Just wash & toss the greens (I especially like to do this with kale & spinach)into the freezer if you're planning to use them for smoothies -- smoothies are very forgiving. Of course, package the greens in plastic bags or containers. I have also frozen kale for winter use by processing first into a thick paste using a little water in my blender. Then I poured the "paste" into large containers and froze in a thin layer which I could then break into pieces to add to winter smoothies like ice cubes ... except these were kale cubes, lol!
It is a great way to extend the goodness of my pure nutrient dense garden foods for use in the winter. Gotta love it!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
July 13/14 - CSA Basket
- baby carrots
- radishes
- summer savory
- basil
- green onions
- romiane lettuce
- curly leaf lettuce
- butter crunch lettuce
- swiss chard
- kale
- spinach
Another green basket this week with bits of color. Scrumptious taste of the first tender carrots and red crunch radishes definitely brighten the salad with their added color, crunch and taste.
We were sorry the peas just were not ready yet this week ... need more rain. Watering just isn't the same as a good soaker from above.
Enjoy the salads while you can. We have huge rows of lettuce and spinach that are already bolting because of the heat ... some rain would be helpful. Succession plantings are coming along, but they are prone to bolting also with the hot summer days. We'll seed more for Fall harvests.
Some of the plantings of spinach and dill are already harvested -- we'll put more stuff into those spaces for later harvesting.
The herbs in your basket this week are summer savory and basil. Cooking with fresh herbs is truly a culinary experience to savor.
Basil is the large leaf herb while summer savory has the smaller leaves.
Use summer savory in soups, basil in soups, stews, sauces, homemade hamburgers ... and smoothies??!! Yumm! Watch for another post on "Adventure in Smoothies".
Be sure to toss the herbs, spinach etc. into ziplocs and into the freezer for later use ... then you can enjoy a bit of summer in winter! Or if you have a vacuum sealer your herbs will store even better.
Friday, July 8, 2011
What Do You Do with Kale?
They tell me Dr. Oz says you should eat kale. It's good for you.
I agree.
Not only is it good for you. It's just plain good.
I didn't know that until two years ago though. So don't feel bad if you haven't discovered yet. Maybe this is YOUR year of kale discovery.
Let me share with you four great ways how we've begun enjoying kale...LOTS of it!
1. Ripped and tossed into a green salad (remove the stems, use in the next idea) -- that's the easiest way. You don't even know it's there, but you're getting the nutrition just the same. See our twelve green salad.
2. In smoothies -- this is the sweetest idea. A good blender makes wonderful cooling freshing summer snacks so handy & nutritious. Use up the stems from the kale you had in salad, don't throw them out, use it all.
If you can wrap your brain around drinking green, the kale taste is practically "invisible" in a smoothie because fruits like bananas, strawberries etc. camouflage the mild kale flavors. In fact, I freeze kale washed & whole or blended into a puree to toss into our winter smoothies. Fresh, organic summer goodness in winter. Yumm!
3. In stir-fries -- the stems are great here too. I just cut them first and give them a bit more time to cook than the leafy parts which I add a bit later.
4. Do try Kale Krisps if you haven't yet. This is so-o-o-o good. Comments I heard today around the table when I served Kale Krisps were:
"Don't take it all, leave some for me."
"I want some too."
And from our 2 yr old, "Mama, can I have some more cheese." The tenderized kale with cheese was so much easier for her to eat than a green salad!
The Kale Krisps are a nice vegetable to eat with eggs. Some of the boys even made a sandsich with Kale Krisps on their toast and topped with a fried egg. Yummy!
That said, now I'm thinking I better go plant more kale. You all will be wanting more than I can supply??!!
Too bad it took me so long to discover kale, but I'm so glad we did!
I agree.
Not only is it good for you. It's just plain good.
I didn't know that until two years ago though. So don't feel bad if you haven't discovered yet. Maybe this is YOUR year of kale discovery.
Let me share with you four great ways how we've begun enjoying kale...LOTS of it!
1. Ripped and tossed into a green salad (remove the stems, use in the next idea) -- that's the easiest way. You don't even know it's there, but you're getting the nutrition just the same. See our twelve green salad.
2. In smoothies -- this is the sweetest idea. A good blender makes wonderful cooling freshing summer snacks so handy & nutritious. Use up the stems from the kale you had in salad, don't throw them out, use it all.
If you can wrap your brain around drinking green, the kale taste is practically "invisible" in a smoothie because fruits like bananas, strawberries etc. camouflage the mild kale flavors. In fact, I freeze kale washed & whole or blended into a puree to toss into our winter smoothies. Fresh, organic summer goodness in winter. Yumm!
3. In stir-fries -- the stems are great here too. I just cut them first and give them a bit more time to cook than the leafy parts which I add a bit later.
4. Do try Kale Krisps if you haven't yet. This is so-o-o-o good. Comments I heard today around the table when I served Kale Krisps were:
"Don't take it all, leave some for me."
"I want some too."
And from our 2 yr old, "Mama, can I have some more cheese." The tenderized kale with cheese was so much easier for her to eat than a green salad!
The Kale Krisps are a nice vegetable to eat with eggs. Some of the boys even made a sandsich with Kale Krisps on their toast and topped with a fried egg. Yummy!
That said, now I'm thinking I better go plant more kale. You all will be wanting more than I can supply??!!
Too bad it took me so long to discover kale, but I'm so glad we did!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Week #2 CSA
- romaine lettuce
- butter crunch lettuce
- Grand Rapids, curly leaf lettuce
- spinach
- swiss chard
- kale
- baby dill
- green onions
- thyme
- rhubarb
Next week? Peas, carrots, and probably potatoes, beet greens ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
