this week's
HARVEST
1 head Escarole
Delicious in a salad or cooked...($2.25 each)
1 head Green Leaf Lettuce ($1.90)
1 head Red Leaf Lettuce
($1.90)
1 bunch Carrots
($2)
1 bunch Beets
($2)
1 bunch Walla Walla Onions
A delicious, sweet onion from the Walla Walla Valley in Washington state. ($2.25)
1 bag Shelling Peas
Pop open these peas and discard the shells. Enjoy raw in salads or perhaps it's time for a lovely fresh pea soup...($1.75)
1 small head Broccoli
($1)
on the
HORIZON
These are the crops that you can look forward to finding in next week's box...
Potatoes
Zucchini
Cucumbers
July 5th & 6th, 2005 ~ Issue #6
HAPPENINGS news & musings from the fields
We hope everyone had a wonderful long holiday weekend! We were certainly enjoying the sunny skies and cool breezes off the water. No fireworks or barbeques here...we were busy staking tomatoes, cultivating our corn and bean plants, and planting strawberries for next year.
RECIPES from the farm & from our friends
LETTUCES
It's time for salads! We just couldn't leave these beauties out in the fields, so you'll have a week of delicious salads to look forward to! It's the perfect season to enjoy salads as a main course lunch or light dinner. We love a bed of lettuce topped with sliced beets, feta cheese and toasted walnuts.
A bit of history
Native to the Mediterranean and the Mideast, lettuces are plants of great age. We know, anyway, that they were cultivated in the royal gardens of the Persian kings as long ago as 2,500 years. It got its name from its milky sap--and, by association, was supposed to benefit lactating mothers who needed rich milk to feed their babies.
According to George Lang, in his Compendium of Culinary Nonsense and Trivia, "the ancient Greeks served lettuce soup at the end of a meal because it was supposed to be sleep-inducing. And Emperor Domitian purposely served lettuce at the beginning of state dinners, hoping to torture all guests who, of course, couldn't fall asleep in front of their Imperial Majesty." Likewise, when Beatrix Potter's Flopsy Bunnies eat lots of shot lettuce, it was "so soporific" that they fell deeply asleep and did not wake when arch enemy Mr. MacGregor found them and poured grass shavings on them!
ESCAROLE & PINE NUTS
1 head escarole, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Bring 3 quarts water to a rolling boil. Separate the escarole leaves and rinse thoroughly. Drop leaves into the boiling water and boil, covered, until tender, about 35 minutes
When the escarole is tender, drain thoroughly and let dry. In a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Roughly chop the escarole. Add the garlic to the hot pan and saute until the garlic begins to soften and turn a light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the pine nuts and cook until the nuts are lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add the escarole and stir until well-cooked and very soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.