Friday, Feb 4 Harvest Bag
all for $20
includes the following items:
red butter leaf lettuce
Rainbow colored chard
Brussels Sprout
vine ripened tomatoes
carrots
red and yellow fingerling potatoes
Hass avocados
"Satsuma" Mandarin oranges
Pink Lady and Fuji apples
Speaking about growing things organically on our farm:
Yes, you may encounter a few aphids in the Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and kale...just use a strong stream of water from your kitchen faucet and you should be able to rinse off most of the critters. One of many "advantages" of not spraying pesticides on the vegetables!
Cooking the Rainbow colored chard:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot over medium heat. Stir in the sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, and chard stems, and cook for 3 minutes until the flavor of the garlic mellows and the stems begin to soften. Stir in the shredded chard leaves, cover, and cook 5 minutes over medium-low heat.
My favorite way to prepare the fingerling potatoes:
Thinly slice the potatoes lengthwise, arrange single layer on a cookie sheet ( not touching each other), brush on a little olive oil on both sides, salt and pepper to your taste, roast in oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes until crispy on the outsides.
Brussels Sprout.
An easy recipe:
Wash off the sprouts, cut them in half, coat with a little olive oil, garlic powder and salt and pepper, spread them out single layer on a cookie sheet ( don't crowd them ) and roast in your oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, turning once or twice until crispy on the outside. You can add a little Balsamic vinegar during the last 5 minutes of roasting them if desired. The other night, I tried a quick "pan-fry" method of cooking the sprouts...unfortunately, they came out rather bitter tasting, so I strongly recommend the slower oven roasting method mentioned above.
EASY TIPS FOR PERFECT ROASTED VEGETABLES
adapted from The Santa Monica Farmer's Cookbook by Amelia Saltsman
Roasting vegetables concentrates their flavors, develops and caramelizes natural sugars, and gives them that appetizing crisped look. Best of all, the same technique works for just about any vegetable you've got on hand, any time of the year. Follow these simple steps for great results.
Keep vegetables or vegetables pieces a uniform size for even cooking.
Toss cleaned, trimmed vegetables with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, kosher or sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. For convenience, do this directly in the pan.
Always preheat the oven.
Roast dense vegetables, such as beets or potatoes, at 400 degrees, quick-cooking ones, such as asparagus or tomatoes, at 425 to 450 degrees.
Don't crowd the pan, or your vegetables will steam rather than brown. Large baking sheets and heatproof-glass dishes are ideal for roasting.
Roast vegetables uncovered in the upper third of the oven for better browning.
Halfway through the cooking time, remove the pan from the oven and give it a shake or use a spatula to loosen and turn the vegetables.
When the vegetables are browned and tender, season again with your favorite seasonings...salt, pepper, garlic powder.
If serving the vegetables at room temperature, allow them to cool before piling them onto a serving dish( so they won't steam themselves and get soft).
