DOOR STEP HARVEST Weekly Delivery Newsletter 6/20/11
This month you’ll find at your doorstep: salad mix with nasturtium leaves; beets; stir fry mix of dinosaur kale, red Russian kale, and chard; dandelion greens; wild and domestic grape leaves; radish; rat tail radish; green onion; green beans; berry bag of mulberry, gooseberry, and crandalls; herb bag of rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, basil, tarragon, mint, licorice mint, lemon balm; flowers (lily and salvia; and the surprise of the week (elder flowers).
*/** Salad mix: enjoy the nasturtium leaves in the mix this month. This may be the last week for salad until the fall.
**/* Asian Stir-fry Mix: Includes Dinosaur Kale, Red Russian Kale, Beet Tops, Red Chard, Green Chard, Collards.
**Beets (red & white): 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… (Wikifact: beets are cultivated for their sugar)
*Dandelion greens: city markets sell these for a hefty price. (Wikifact: In the north-eastern United States, dandelion is cultivated and eaten in salad.) See recipe below, it’s a great addition for breakfast.
**Wild and domestic grape leaves: (Wikifact: A jar of commercial grape leaves typically contains grape leaves, water, salt, citric acid, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, and sodium bisulfate (for preservatives). Enjoy the stuffed grape leave recipe enclosed.
*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). (Wikifact: The radish (Raphanus sativus) is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe,)
**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. I find that the seed pod is rather spicy, but the small, delicate, and juicy seeds are very delicious. The pod and seed are edible. (Wikifact: It is believed to have originated from China)
**Green Onion: enjoy with salads
*Green Beans: “Terra Bush Bean” from organic seed.
**Gooseberry: Gooseberries are beginning to ripen and drop this week. You’ll a mix of ripe and green fruit this week… Great Grandma made pies with the green gooseberries. (Wikifact: Gooseberries are commonly preserved by drying, storing in sugar syrup, or as jam or pickle. Gooseberries are used to flavored drinks such as soda, water or even milk, and are used to make fruit wine. )
**Crandall berry: Sometimes called “Clove Currant,” it is sweet and flavorful with a hint of spice. This is its first year in production! This week we have tasting quantities.
*Culinary Herbs including: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, Tarragon (nice on fish), Rosemary, and Mammoth Basil. There is enough basil for a pesto sauce this week! Just blender it with olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, pine nuts… BASIL DETERIORATES QUICKLY PLEASE USE RIGHT AWAY. Many of these herbs are used to flavor the meat in the stuffed grape leave recipe.
**Mint: On hot summer days we make a cooling peppermint tea by stuffing a quart jar with mint and pouring boiling water over it. Let it cool, sweeten to taste and enjoy!
*Licorice Mint: Crush and enjoy in tea.
*Lemon Balm: Crush and use in tea for calming effect. So far, mom says if she uses enough of it, the bugs are leaving her alone.
*/**Flowers: Lilly and salvia
Wild Crafted Elder flowers: add these to baked goods or enjoy the attached easy recipe for an elder flower drink. (Wikifact: The flowers of Sambucus nigra are used to produce elderflower cordial. The French, Austrians and Central Europeans produce elderflower syrup, commonly made from an extract of elderflower blossoms, which is added to pancake (Palatschinken) mixes instead of blueberries. People throughout much of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe use a similar method to make a syrup which is diluted with water and used as a drink. Based on this syrup, Fanta markets a soft drink variety called “Shokata” which is sold in 15 countries worldwide. In the United States, this French elderflower syrup is used to make elderflower marshmallows. St-Germain, a French liqueur, is made from elderflowers. Wines, cordials and marmalade have been produced from the berries or flowers. In Italy (especially in Piedmont) and Germany the umbels of the elderberry are batter coated, fried and then served as a dessert or a sweet lunch with a sugar and cinnamon topping. Elderberries are a key ingredient in “purple juice”)
Beet & Horseradish Relish (from Twinhawks Hollow Farm CSA): “Scrape and wash horseradish root. Grate desired amount into 1 cup sour cream and 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.”
Dandelion Italiano by Susan Weed: “Hold greens in parallel bunches and hop into half inch pieces. Put all the chopped leaves into a pan, cover them with boiling water, and then set the pan over heat until the water boils again. Drain off the water. Repeat this process two to three times more. Drain them well, then add several tablespoons of vinegar, a good coating of olive oil, some salt or tamari, and minced garlic or garlic powder. Stir well, taste and correct seasoning (you’ll probably need to add more vinegar). This makes a tangy, slightly bitter addition to any meal, even breakfast!”