DOORSTEP HARVEST NEWSLETTER 4/1/2012
Opening week! Wow! A month earlier than last year. Happy April! As with all new foods, it is wise to try small amounts of a new thing to test for any negative reaction. Every body is unique!
News from the garden. All our fruit has set on our trees with warm weather predicted ahead so it just might be a good fruit year! Yesterday I planted potatoes, green beans, parsnips. So far, the tomato seedlings and peppers under the grow light are looking good. We planted some tomato seeds into the asparagus bed because it has been so hot. The pea plants are blooming and some have set small pea pods. Also, the cucumber plants are up.
This week in your delivery you will find:
*Kale: It tastes great sliced in small strips and steamed with olive oil, seas salt and vinegar or in sauté with onion, garlic, mirin, vinegar, and olive oil. This green overwintered well in my hoop house. (Wiki Facts: See attachments)
*Dandelion: In Grocery Stores, these sell for a high price. They are picking up in popularity because they contain more nutrients than any cultivated green. Too bitter to eat raw, see attached recipes for ways to cook. Mom says the bitter herbs improve digestion. One cup of dandelion leaf has 12,280 IU of Vitamin A, RDA is 5,000 IU.
*Salad Mix: This contains red oak leaf lettuce, beet top, violet flower, Micro Greens (Kale, Beet, Arugula), etc… (Wiki fact: Lettuce has mild narcotic properties, although the cultivated L. sativa has lower levels than its wild cousins – it was called “sleepwort” by the Anglo-Saxons due to this attribute.) In a Beatrix Potter story, Benjamin Bunny and his family eat too much lettuce, and they all fall asleep. Hmmm….*Micro greens sell for $8 a quart in urban winter farmer markets! Wow. (Wiki Fact: Micro greens are such a new farmer’s market niche crop, It Is not on Wikipedia yet.)
*Mung Bean sprouts: Use in salad, in stir fry, or, on sandwiches. Mung bean sprouts are stir-fried as a Chinese vegetable accompaniment to a meal, usually with ingredients such as garlic, ginger, spring onions, or pieces of salted dried fish to add flavor. In the hot summer, if we are out of cucumber and/or watermelon, mung bean sprouts fill my craving. (Wiki Fact: Sprouts are said to be rich in digestible energy, bioavailable vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, and phytochemicals, as these are necessary for a germinating plant to grow.[3] These nutrients are essential for human health.) You can even find mung bean sprouts at Country Mart. **Black Walnuts: Please wear Gloves as the husks stain fingers. Outside is best for this activity! See the attached sheet for phenomenal nutritional information. (Wiki Fact: The roots, nut husks, and leaves secrete a substance into the soil called juglone that is a respiratory inhibitor to some plants. A number of other plants (most notably white birch) are also poisoned by juglone, and should not be planted in close proximity to a black walnut.) Has 186% RDA for Manganese.
Horseradish leaf: Can be eaten in small amounts in salads or chopped and added to hamburger meat to spice it up. (Wiki Fact: Horseradish is a perennial plant of the Brassicaceae family, which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, and cabbages[and kale].)
**Spring Onion: Cook with stir fry mix above or enjoy in the salad.
**Stinging Nettle: Use gloves to prepare!! Steam in one inch of water in covered pot for 10 minutes or until they turn dark neon green. By now, the stingers have been disabled and they are edible! Snip the leaves off of the stems and eat as is or prepare as follows: chop fine, sprinkle with garlic powder, dash vinegar, mirin, sea salt. Save cooking water and drink as tonic tea. Nettles contain more vitamins/minerals than cultivated greens.
*Tea Herbs (Lemon balm, Peppermint, Yarrow):
-Peppermint can be added to salads, made into tea, or used in Asian cooking. (Wiki Fact: peppermint has been known to help with insomnia.)
-Lemon balm calms stomach disturbances, and soothes the nerves. Enjoy is as a soothing tea (add boiling water to crushed leaves). It may also be used in your salad mix. (Wiki Fact: When crushed, it can be applied to skin and used to repel mosquitoes, and, it is used to flavor many ice creams.) See attachments
-Yarrow See info enclosed (Wiki Fact: In Classical tradition, Homer tells us that the centaur Chiron, who conveyed herbal secrets to his human pupils, taught Achilles to use yarrow on the battle grounds of Troy.[27] Achilles is said to have used it to stop the bleeding wounds of his soldiers.)
– Please keep recipes as the season progresses, more ingredients will be provided.
*Culinary Herbs (oregano, sage, thyme): Sage can be used for roasts. Oregano for roasts or can be used to enhance a tomato/spaghetti sauces, and stews. Thyme is used same as oregano. Warning: herbs are not washed in order to preserve flavor. Wash before immediate use (although some sources discourage washing herbs ever. To preserve, lay on counter in dry paper bag, herbs will dry for later use. Same for tea herbs.
*Organically grown in my urban forest garden
** Grown in my gardens in the country at Grandma’s house. Most of the time it is organic. Sometimes it is wild crafted.
“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!”