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Swiss Chard

Holly RodricksBlog Post, Summer Foods, Vegetable GuideNo Comments, , ,
Chard, also known as silverbeet, is a hardy leafy green vegetable from the same family as beets and spinach. Its peak season is from June to August. Mature chard has a slight bitterness that mellows with cooking. The leaves and stalks can often vary in color. The origin of "Swiss" in the name is unknown, as it has Mediterranean origins. Chard is low in calories and high in nutrients, containing enormous amounts of vitamins A, K, and C. It also carries significant amounts of vitamin E, Magnesium, manganese, iron, and potassium. Storage Tips Storing Fresh Chard: Do not rinse chard before storing. The additional moisture will cause it to wilt more quickly. Store in an airtight plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator, squeezing out as much excess air as possible before sealing. Use in less than a week. Freezing Chard: Like other greens, chard should be blanched before freezing. Once the leaves have been cleaned and trimmed, blanch by plunging in a boiling water bath for 30 seconds. Make sure that the water is boiling for the full 30 seconds. Removed quickly with a strainer and shock in an ice water bath for 2-3 minutes. Gather the blanched leaves into handfuls, squeezing out as much water as possible as you go. Once excess water is removed, form handfuls of chard into baseball-sized spheres, packing them together as if they are snowballs. Freeze these spheres on a baking sheet and then package them into airtight bags or containers. Pickling Chard Stems: Chard's tough stems can be refrigerator-pickled by packing them, standing up, into a jar and pouring a boiling 1:1 vinegar-to-water brine over them, season with whatever spices you'd like. The jar should then be cooled and refrigerated and eaten after 2-3 days when the flavors have soaked it. Diced up, they make a wonderful topping for salads and other dishes. Quick Prep TipsMuch like lettuce, chard leaves can be rinsed and spun. The stems of the younger leaves are easily edible, but they grow tougher as the plant matures and become more difficult to eat raw. If cooking, give the stems a few-minute head start before adding the leaves. Further Prep Tips Chard Preparation: Rinse chard under cold, running water. The stems of younger, more tender chard are easy to eat, but the more the plant matures, the tougher they get. Trim the bottom 1/4" off the stems you plan on eating and discard the rest. Then remove the stems from the leaves. A very simple way to do this is to hold the stem in one hand, place your fingers around the based of the leaf with the other, and pull up. You can also cut the stems out by stacking the leaves and using a knife, if you prefer. Stack the de-stemmed leaves and chop as your recipe requires. If cooking your chard, first chop the stems up and give them a head start of a few minutes before adding the leaves to your pan, as they will take a little longer to cook. Stir chard into stews and soups or blanch or sauté it like spinach. Recipes Mexican Style Chopped Salad July 5, 2017info@mainstreetfarms.com Picnic Beets with Baguette and Creamy Cheese July 5, 2017info@mainstreetfarms.com Vegetable Niçoise Salad with Dijon Dressing and Eggs June 19, 2017info@mainstreetfarms.com
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Grilled Zuke and Herby Quinoa

Holly RodricksRecipes, Summer FoodsNo Comments, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

‘Tis the season when zucchini grows giant overnight. This recipe is quick and easy, perfect for a family or easily increased for a large group gathering. Grilled Zuke & Herby Quinoa by Abigail Henson, Founder of LoFo* Makes 6 servings. Ingredients: 1 large Zucchini 6 Rainbow Chard Stems 1 cup Quinoa, uncooked 1/4 cup White Vinegar 2 tbsp. Sugar 1 tbsp. Kosher Salt 1/2 cup Crumbled Feta (Omit this step for a 100% vegan recipe!) 1/2 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted and chopped 1 handful of your choice of Fresh Herbs (I like mine chock-full of Basil, Mint, Parsley, Dill, & Sage.) Salt and Pepper to taste 1 Lemon, juiced Instructions: STEP ONE: Quick-pickle your Chard stems. It is absolutely tragic when I see someone toss the stems of a rainbow chard- they are so crisp and delicious, and the splash of color they add to any dish is worth keeping them around. This is an easy way to jazz them up. They will start to take the brine in within 30 minutes, for a quick-pickle fix. Chop at the nape of the leaf of 6 Rainbow Chard leaves, trimming the ragged edges where they were connected to the main plant. Slice each stem 2-3 times length-wise, and then cut across the width by the ¼ inch to make tiny cubes. In a small bowl, mix Vinegar, Salt, and Sugar and stir.  Place Chard cubes in the brine and let rest. STEP TWO: Cook your Quinoa. I like to cook a big batch of quinoa at the beginning of the week so that I can speckle it into my meals throughout the weekdays without much hassle. Place Quinoa in a large bowl and submerge it in water, gently swirling it around. Strain in a fine mesh strainer and add to a medium pot. Add 2 cups of Water and a teaspoon of Salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover pot, reduce heat, and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let let rest for 5 minutes before removing the cover to fluff. STEP THREE: Grill your Zuke. While your Quinoa is cooking, slice your Zucchini into 4 sections, then cut each section in half. Each section will act as one serving. Rub Zucchini with Olive Oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and put seed side down on grill. Cover grill and let cook for 10-15 minutes, until char lines have appear and pieces are fork-tender. Remove from grill and allow to cool slightly. STEP FOUR: Fill your Zuke. Taking the spoon down the center of the Zucchini gently remove the seeds and transfer them into a sauté pan. Combine cooked Quinoa and chopped Herbs. Add a drizzle of Olive Oil and Lemon Juice to the quinoa mixture. On medium heat, lightly toss all ingredients in pan. Transfer filling from pan into Zucchini boats. Top with chopped Kalamata Olives and crumbled Feta Cheese. Strain Rainbow Chard stems from the pickling liquid and sprinkle over Zucchini boats like it’s party time! Give thanks to the beautiful bounty you are about to receive, go forth, and eat local! *ABIGAIL HENSON is the Founder of LoFo, a company that specializes in conscious cuisine and provides catering, events, and education.

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Curried Swiss Chard

Holly RodricksFall Foods, Recipes, Summer FoodsNo Comments, , , , , , ,

While young chard can be eaten raw in salads, mature chard is best cooked. The heat mellows its slight bitter undertones and yields a delicious flavor that is a little more delicate than spinach.   Curried Swiss Chard By Briel Driscoll Serves 2-3. Ingredients: 1 bunch Chard, chopped, stems and leaves separated 1 clove Garlic, diced 2 teaspoons Curry Powder 2 teaspoons Coconut Oil 1 tablespoons Water Freshly ground Black Pepper to taste Instructions: Add Coconut Oil, Garlic, and Chard Stems to pan. Sauté for 3 minutes over medium high heat. Add Curry Powder and Water. Immediately add Chard Greens. Cover for 3 minutes. Remove cover and sauté for 1 minute. Serve and enjoy!

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Sriracha Pickled Rainbow Chard Stems

Holly RodricksFall Foods, Recipes, Summer FoodsNo Comments, , , , , , , , , ,

Throwing food away has always bothered me, but there are some kitchen scraps that don’t seem to have any use, destined only for the compost bin. Guess what? Chard stems are no longer on that list! For those who don’t particularly enjoy the stringiness of chard stems, pickling is a great way to preserve something seemingly useless, transforming it from waste into a tangy, spicy, delicious side that can stand up next to any dill pickle (or can even be diced up and sautéed with your favorite vegetables to add a burst of flavor). And let’s face it – a jar of pickled rainbow chard stems is just plain beautiful. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it… Sriracha Pickled Rainbow Chard Stems By Holly Rodricks Makes One 16 oz. jar of refrigerator pickles. Ingredients: Stems from 1 bunch of Rainbow Chard cleaned and chopped into long stalks about an inch shorter than the height of a 16 oz. mason jar, standing up. (Can substitute stems from other kinds of chard.) 1/2 small Onion, thinly sliced into rings 1 clove Garlic, peeled and slightly crushed 1/2 cup Distilled White Vinegar 1/2 cup Water 1 tbsp. Honey 1-2 tbsp. Sriracha, depending on heat preference 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. Salt, to taste Optional: 1/2 tsp Celery Seed (Can substitute Dill Seed.) Optional: 1-2 tsp. roughly chopped Cilantro leaves and stems Instructions: In a small saucepan, heat the Vinegar, Water, and Honey until it comes to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure honey is completely dissolved. In the meantime, placed thinly sliced Onion Rings at bottom of jar, laying flat if possible. Add crushed Garlic, Celery Seed and Cilantro. Then, place Chard stems, standing upright in jar. Once Vinegar mixture is boiling and honey is dissolved, remove from heat. Mix in Sriracha, and immediately pour mixture over all ingredients in jar until liquid covers tops of stalks. (If you have a canning funnel, it will make this step a lot easier. Otherwise, pour carefully!) Place lid on jar immediately. Allow jar to cool to room temperature, 1-2 hours, then store in fridge for at least 1 week before consuming. (Pickles will be good for up to 1 month, and will become more flavorful during that time.)

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Kitchen Tips for Hardy Greens & Garlic Scapes

Holly RodricksKitchen Tips, Spring FoodsNo Comments, , , , , , , ,

Welcome to our new blog! We’re excited to be able to share our recipes, ideas, and farm news with you here. This 4th of July weekend, we thought we’d start off with some great tips for handling those rugged greens and crazy garlic scapes that have been in your past few CSA shares. Keep checking back for new kitchen tips, each week. We’ll also be adding the recipes from this season’s previous newsletters, to create an archive of helpful information that’s all in one place. Enjoy! Preparing Kale, Chard, and other hardy leafy greens If you prefer to chop your greens, lay each leaf face down (brighter, flatter side down) on your cutting board. Run your knife along either side of the stem to cut it out. Set stems aside as you go, and roughly chop the leaves. If you prefer an even more hands-on approach, hold each leaf up and separate the green from the stem by ripping it away. Set stem aside and tear each leaf into smaller pieces. Once all the leaves are chopped, rinse and dry or spin them like you would any salad greens, then proceed to the raw-eating or cooking stage. Stems can be saved and frozen to use later on in making meat or vegetables stocks for soups. Chard stems, specifically, can be pickled. (See Sriracha Pickled Rainbow Chard Stems.) White beans are a delicious addition to any cooked green recipe. The beans must be cooked separately, prior to adding to the greens, but they can be sauteed along with the greens in recipes like the one listed below. (See Zesty Sautéed Kale.) For an added twist, in the winter months, stuff a baked potato or baked sweet potato with the cooked greens and beans! What to do with Garlic Scapes If Garlic Scapes are tender and young, they can be eaten raw, sliced thinly like scallions and added into salads. Scapes can be blended into oil, butter, sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese or even cottage cheese, for a delicious savory twist on your usual dressing or dip. (See Tangy Garlic Scape Dressing.)  

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