Conquering Kale.

On Friday evening after work I picked up my latest CSA share at Silverlake Farms. This week the share included fresh chamomile, celery, red romaine, arugula, kohlrabi, turnips, beets, russian kale, swiss chard, radishes, garlic and some fruit, oranges, tangerines and loquats. I've never had a loquat before and they were super delicious. Best compared to a cross between an asian pear and an apricot, this sweet stone fruit makes delectable jam (or so I'm told) and I think they would be a beautiful addition to any salad with walnuts and crumbled gorgonzola.

So this morning I decided to face one contender in the ring. For quite a while now, I've heard about the extreme benefits of kale and most importantly how many people enjoy the dark, leafy green. My only experience cooking with kale (it was curly kale) didn't turn out so well and I hate to admit it, but I consciously put that green out of my mind.

With a bunch of red russian kale in my CSA share this week, I decided to do a lil' homework and take on this lean mean green! Upon reading through several recipes for kale, I nailed down the key factor as to why my first kale experience didn't turn out as I had hoped - I didn't cook it long enough. Having thumbed through many magazines and books, I opted to turn 1/2 of my kale into a hearty and healthy breakfast. I sauteed some onion in olive oil and added some minced fresh garlic (from my CSA share). Then I added the chopped kale and about 1/2 c. of chicken stock (you could just use water, but I wanted to add as much flavor as possible). I wilted the kale in the poaching liquid until it almost evaporated for about 5-10 minutes, then I added another 1/2 c. of chicken stock. Repeat instructions above and voila - vibrant, sweet and tender kale. While the kale was wilting away in its happy juice, I fried an egg and made a piece of toast. Piled that egg on top of my kale and began my day with super duper Punky GREEN power! No longer afraid of this green, I am excited to see what else I can do with the rest of my stash.

Drum Roll Please.....

Today marks my second CSA share pick up and being the eager beaver that I am - I wanted to share with you dear readers what Farmer John gave us this week! I had to take two photos so you could see all of the goodies I picked up. In no particular order: young romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, arugula with flowers, turnips, golden and red beets, mizuna, 3 avocados, mint, chamomile, spinach, kale, young onion, and radishes.

This weekend I will definitely be making some yummy salads and I'm going to experiment with the turnips. I've never cooked with them before! But it's all good, after watching Disc 1 of Punky Brewster's Season One, I was reminded that I have PUNKY POWER!!!! Keep your eyes peeled for some fantastic posts this coming week!

Eat Your Greens!

I recently joined a CSA near my house, Silverlake Farms. Tonight I picked up my share and I have to admit, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the bounty. This week's share includes, greens, greens, and more greens. Some familiar and some totally unfamiliar, but I am up for the cooking challenge! Are you? So here's what was included in this week's share: mustard greens, swiss chard, golden and red beets, dill, parsley, butter lettuce, baby romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, arugula, green garlic, chrysthanthemum greens, young celery, and dandelion greens.

Tomorrow I'm planning on making a big beautiful salad for the Ripple Effect gang, with all the salad greens. I'm hoping that by taking part in the CSA, I'm not only supporting community agriculture, but I'm also eating more veggies. Made an impromptu curry with the dandelion greens and green garlic. I also made some brown rice for a satisfying meal this evening. Coconut milk and red curry paste are the base of this curry and it honestly couldn't be any easier than this.