Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Kale


Here is what was in our share this week.

Below I am including the kale section from my "Breaking Down Your Share" handout that will be available next week. The two varieties of kale this week are Beira (originates from Portugal and is similar to collard greens) and Toscano (dark leaf and more tender than typical curly green kale (my personal favorite!)).

Farmer Justin adds new vegetables or variety of vegetables every season so if there is something in today's share (or any future share) that you have a favorite recipe for, send it to me. I will forward it on to the rest of the CSA members so we can learn from each other.

Enjoy your greens this week!

Happy eating,
Kara
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Kale is the one vegetable that most people struggle with when they first join a CSA. It is not part of most of our pre-CSA diets (unless you were a green smoothie junkie) but yet it is hearty and easy to grow. Most members learn to love it though, and as my farmers can attest to, I have even been known to request more.

When you have too much to eat in a week, blanch and freeze the extra for winter soups and pastas. You can use frozen kale in any recipe that calls for frozen spinach. Just thaw, squeeze out extra moisture, and chop. Add it to your stir fry, tomato sauce, or scrambled eggs. You get the picture; kale is so versital.
The following are a few of my favorite uses for kale. I have used both fresh and frozen kale in all of them except the kale chips.
Baked Kale Chips
kale1 TBS olive oil sea salt to coat
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Toss kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.
Zuppa Toscana
1 lb Italian sausage (I have omitted this for a vegetarian version)2 lg potatoes (I use about 5-6 sm/med size),cubed
1 lg onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 qt water
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I use less to keep for a healthier version)
You could also add 1/3 cup of chopped, cooked bacon.

Cook and crumble sausage. Drain on paper towel. In a soup pot, lightly sauté onions and garlic, add potatoes, chicken broth and water. Cook on med heat until the potatoes are done. Add sausage (and bacon if using). Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer another 10 minutes Turn on low and add kale and cream. Heat through.

Fried Potatoes with Kale
4 large potatoes and 8-10 stems of kale
butter and olive oil
season salt
(I am partial to Marie Catrib’s seasoning that you can buy at the restaurant)
Cube potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat a couple of tablespoons each
of butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add potatoes and a few
tablespoons of season salt and stir. Cover. Stir occasionally. Finely
chop kale and just before the potatoes are done, add kale to pan stir
and let sauté for a few minutes. It is done with the potatoes are
soft with some crispy edges. Serve hot.


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