Week of June 27, 2020

1. Red Leaf lettuce
2. Rainbow Swiss chard
3. Dill
4. Napa cabbage
5. Italian dandelion greens
6. Siberian kale
7. Bok Choy

Through the Eyes of a Farmer

When I was in high school and college, I worked each summer as a server, then called waitress, which was a natural job to seek, as food was always valued in my family and there were plenty of restaurants to apply to. One evening, a table of customers I was waiting on asked me what I was studying in college. I replied, “cardiorespiratory therapy. I think it’s an important job.” They replied, “yes, breathing is important!” Through my years working in healthcare, I lived in several different states, and witnessed the disapperance of farmland. I saw huge areas go from predominantly rural farmland to being saturated with houses and strip malls. Several years later, I went back to grad school to study nutrition and wellness. The more I learned about nutrition, learned how the majority of our food is produced, and the more I saw farmland disappear, the more I wanted to do something about it. It was as if the land was being suffocated; the environment couldn’t breath. So I “bought” a farm. (More on this in a later post) Besides breathing, what could be more important than eating? I thus immersed myself in everything farming, learning everything I could from growing stacks of books piled everywhere in my home. Trying not to make the same mistake more than once, for almost 20 years now, my life has become that of a Farmer. Farming is my livlihood and as such, it is also who I am. The stacks in my home have spread to more than books on agriculture, they have become piles of mail, unattended to, clothes, yet to be folded, to do lists, yet to be done….. Someone once told me, to be a successful farmer, it has to be a 24 hour obsession. They were right. Obsession, not because you don’t care about anything else, but because of what is required of you. The season’s change, the weather is out of your control and the land will demand and take so much from you that it will leave you exhausted by the end of the day, with a to do list even longer than it was that morning. The animals and plants and fields always demand more attention than the house to be dusted or the laundry to be folded or the room to be painted…. But, as the quote by Will Rogers says, To be a Farmer, you must be an eternal optimist. Because every morning, despite the challenges from the day before, depite the knowledge of the 16 hour work day ahead of you, you rise with new ideas and new hope. After all, what could be more important than growing healthy food for people? What could be more important than caring for this beautiful land? What could be more important than trying to make your animals as comfortable and well fed and watered as possible? Through the Eyes of a Farmer, nothing else is more important. And then, this land that asks so much from you, gives so much abundance back.

A word on storage of your veggies

When you get home, unpack your vegetables. The cut bunches of greens, such as kale, Swiss chard, etc. can be placed in a container of water and put in a cool spot out of sunlight, much like a cut flower bouquet. Alternatively, you may wrap a wet paper towel around the cut stems and place in a plastic bag in the fridge. All fresh cut herbs like to be placed in a small jar of water, then put in the fridge. The exceptions are basil and mint, which like to be on your countertop as they don’t like to be cold. Lettuce can be stored in a plastic bag or, if you have a salad spinner, wash the leaves and place them in the strainer portion of your salad spinner. Put the spinner together with the lid on and then store in your fridge. If you find yourself getting behind on your veggies, pretty much all of them can be washed, chopped, and placed in a plastic bag. Squeeze air out, fasten shut, and freeze for later use in soups or slow cookers. Lettuce can be sauteed with butter and onions for a tasty side dish if you find you are not in the mood for salads that week.

Kale Caesar Salad

1 bunch kale
2 Tbsps mayonnaise 
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, or 2 anchovies,  minced
1 tsp dijon mustard 
1 to 2 Tbsps lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Grated Parmesan 
Finely chop kale stems. Slice kale leaves into ribbons. Massage kale to soften. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over kale. Refrigerate for a bit to let flavors mingle then serve. 
Dressing from smittenkitchen.com
Much thanks to Marie Fabian, one of our Croton-On-Hudson customers at The Organic Teaching Kitchen for sharing this wonderful recipe! We love hearing how you cook with our food!!

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Dandelion Greens

Dandelion greens can be sauteed with garlic and olive oil, as can the rainbow chard and kale. Just slice the stems of the chard and kale and give them a 3 to 4 minute head start before adding the chopped leaves. Dandelion greens also make a wonderful pesto. Use a traditional pesto recipe substituting dandelion greens for basil. Delicious on pasta or spread on toast. They also are very nutritious as an addition to smoothies!

Lemon Dill Dressing

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp dijon mustard 
1 tsp honey
2 garlic clove,  minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
 freshly ground pepper 
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
Mix all ingredients and drizzle over lettuce 

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Next week……sugar snap peas, chicory or escarole, green leaf lettuce, Fordhook chard

Have a wonderful week!