DOOR STEP HARVEST Weekly Delivery Newsletter
All leafy vegetables are washed in vinegar water and spun in salad spinner, and sealed in zip bag with moist paper towel to preserve crispness. Most items will last nearly a week in the fridge when stored this way. Your veggies are grown from seeds that are either/or heirloom, organic, and from a seed savers exchange network. The flower bouquet this week is made from _______________ The fresh living food on your doorstep this week includes: salad mix with nasturtium and arugula flowers, horseradish root, beets, red chard, dinosaur kale, red Russian kale, amaranth, dandelion greens, wild and domestic grape leaves, radish, rat tail radish, green onion, sugar snap peas, green beans, mulberry, gooseberry, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, basil, peppermint, licorice mint, lemon balm, flowers, and the surprise of the week (elder flowers).
*/** Salad mix: made of two varieties of lettuce with nasturtium and arugula flowers in the mix this week. Enjoy with an olive-oil vinaigrette salad dressing blended with ginger, garlic, and herbs from this week’s delivery. It’s even great on sandwiches!
** Horseradish root may be prepared and used as a condiment with roast beef. Attached is a recipe for preparing it. CAUTION: some people find the fresh root irritating to the skin so use it carefully.
**Beets: Cover them with one inch of water and boil until tender, rinse in cold water, slip the skins off, cook, slice, and dress with generous amounts of dill, salt, vinegar, and olive oil. Prepare beet tops as any green…
*Chard: Red Chard tastes good sliced and cooked with onions, salt, vinegar, and mirin.
**Dinosaur Kale:
*/**Red Russian Kale:
**Amaranth: mild and tasty. To cook, cover with water, sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, a dash of rice vinegar, and cook for 5 minutes. Tastes mild like spinach. Amaranth can be used to replace spinach .
*Dandelion greens: city markets sell these for a hefty price. See attached recipe to prepare.
**Wild and domestic grape leaves:
*Cherry Belle Radish: Enjoy on the salad. This is the last week of this until fall. The heat made it bolt (put energy into making seed instead of root).
**Rat Tail Radish: This variety of radish plant doesn’t make an edible root, instead, it makes a large plant that produces delicious seed pods that taste just like radish. Eat it raw, sliced on salad, or lightly steam.
**Green Onion:
**Sugar Snap Peas: sweetest of all peas, this one is eaten shell and all, raw on salads or steamed as a side.
*Green Beans:
**Mulberry:
**Gooseberry:
*Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano:
**Peppermint, Basil
*Licorice Mint
*Lemon Balm: It is said to repel mesquitoes and I have been experimenting with it. So far, it doesn’t work very well for me but Mom says that it is working for her ONLY if she crushes it and rubs it on ALL exposed skin GENEROUSLY. We’ll keep working on it and you can try it too and let us know your results.
*/**Flowers: Lilly
Wild Crafted Elder flowers: add these to baked goods or enjoy the attached easy recipe for an elder flower drink. “Good for making wine, vinegar or syrup, they can also be dipped in batter, deep fried and served sprinkled with sugar and grated orange peel, or added to fritter, pancake and muffin batter.” The Edible Ornamental Garden, Bryan & Castle, 1974, p. 90.
Beet & Horseradish Relish (from Twinhawks Hollow Farm CSA): Scrape and wash horseradish root. Grate desired amount into 1 cup sour creamand let stand two hours. Blend 2 pounds cooked and chopped beets, 2 tbsp additional grated horseradish and 1 tsp sugar until beets are coarsely chopped. Mix with sour cream mixture. Place in covered bowl in refrigerator for several days to blend flavors.
Brussels Sprouts with Horseradish (Moosewood Restaurant): Trim off outer layers leaves of 1.5 lbs Brussels sprouts. Cut 3 large carrots into 1 inch thick slices and 3 leeks into ½ inch pieces. Steam vegetables until tender, 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp butter in heavy saucepan. Stir in 1/3 c vegetable oil, 3 tbsp fresh grated or prepared horseradish root, 3 tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tbsp fresh dill, ½ tsp salt, and pepper. Drain vegetables and toss with sauce.
Elderflower Sherbet (The Edible Ornamental Garden): Pour 2 c boiling water over 2.5 cups firmly packed elder flowers and let stand 1 hour. Soften in: 2 tbsp cold water and 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin. Strain and discard flowers; reheat liquid. Dissolve softened gelatin in liquid; then stir in: ½ c each of extra-fine sugar and lime juice. Pour into 2 ice trays and freeze, stirring occasionally with for, until partially frozen. Spoon into bowl set over ice and beat with egg beater. Gradually fold in: 2 egg whites, beaten and stiff. Return to trays and freeze. Spoon into serving dishes and garnish with: mint sprigs. Serve as accompaniment to pork or other roast. Makes 8 small servings.