New Green Veggies!

Today, and like every other Tuesday of the week, we (Nate and John) harvested for the CSA shares. There were some familiar sorts including French Breakfast radishes, several varieties of lettuce and Dan Moe's strawberries. Importantly, these items are nothing to turn your gaze from. The most simple foods in life can taste so perfect it makes you teary eyed. Well, that actually happened to me again today, and it has been happening for the last five weeks. I have been eating the most amazing foods from Greg's farm, that it has me considering a taste of tarragon, something I have been avoiding for the last five years. Now, that says a lot. Before this morning, I would have never considered broccoli as a sweet vegetable. However, I was proven wrong when I consumed broccoli from the farm. It was ever so sweet. My mind was thinking, dreaming of what to prepare for dinner if work didn't go late. I wrote up three recipes for the newsletter, yet I thought to make a Thai Peanut Soba Noodle Salad. This way I could incorporate other veggies from the box. Other produce in the box included rapini, chinese cabbage, and snow peas. All which were included in my dinner. However, all will have to wait until tomorrow when I'm not falling asleep while writing. Long days on the farm of full sun and hot, humid weather can be taxing, so it's best to sleep well and for a minimum of 7 hours to recover. Thus, I must retire to my room and rest. Tomorrow thirty 2nd grader's will be touring our farm, so extra energy will be needed.

Peas

Today was our first day on the farm to harvest peas; what a pain it was. Apparently last years seed was stunted for we should have harvested 80 pounds no problem. Instead, we finished with 43 pounds! Thinking about this further, I have decided the price of organic peas are more than a fair price at the market. Peas are labor intensive when harvesting and provide little yield (at least this year for Riverbend). Not only did the peas take ages to harvest, but the weather was well into the 90's making it a bit uncomfortable, to say the least. Perhaps the second harvest of the sugar snaps will provide higher yield.

The pea recipe below is a favorite of mine, which I had at my last cooking class at the University of Minnesota. Remember to shell the peas before preparing.

Minted Pea Frittata

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic

1 small yellow onion

7 eggs

1 tablespoon mustard

2 tablespoons water

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

¼ teaspoon salt

pinch freshly cracked black pepper

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 green onions

1 cup peas (if fresh, blanched and drained)

1 small bunch mint

Garnish: Yogurt and shredded mint

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil in a large pan and cook yellow onions and garlic. Once cooked for about 3 minutes, add peas.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, beat the eggs with 2 water.

2 Options:

a) Add the eggs and 3/4 mint to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook, lifting the edges with a spatula to allow the uncooked eggs to flow to the bottom. When the frittata is partly cooked (7 minutes), sprinkle on the cheese and transfer pan to the oven.

b) Alternatively, one may use a spring form pan. If using this technique, in a bowl whisk eggs with mint, mustard, salt and pepper. Butter the pan and evenly spread the pea mixture on the bottom. After, pour the egg concoction over and sprinkle on the cheese.

Bake until golden, and set, about 10 minutes (check for doneness) for method a) and for about 15 minutes for method b). Remove and allow to cool slightly.

Garnish with remaining mint and yogurt.

(option to serve on cucumber rounds sliced and garnished with pea shoots)

Serve and eat!

Scape & Arugula Pesto

I could not stop thinking about the idea of scape & arugula pesto all weekend, so I immediately got to work once I arrived home from the farm today. If you love pesto and garlic, this is the sauce for you.

It can be quite garlicky, so adjust the number of scapes accordingly to your liking. Being pesto is versatile, you can increase this recipe and freeze it for days on end. I like to use ice cube trays to freeze individual portions and thaw as needed. Some of my favorite pesto accompaniments include pasta with bell peppers, sandwiches and poached eggs with fresh mozzarella served on crumpets.

Prepares 2 cups

3-4 scapes, rough chop

1 cup toasted walnuts (400 °F, 7 minutes)

1 bunch arugula

¼ cup water

½ - 2/3 cup olive oil

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, add the walnuts and blend. Add the scapes and process once more. Continue with the arugula and process after each handful until all is mixed. Stream in the olive oil a little at a time. Depending on your preference, you may decide to skip the water using only olive oil. However, I find it more refreshing to use water after adding the oil to my pesto, so if you would like to try it with water, proceed to stream it in while the processor is on. Then, add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Scapes!

If you haven't tried these beauties, you better run quickly to the store and buy them. They are harvested for only a brief period. And guess what; it's this week! Scapes taste remarkably like garlic, only they are much different in appearance. Scapes are the flower stalks on members of the Allium family (garlic, onion, leeks, and chives). As they grow, they curl upwards and are best eaten at this particular stage where they exhibit tenderness. My wheels are turning and I've been dreaming up big possibilities for these gems, including pesto, grilled with romesco sauce, salad dressing, and more. The sky is the limit as you can replace garlic for scapes. For those of you with CSA's from Riverbend, you will find these in your box. Experiment and let me know your thoughts.

Getting Started

Welcome to Salt & Pepper; it is meant to highlight my experiences at Riverbend Farm, seasonal foods, and cooking. It is my preference to keep cooking simple in taste all while accenting the natural flavors present without drowning them out. Hence the name of my blog. Just to get you salivating, I will describe to you what I prepared for dinner tonight. Since it was a bit cool outside, I cooked a yellow split peas dahl with sauteed mustard greens, onion, garlic and garam masala. The mustard greens were compliments of Riverbend. Perhaps you will find this recipe in the next CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) newsletter. The first share will go out today and tomorrow with other recipes I've developed. Those included are a sweet and sour rhubarb pork noodle dish, cornmeal pancakes, and a rhubarb compote. Delicious I tell you. Greg and Mary Reynolds own Riverbend Farm and have been letting me experiment with their produce for the last couple weeks now. They are a lovely, kind couple and have a passion for food like myself. If you ever get the chance to visit the farm, please do. A couple days prior to my first day of work, there were two first grade classes who came to learn about the farm. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet the children, but I did read their thank you letters. Some of my favorite comments and pictures were...

"p.s. the p.p.s. is in english. p.p.s...."

"my favorite part was digging holes..."

There was a picture of farmer Greg sitting on a throne placed on the top of a barn with Nate and John (two other farmhands) working.

"Do you ever get tired of walking everywhere?"

Until next time....