Veggies to Enjoy this Week
Baby Beets & Beet Greens
Varieties harvested: Chioggia (candy cane), Bull's Blood, Albino, Golden
Garden Cress
Lettuce
Varieties harvested: Big Boston, Dark Lollo Rossa, Amish Deer Tongue, Rocky Top
Spicy Micro Greens
Varieties harvested: Cosmic Purple, Kuroda, Atomic Red, Amarillo, Lunar White
Kale
Russian Red Jack
Amaranth Greens
Herbs
Varieties harvested: Tarragon, Savory, Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley, Oregano, Cilantro, Sage, Dill
Also, we'll have English Peas for those of you that didn't receive them last week!
Meet Your Farmers
"Meet Your Farmers" will be a weekly feature to introduce you to the people that grow your food!
Barry has lived in Berkeley for 13 years with his wife Vicki, and now his 5-year-old son Conner. Barry joined Heirloom Gardens to learn more about gardening, and also to help introduce Conner to where food comes from. He likes to grow things that get big and grow fast (like squash and cucumbers), but his favorite thing to eat from the garden is fresh tomatoes. When he's not gardening Barry enjoys reading magazines, seeing movies, and learning about public policy.
Brenda has been gardening since she started growing flowers in her grade school 4-H program. Her favorite veggies to grow are things that vine - they're gifts that keep on giving! She loves to eat tomatoes and fresh peas, and cooks some incredible things including potato leek soup, mushroom risotto and an African dish called doro wat. When she's not in the garden Brenda likes to plant trees, read comics with her husband Brian and snuggle with her cats.
Featured Item
Amaranth plants are typically cultivated for their seed, which is cooked as a grain (similar to quinoa). However, the leaves are often used in Asian cooking and are quite tasty. They are similar to spinach in texture, and can be used in the same way. You can eat the leaves raw in salads, give them a light steam or saute, or include them in eggs, casseroles, or other baked dishes. Last night I made a pasta with sauteed garlic, shrimp, and amaranth leaves, and it was delicious! Amaranth leaves are a good source of vitamins A, K, B6, riboflavin, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, and a few other things. You can read more about amaranth leaves on Wikipedia.Recipe Ideas
Roasted Beets with Beet Greens
This recipe was featured in an "In My Kitchen" segment of 5280 magazine. It's a recipe I created based on a dish prepared by the chef at my old job, and it's one of my favorite ways to prepare beets. You can view the official recipe by clicking the link, but this is a simplified version. The portions of veggies can be whatever looks good to you.
Our beets this week are still baby-sized, but they're big enough to enjoy being roasted!
Beets, with greens attached
Green beans
Head of garlic
Olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon horseradish
3 tablespoons milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim beet greens, coarsely chop leaves, and reserve. Cut beets in half (only if they're big, otherwise you can use the whole beet) and rub lightly with olive oil. Wrap beets and garlic head separately in foil. Roast beets for one hour (or 45 minutes if they're small), roast garlic for 45 minutes.
Cook beans in boiling salted water until tender. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add beet greens and saute until lightly wilted. Sprinkle with salt to taste.
Mix sour cream, horseradish, cream and 1/2 tsp salt. Peel beets and cut into wedges. Spoon the sour cream dressing onto the bottom of the salad plate. Next, arrange the green beans, then beets and roasted garlic cloves. Top with beet greens and serve.
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