Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

 

Here is our share for this week.

I love beets. My favorite ways to eat them are either roasted or pickled. Since it is chilly this evening, I am sharing a roasted beet salad. Beets pair very well with spicy greens, walnuts, and creamy cheeses like goat cheese.

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 medium beets, cooked and quartered
6 cups fresh greens (use your mesclun mix this week!)
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled (if don't eat cheese, I would substitute diced avocado)

Directions
Line a baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the vinegar, shallots, and honey in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper. Toss the beets in a small bowl with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Toss the greens, walnuts, and cranberries in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad atop 4 plates. Arrange the beets around the salad. Sprinkle with the goat cheese, and serve.

(this is a recipe that originated from Giada De Laurentis, food network)

Happy eating,
Kara

Farm Wedding - June 1

Every wedding at the farm is special but last Saturday, we hosted one that was truly unique. Farmer Justin's brother got married so the entire Heyboer family was in the wedding.


Kelly took care of many of the details for the wedding including creating many stunning floral arrangements like this bouquet that Brooke is holding.

Their day was wonderful and the weather even cooperated enough to wait until after the ceremony to unleash the rain showers.

Congratulations Nate and Denise!

Kale Caesar Salad

Trillium Haven's restaurant creates one of the best caesar salads I have ever tried and they do so with kale! So when my favorite food blogger posted her variation, I had to try it.


I followed her recipe exactly and it calls for massaging the kale. I don't think I will do that next time as our farm kale is usually so tender. Maybe this is necessary for grocery store kale.

Creating an anchovy paste was a bit cumbersome. When I searched for easier ways to do so, I discovered that you can purchase anchovy paste already made (you all probably knew this but we are not big fans of anchovy over here). I think I will go with the paste next time which will probably create a smoother dressing.

This is an excellent salad. It is a bit more time consuming than I am used to (I usually throw some feta, leftover steamed or raw veggies, and some dressing that I make in large batches into the farm greens and toss) but it was a close second to Trillium's salad.

Happy eating,
Kara
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Kale Caesar Salad

Yield: 2 full size or 4 side servings

Ingredients

For the dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
3-4 anchovy fillets
2½ tbsp. mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely grated

For the salad:
1 bunch curly kale, about 8-12 oz.
1 tbsp. olive oil
 croutons
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

• To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and garlic in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.  Blot any excess oil from the anchovies, then smash repeatedly with the tines of a fork until a paste has formed.  Add to the olive oil-lemon juice mixture.  Add in the mayonnaise and whisk briskly until a smooth emulsion has formed.  Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.  Stir in the grated Parmesan.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
• Rinse and towel dry the kale leaves.  Remove and discard the ribs from the leaves, and tear the curly green portions into bite size pieces.  Add the kale to a large salad bowl with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and toss briefly.  Massage the kale leaves for a few minutes until the leaves have become shiny and a deeper green color, about 2-3 minutes.  Add croutons to the salad as desired.  Drizzle about half of the dressing over the salad and toss lightly to coat.  Taste and add additional dressing as necessary, a little bit at a time.  Top with additional grated Parmesan and serve.

from Annie's Eats
www.annies-eats.com/2013/04/29/massaged-kale-caesar-salad/

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.

Getting ready for the 2013 CSA season!

Things are starting to sprout at the farm and our first 2013 CSA email just went out.
It is beginning once again!

a healthy crop of onions:

Frozen!

Snow has finally arrived in Michigan. Everything outside is under snow and even the greens in the greenhouse are frozen. So, for all the winter CSA members, we have a week off and the hope that it will warm up a bit for next week.

snow covered kale

ice on the inside of the door to the greenhouse

frozen beauty
The pak choi still has a vibrant color but it is frozen solid. If it warms up a bit, all of the greens will take off again.

Farmer Justin's sprout experiment
The alfalfa sprouts are just starting to show a bit of white and green shoots.

We grabbed a handful of frozen kale to munch on the way home.
My kids ate the kale faster than I could pass it back to them which again shows how sweet kale becomes in the winter.

And not to stand on my soap box too long but I must mention how it warms my heart to raise kids who understand where their food comes from, who know and love their farmers, and who gobble up kale as if it is candy.

Stay warm and happy eating,
Kara

Sweeter in December

The snow is covering the ground and everything is frosty yet Wildwood is producing delicious produce. It is certainly a treat to have local produce in the winter but these greens actually taste sweeter.

Green vegetables react to the winter frost by going into survival mode.  They start turning stored starches into sugars to provide immediate energy to the plant. Some folks don’t like the sometimes bitter or peppery taste of many greens such as kale, arugula, or chard and the bitterness is primarily caused by the starches in the leaves and stems of the plant. However, after that first frost, those starches convert to sugars and the taste becomes sweeter and so much more appealing. 

Our first winter CSA share

The barn is decked out for Christmas.

pak choi

Justin checks on the micro greens that will hopefully be in next week's share.

I know I usually post a new recipe but this week I was so happy to have local greens that I tore everything up for a big salad dressed with my favorite dressing and tossed the chopped parsley into our beef stew. Delicious!

Happy eating,
Kara

Here is my go to dressing in case you forgot.

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

3/4 c olive oil

1/2 c apple cider vinegar

2 TBS honey

1 TBS whole grain mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

1 sprig of rosemary, minced

sea salt and pepper

Whisk to combine.