RECIPE: Roasted Beet Salad

Adapted from Michael Waupoose’s winner in the 2001 Food for Thought Recipe Contest.

Ingredients:

1 bunch small beets
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup pecans (or walnuts)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups salad greens
1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (or feta)
Dried cranberries (optional)

Procedure:

1. Place beets baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake in 375’ oven until can be easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes (The grill version: place beets on tin foil, drizzle with oil and salt and pepper, and wrap up tightly. Grill until beets can be easily pierced with a fork, about 30 min.)

2. Meanwhile, toast nuts in a dry pan on the grill or stove, tossing frequently. Finely chop the nuts.

3. Slip the skins of the beets off under cold running water. Cut beets into quarters or eighths.

4. Combine mustard and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk in olive oil until thickened. Add salt and pepper. Toss salad greens in a bowl with a little dressing. Portion the greens onto 2-4 plates. Top with beets, onions, cheese, and nuts. Drizzle with more dressing.

RECIPE: "Ratatouille" with greens

Ingredients:

1 large or several smaller eggplants
2 or more tomatoes
4 small zucchini
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
4 packed cups of greens (or more, to taste)
basil and/or thyme
olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Slice eggplant, add salt, make stacks of eggplant slices and, if possible, put weight on top of stack. After 30 min, rinse, pat dry with paper towel and quarter each slice (depending on size of eggplant).

2. Wash greens, remove stems, cut into thin ribbons. Bring water in large pot to a boil, add greens and cook for 2-5 minutes until cooked (but still firm), strain and put into ice water.

3. Heat 3 tblspoons olive oil in a pan, add minced garlic, saute for 2 minutes, add chopped onion, saute until onion turns translucent, add eggplant and saute for five minutes, then cover pan with lid and reduce heat. Let cook for 10 minutes, then add sliced zuccini and chopped tomatoes. Add thyme if desired. Cook at moderate heat for 15-30 minutes until ratatouille-like consistency is achieved.

4. Add greens and saute for 5-10 minutes. Add fresh chopped basil, pepper and parmesan (and salt if desired) and serve with pasta or baguette.

ADVOCACY: Upcoming Events

Support People’s Garden NYC’s Effort to Plant a Garden at City Hall!

People’s Garden NYC is actively petitioning Mayor Bloomberg to plant a vegetable garden at the front steps of our City Hall. The petition calls for the garden to be tended by NYC public school students, in collaboration with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and our region's talented gardeners and farmers. The harvest will be donated to a nearby food pantry to feed the hungry.

In the next few weeks, folks from People's Garden NYC will be visiting Chubby Bunny’s pickup site to gather signatures and talk more about the petition campaign. You can also visit http://www.PeoplesGardenNYC.org to sign the petition online and learn more!

Greenmarket Chef’s Tour and Taste Luncheon
Thursday, July 22^nd, 11:00am

Help bring farm fresh food and farmers into NYC schools while enjoying a great lunch! Henry restaurant and Chef Mark Barrett will lead a behind-the-scenes tour of the local 116th Street Greenmarket followed by a seasonally inspired lunch menu made from the day’s bounty. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Greenmarket’s Youth Education Project. Make reservations with the Greenmarket Manager or at Henry’s (2745 Broadway at 105^th Street).

Basics of Local Seasonal Cooking

Wednesday, July 21st, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

In this class, you'll learn how to create meals centered on the bounty of locally-grown produce.

Cost is $18 and pre-registration is required by Monday July 19th. Click here to download the registration form.

Location: 197 East Broadway (near the East Broadway F)

RECIPE: Dressed Spring Cabbage

Adapted from BBC Good Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 ½ tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

2 slices bacon, cut into small strips

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 spring green cabbage, shredded

Procedure:

1. Mix the vinegar with 1 tbsp. water and the sugar.

2. In a large frying pan, fry the bacon in oil until brown/crisp; lift onto a plate or paper towels to drain.

3. Add the cabbage to the pan, cook for 5 mins over a high heat, cabbage will be wilted and starting to brown. Stir through the vinegar/sugar dressing.

4. Return the bacon to the pan and cook for 1 min more to warm through. Season well with pepper and serve.

NOTES: Any type of bacon can be used; if turkey bacon used, increase olive oil to 1 ½ tbsp.

Submitted by Lisa Bretherick

RECIPE: Risotto Primavera

Ingredients:

1 medium carrot, peeled
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1 medium zucchini, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, seeded, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
4 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups (11 1/2 ounces) arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
3/4 cup dry white wine
8 small or baby carrots, peeled, tops trimmed to 1/2 inch
1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Cut 1/4-inch slice off 1 long side of carrot to stabilize. Cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Stack half of slices and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips. Cut strips crosswise into 1/8-inch cubes. Repeat with remaining slices.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and zucchini; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Set vegetables aside.

3. Bring broth to simmer in medium saucepan over low heat. Cover and keep warm. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cubed carrot. Sauté until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add rice; stir until rice is translucent at edges but still opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup warm broth and baby carrots. Simmer until broth is almost absorbed, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add 2 cups more broth, 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next and stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Mix in sautéed vegetables and 1 cup broth. Simmer until broth is just absorbed, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add 1 1/3 cups cheese, peas, butter, and 1/2 cup broth. Simmer until butter melts, rice and vegetables are just tender, and risotto is creamy, stirring often and adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls if risotto is dry, about 3 minutes longer. Mix in basil; season with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer risotto to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve, passing additional cheese separately.

Submitted by Laura Grund

RECIPE: Cabbage and Leek Gratin with Mustard Cream

From Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. green cabbage, chopped into 2-inch squares

3 fat leeks, white parts only, quartered lengthwise, chopped and washed

Sea salt

1/3 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/3 cup sour cream

3 eggs

3 Tbs. finely chopped parsley or dill

Mustard Cream (recipe follows)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 6 cup shallow baking dish. Put a large pot of water on to boil.

2. When water boils add salt to taste and the vegetables. After 5 minutes, drain vegetables into a colander and press firmly with a rubber spatula to force out as much water as possible.

3. Whisk the flour, milk, sour cream, eggs and herbs together, then add the cabbage and leeks. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake until firm and lightly browned, about 45 minutes. Serve with mustard cream.

Variations: Add shredded, blanched celeriac to the vegetables. Add 2 to 3 ounces grated or crumbled cheese such as aged Gouda, Gruyere, Swiss feta or sharp Cheddar. Omit dill.

Mustard Cream

Ingredients:

1 small shallot, finely diced

1 tsp. white wine vinegar

Pinch of sea salt

2/3 cup sour cream or whole milk yogurt

2 to 3 tsp. prepared mustard

Procedure:

Mix the shallot, vinegar and salt in small bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream and mustard; adjust the seasonings, adding more vinegar or mustard to taste, if needed.

Submitted by Ann Tilley

FARM NEWS 7.11.10

A little rain has finally touched down on the farm. The lack of rain was especailly worrisome with the high temps we saw last week. We do use drip irrigation for tomatoes and watermelons, but everything else depends on rain. When it does rain, we try to go out and cultivate the soils around the crops for moisture retention and killing weeds. But cultivation for moisture retention (creating a dust mulch around the plants) only buys us a week or two before the next rains. So four weeks without rain can be stressful on plants, especially if they haven't rooted yet. And stressful on plants is stressful on farmer. So, anyway, thank goodness for the 1/4 inch of rain we got on Saturday. Hopefully there's more on the way to seal the deal.

This week on the farm: Garlic harvest! Thursday we'll be pulling up the garlic we planted last fall as cloves, now fully developed into bulbs. Anyone interested can come help Thursday afternoon at 2, weather permitting...It looks to be a sizeable crop- I would expect we'll need most of the day to do it. Also this week, three days of harvesting all the other vegetables for the CSA and farmers markets, and one day to transplant brussell's sprouts, cabbages, fennel, lettuces; also a day to hoe fall carrots, eggplants, chard. We've got a tall order this week, especially with our apprentices off to visit Bloomingfields Farm on Monday afternoon. Somehow, amazingly, we manage to get done what needs done, and the food keeps pouring in.
Here's the approximate harvest:
Sweet Onions, Carrots, Beets, Thyme, Basil, Chard, Broccolli, Zucchini, cabbage, Kale, SaladMix/Arugula, Eggplant?