchn.com/got-sorrel-10-colorful-spring-recipes-170262, has a nice list of recipes to use sorrel.

Green Beans

Green Beans With Creamy Garlic Dressing
WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com
Inspired by a Lebanese pasta dish, we toss steamed green beans with garlicky yogurt for an easy side dish.
Ingredients
   1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
    1 small clove garlic, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
    1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, (optional)
    Freshly ground pepper, to taste

    Place a medium bowl of ice water near the stove. Bring an inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add green beans, cover and cook until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the beans to the ice water to cool. Remove from the ice water with a slotted spoon and let drain on a kitchen towel; blot dry with another towel.
    If using fresh garlic, mash with salt using the back of a spoon until a paste forms. Whisk the garlic paste (or garlic powder and salt) with yogurt, oil, parsley (if using) and pepper in a large bowl. Add the green beans and toss to coat. Serve cold.


Blue Cheese Green Beans
WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com
Tender-crisp green beans tossed with creamy blue cheese and topped with toasted walnuts pair well with grilled steak or chicken.
    1 pound green beans, trimmed
    1/4 cup water
    2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
    1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese  (do not like blue cheese, try some feta)
    1/3 cup walnuts, toasted chopped

    Bring green beans and water to a boil in a large skillet. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the beans are just tender, 3 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes more.
    Add oil, salt and pepper to the pan and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Transfer the beans to a large bowl and toss with blue cheese until well coated. Sprinkle each serving with walnuts.


 Green Bean Stir Fry 
   1 tablespoon  Canola Oil
    3/4 to 1 lb fresh green beans
    2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
    1 tablespoon  Lite Soy Sauce
    1 teaspoon  Peanut Butter
Directions
    Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring constantly. Add garlic during last 3 minutes of cooking.
    Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and peanut butter.