Welcome to Week 2 of our 2013 CSA!
- At the Nathan Love pick up location, at 407 Broome St in SoHo, please buzz #7A to get in, but go to #6.
- At the Awakening Center in Williamsburg/Greenpoint, please walk in the cafe side of the building and walk to the back room to gather your share. Don’t forget to check your name on the clipboard for that date.
- For the Park Slope location, at 1666 8th Ave, buzz #4 to get in and walk to the back of the foyer to gather your share. Don’t forget to check your name on the clipboard for that date.
Pick Up Locations
SOHO – Nathan Love 407 Broome St – 5pm-7pm
WILLIAMSBURG/GREENPOINT – Awakening Center 607 Manhattan Ave – 6pm-8pm
PARK SLOPE – 1666 8th Ave #4 – 6:30pm-8:30pm
In This Week’s Share
- lettuce – big frilly red leafed head lettuce
- chicory – reddish lettuce-like head
- spinach – one bag of green leaves, some may have a red stem
- arugula – light green baby leaves in a bag
- salad mix – green and red baby leaves in a bag
- mixed braising greens – larger dark red and bright green leaves in a bag
- kale – mix of purple and green leaves in a bunch
- collard greens – flat dark green leaves in a bunch
- swiss chard – green and colored leaves in a bunch
- radishes – multi-colored round roots in a bunch
- chives – green shoots with purple flowers
Veggie Notes & Recipes
We always marvel at how beautiful radishes are, but we didn’t realize they had such a profound history. They were apparently deemed to have a godly quality in ancient Rome, and were thought to have some other special benefits as well…
A chive vinaigrette would go perfectly with the lettuce and mixed greens in your share.
We turned our braising greens into a delightful and easy side dish with this simple recipe.
Spinach and chard are in the same family, and they go hand in hand in this breakfast/brunch dish:
Baked Eggs with Spinach and Chard
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh garlic, finely minced
- 2 cups packed fresh spinach leaves, roughly-chopped into bit-sized pieces
- 2 cups packed fresh Swiss chard leaves, removed from stem and roughly-chopped into bit-sized pieces
- 4 large eggs
- 1-1/2 tbsp half-and-half or heavy cream
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully break the eggs into small bowls so that the yolks stay intact. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, until just beginning to brown. Add the spinach and the Swiss chard to the skillet, and cook, stirring occasionally until the greens begin to wilt and cook down but are still bright green, about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the greens from the heat and divide into 2 oven-safe ramekins or small, shallow baking dishes. Top each with two eggs. Drizzle each dish with the cream, then top with a sprinkling of Parmesan and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cream begins to bubble and the eggs are cooked to your desired doneness. Serve immediately.
We all love kale chips, but kale has much more to offer. Try it raw in this salad:
Seedy, Nutty Kale Salad + Miso Tahini Dressing
The recipe for the dressing makes more than needed for one batch of kale salad. I store the remainder in the fridge, and use it up fairly quickly; as employed here, or alongside roasted root vegetables, or spooned over a halved avocado.
Kale is a sturdy green, so can stand up to both an assertive dressing and a thorough leaf massage. Don’t hold back on either.
For the dressing, makes around 1 cup
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/3 cup white (shiro) miso
- 1/3 cup tahini, stirred
- Juice from a largeish orange
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- Runny honey, fresh lemon juice or rice wine vinegar, and water, as required
- Toasted sesame oil or olive oil, optional
For the salad, enough for 2 to 4
- Approximately 6 cups baby kale, as above, or the same of Tuscan kale, as below
- 3 tablespoons mixed raw nuts and seeds, I used black and white sesame, shelled sunflower seeds and flaked almonds
- 1 decent-sized crisp, sweet apple
- 3/4 cup assorted sprouts
Method
Sort the dressing first. In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic into a paste. Stir in the miso and tahini, then most of the juice from the orange. Season with salt and pepper, then taste. Here’s where you’ll have to decide how best to proceed; fiddle with the dressing until there is a balance of fat and acid. You’ll want to smack your lips when it’s right. You should be able to taste the orange — give it a boost if necessary with more orange juice, and maybe a scant spoon of honey. If the dressing tastes flat, add lemon juice or rice wine vinegar. The dressing should be the consistency of pouring cream; stir in some water, or a few drops of either of the oils, until it runs easily off the spoon.
To assemble the salad, grab a large bowl. Tear the kale into bite sized pieces, and add to the bowl along with a few tablespoons of the dressing. Using your hands, squish and bruise the kale, working the dressing into the leaves. Once completely coated, toss the kale lightly to fluff it up. Set aside.
If desired, toast the seeds and nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat. Cool.
Cut the apple into eights. Remove the core from the wedges, then slice thinly. Add to the bowl of kale, along with the sprouts, half the seeds, and another drizzle of dressing. Again with your hands or a pair of tongs, toss the salad with the dressing. Check for seasoning and serve, topped with the reserved seeds and nuts, and extra dressing at the table.
