Category Archives: Recipes

LotFotL’s Swiss Chard crust free Spanakopita!

For the love of greens! They won’t even know it’s good for them.

Ingredientsrainbow_chard_comp

  • 16-18 ounces fresh chopped swiss chard, keep the stems and chop them too.
  • 3-4 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons dill weed
  • 8 scallions, sliced OR 1/2 sweet onion sauteed
  • 1⁄3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1⁄3 cup plain nonfat yogurt or 1⁄3 cup low-fat sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

  1. Chop the chard into small ribbons and chop the stems into small pieced.  Steam the entire batch until good and soft.  Don’t really worry about overcooking, you want those stems to get good and soft.
  2. Stir together all ingredients into a bowl and pour into a greased baking dish or  glass pie pan for 45-50 minutes at 375°F or until firm and lightly browned.

The Humble Cabbage

cabbage in the fieldFun Cabbage Facts:

  1. Cabbage was very popular with the early farmers of Wisconsin.  Many brought their seeds from Europe by sewing them into the hems of women’s dresses.  They relied on it to keep them healthy during the long winters.  Since sugar was hard to get back then, children were given the large thick leaves to chew on in place of sugary treats.

2. The world’s largest cabbage was grown by William Collingwood of County Colorful Cabbage IllustrationDurham, England, in 1865. It weighed 123 pounds.

3.  It’s super good for you!  Cabbage helps build a strong immune system so you won’t get sick so often!  It also kills nasty bacteria.

4.  Raw cabbage can have as much vitamin C as lemon juice does. That’s the vitamin that is good for preventing and treating colds.

5. Here at our farm, we harvest our cabbage heads by hand with a knife, but on giant conventional farms, they have special machines that cut the cabbage head and then shoot it into a giant trailer.

You can watch a video here.

6.  Perhaps the best of all….Some people get gas from cabbage!  So, it’s a musical fruit, just like beans.

Fun Facts about Broccoli

  • Broccoli was first introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants in the 1800s,  but did not become widely known until the 1920s.
  • The “head” of broccoli is actually a large flower head, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick, edible stalk.
  • Broccoli is a member of the same plant family as cabbage, kale and cauliflower.
  • The word broccoli, from the Italian plural of broccolo, refers to “the flowering top of a cabbage”.
  • Broccoli is high in vitamin C and vitamin K.
  • Broccoli can take from 50 to 100 days to mature.  The plants are usually about 2 feet wide and nearly 2 feet tall.  To harvest it, a knife is used to cut the stem.broccoli growing

How long does it take to grow a carrot?

It depends.  But here are some basic steps.

First, the soil is turned or loosened. A farmer uses an implement that is hooked up to his tractor to do this.  But a someone with a small garden could use garden tools. Sometimes compost is added to help the soil stay loose and moist.  Compost also contains the minerals that the carrot will need to grow and stay healthy.soil

When the seed is planted in the ground, it can take about 3 weeks for germination to occur.  (Germination is when the outside layer of the seed breaks open and the very beginnings of the carrot happen.)  If there is not enough rain, the farmer will have to water the ground where the seeds are planted to keep them moist.

Next, the tops will appear.  carrotsprouts1Then the root begins to grow.  (The root is the part that we eat.)  If there is not enough rain, the farmer will have to continue watering the plants.

When the carrots are ready to be picked, a big machine is used to loosen the roots, (or a person can loosen the roots with a big garden fork).  Then workers gather the carrots from the field and bring them back to the packing shed.  They are cleaned up and sorted, then sent on their way to your CSA box.

dirty carrotsIf a carrot seed is planted in April, it would usually be ready to eat some time in July.  Enjoy!

Best Practices for LotFotL CSA Members

  1. Only take what is listed after your name on the check list. You have now joined a community. If it is not listed after your name, it is intended for someone else.
  2. Call right away if something isn’t right. We cannot fix it if we don’t know about it. The sooner you call the higher your chance of optimum results.
  3. Consult your member account or the FAQ page on our website.  Your farmer needs to have time to grow your food.  You can help by looking for information on your account page or our website.
  4. Send helpers prepared. If you are having someone else pick up your box, make sure to give them all the information that they need. It is fine to ask them to do it, but make sure they know the size of the box they need and to consult the check off sheet.
  5. Set an Alarm. We all get busy and no one wants to miss out on their food.  Remember, unclaimed food is NOT returned to the farm, but donated at the end of the day on Thursday. Setting and alarm or using post it note reminders helps you to make sure your box gets picked up.

Spring Greens Ginger Soup

Ginger Spring Greens Soup with Noodles
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil
  • 1/2 bunch scallions or green garlic
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  • 2 cups vegetable broth or pork broth
  • red pepper flakes (a few shakes for flavor)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 head bok choy or 1 lb of any mixture of spring greens (arugula, spinach, radish tops, dandelion greens, etc)
  • 4 ounces ramen noodles (not instant)
  • Salt to taste
  • Toasted Sesame Seeds, for topping
Instructions
  1. In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Trim the ends off the scallions/or green garlic and chop. Cook scallions/green garlic, chopped garlic, and ginger on low to med heat, stirring occasionally for 1-2 minutes until the garlic and ginger is fragrant.
  2. Measure in the broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes.
  3. While broth is simmering, prepare your greens.  Take well washed greens and chop into strips (making for easier eating). If any of your greens have stems, you may choose to remove the stems and cut them into smaller pieces.
  4. Add the stems to the broth and cook for 5 minutes or until stems are starting to be tender. Follow with the leaves and cook for another 5 minutes more. Finally, stir in the ramen and simmer the soup until the noodles and greens are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Taste and add salt as needed.
  5. Divide soup into two bowls and top with chopped scallion greens, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes.  This soup is even better if it can sit for a day before you add your noodles, but delicious no matter what.

Delicious Pan-seared Parsnips

This recipe was passed onto to me by my uncle.  It is both simple and satisfying. And, it gave me a new appreciation for how good parsnips really are.  They get so sweet, you will think they are candy.

Delicious Pan-seared ParsnipsSFC_parsnips_labeled

  • 2-6 Parsnips: chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices (if parsnips is large you may want to split in in half length wise and then slice it).
  • Garlic: 2-4 chopped cloves
  • Oil (olive oil works well): enough to coat the pan

Heat the oil to med high.  Add the sliced parsnips cover and cook until soft and caramelized (watch your heat and turn it down if you need to). Stir as needed.  Let them get really nice and soft. Right before you take the parsnips off the heat add your chopped garlic and stir for about 1 minute.  Salt to taste and serve.

 

Roasted Tomato Ketchup

Ingredients:
several varieties of heirlooms

several varieties of heirlooms

  • 10 medium tomatoes
  • Coconut oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Pinch chili flakes
  • 3 star anise
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp ground corriander
  • 1 oz balsamic vinegar
  • Apple cider vinegar, to taste
  • salt and pepper
Directions:

1 Preheat the oven to 375F. Wash the tomatoes then cut them in half and place on a lined baking sheet. Lightly drizzle with coconut oil and a pinch of salt. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes or so, until the tomatoes are caramelised and fragrant.

2 While the tomatoes are cooking, heat some oil in a large pan and add the onions, a pinch of salt, black pepper, garlic, chili flakes, star anise, bay leaves, and coriander. Cook until the onions soften slightly – about 5 minutes. When the bottom of the pan gets dry, pour in the balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.

3 Once cool, remove the star anise and bay leaves and set aside for later. Place the tomatoes and cooked onions in a food processor and blend to form a puree. Using the back of a wooden spoon or spatula, press the puree through a mesh sieve back into the pan. (You can save the fibrous leftovers for a tomato-based soup or stew.)

4 Return the star anise and bay leaves to the pan, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until thickened (5-10 minutes). Season to taste. If it is not tangy enough, add 2-3 tsp of apple cider vinegar.

5 Once the ketchup has slightly cooled, pour into a clean glass container and store in the fridge for a week. It also freezes well.

Recipe supplied by Sarah Britton, mynewroots.org; Recipe retrieved from The Guardian

Roasted Eggplant, Beet, and Garlic Lasagna

Ingredients:
Eggplant
  • 2 small to medium or 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4″ disks
  • 2 small or 1 medium beet
  • 1 small head of garlic,
  • Oven-ready lasagna noodles
  • Ricotta cheese
  • Italian cheese blend
  • Horseradish mustard
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Black pepper, freshly ground
  • Paprika
  • Oil of choice
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 425. Generously grease a 12×8 casserole dish and set aside. Remove the ends of the beets, drizzle with oil, and place on baking sheet. Remove the top 1/4″ of the garlic head, drizzle with oil, and place in foil pouch for roasting. Roast garlic and beets for 20 minutes then remove from oven. Check the done-ness of the garlic, you should smell a strong aroma and it should be fork tender; if it is not, return it to the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes or until satisfactorily roasted (but not burned). Place the eggplant slices on the baking sheet with the beets and return to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes or until a fork slips easily in and out of the beets and the eggplant looks roasted, but not burned.
  2. For the sauce: use a food processor, blender, emulsion blender, or other means to create a chunky sauce from the beets, a few eggplant slices, half the roasted garlic, a dollop of ricotta cheese, a sprinkling of the Italian cheese blend, 2 squirts of horseradish mustard, and the red pepper flakes, black pepper, and paprika to taste.
  3. Lower the oven temperature to 375. In the prepared baking dish, layer noodles, eggplant slices, ricotta cheese, black pepper, all of the sauce, more noodles, the rest of the roasted garlic, a drizzle of oil, the last of the eggplant slices, and sprinkle Italian cheese over the top. Bake loosely covered for 40 minutes, then uncovered for an additional 15-20 or until the cheese on top is golden.
  4. Alternatively, this dish can be made in a slow-cooker. Simply grease the inside of the slow-cooker, layer the ingredients the same as in the casserole dish, and cook for 2 hours on high.

Yields 6 adult-sized servings.

Fresh Cucumber Squash Salad

cucumber

cucumber

Ingredients:

  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 summer squash
  • 1-2 stems green onion
  • 1 T fresh dill, chopped (OR 1 t dried dill)
  • 1-2 fresh basil leaves (OR 1/4 to 1/2 t dried basil)
  • summer squash 20132 T white vinegar
  • 2 T white sugar
  • 2 T olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste

1. Wash the cucumber, remove all or some of the peel, depending on if you like the taste. Cut off the stem and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Repeat with the summer squash.

2. Finely chop the green onions.

3. Combine cucumber, summer squash, green onion, dill, and basil in a medium-sized bowl.

4. In a separate bowl, combine sugar with vinegar until it dissolves. Slowly add in the oil, whisking until the mixture emulsifies (or turns white and cloudy). Taste dressing and add more sugar, vinegar, or oil to your liking. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Pour dressing onto salad and mix well. Refrigerate to let vegetables marinate in the dressing or enjoy immediately!