Cream of Dandelion Soup

Red dandelion greens in the field

Add dandelion greens to soups and stews to provide a mineral-rich ingredient.

4 cups chopped dandelion leaves
2 cups flower petals
2 cups buds
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 cup chopped leeks or onions
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water or veggie/chicken stock
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon curry powder or turmeric
2 cups whole milk or milk substitute

Gently boil dandelion leaves in 6 cups water. Pour off bitter water and boil gently a second time, pouring off the bitter water.

In a heavy soup pot, saute leeks and garlic in butter or oil till translucent. Add 4 cups water or stock, leaves, flower petals, buds and salt. Simmer gently for about 45 minutes.

Add milk and simmer a few minutes more to meld the flavors. Season to taste. Garnish with flower petals.

Adapted from rosesprodigalgarden.org/recipes/dandelionrecipes.html.

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Chard — An Antioxident Powerhouse

rainbow chard, bunchced, on display

Rainbow chard stalks stay vibrant even after you cook them!

Humans should eat a variety of plants and get nutrients from a wide mix of sources. Lots of vegetables contain similar phytonutrient and antioxidant properties, but each will have these nutrients in a unique combination. Chard has a nutrient profile that makes it a powerhouse among veggies.

Chard has about 13 different antioxidants, including a polyphenol called kaempferol, a flavonoid also found in broccoli, kale, and strawberries, known for benefiting the cardiovascular system. But chard also has a flavonoid called syringic acid, which has blood sugar regulating properties, enabling blood sugar to stay more steady. So chard helps with blood sugar control and benefits the entire cardiovascular system.

Chard also has betalains, as do beets. Betalains provide anti-inflammatory and detoxification support. To get the full spectrum of betalains, you would need to eat red beets and golden beets. Chard does the job of both. It’s also an excellent source of vitamins K, A, and C, and provides lots of magnesium, potassium, iron and dietary fiber.

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How to Use Fresh Fava Beans

fava beans

Fava beans are fun and delicious!

One of the largest beans and certainly the richest in flavor, favas are a real harbinger of summer. People all over the world enjoy their rich taste and generous nutrition. Also called “broad beans,” they are high in fiber and iron, and low in sodium and fat. They have no cholesterol but so much protein that they were called “the beef of the poor” in Charles Dickens’ day.

If the beans are very young, the whole bean can be chopped up and used, pods and all. Otherwise shuck them to your preference. There is a whiteish skin around the bean itself, which some people like to eat, and others prefer to discard (see below).

Sauté shucked beans with peas and mushrooms, or with shrimp and thyme for a delicious and elegant summer supper. Toss them into soups, stir-fries or pasta. Roast them with garlic, olive oil and salt to taste, or use them raw, whole or chopped into salads. Puree favas for an alternative green base to pizza or pasta. Boil and mash them, and spread the paste on crostini.

Shucking favas

First, split the pod at the seam and remove the beans. There are about 4 to 5 per pod.

To remove the second skin, there are two different methods. The first is to make a small slit with a knife along the edge of the bean to pop the bean out of its skin.

The alternate, and more popular, method is to blanch them for 1-3 minutes. Remove the beans from the boiling water and immediately submerge them in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. At this point, you can spread the beans out on a cookie sheet to freeze, then bag and store in freezer. If you’re going to use them right away, squeeze them out from their skins, and use as directed in any recipe of your choice.

Sauteeing fava beans

Shuck 2 pounds of fava beans. Use either method to remove the outer skin of the beans. You should have about 1.5 cups beans. Over medium heat in a skillet, melt together 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon olive oil, add two minced garlic cloves (or 2 finely chopped garlic scapes) and sauté for 1 minute. Add the fava beans and sauté for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until they are done to your preference. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, serve, and enjoy!

Or get a little fancier. Add other delicious items, such as caramelized onions or fennel, chunky fresh tomatoes, a bit of chopped proscuitto, and a cup of chopped endive. Serve on fettuccine with a light cream sauce.

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About Rosemary

Like many herbs, rosemary is steeped in myth. The name derives from Latin for “dew” (ros) and “sea” (marinus), because in many locations, it needs no water other than the humidity carried by sea breezes. In Greek mythology, it was draped around the Greek goddess Aphrodite when she rose from the sea. The Virgin Mary is said to have spread her blue cloak over a white-blossomed rosemary bush when she was resting, and the flowers turned blue. The shrub then became known as the ‘Rose of Mary.’

Rosemary contains rosmarinic acid, a powerful antioxidant known for its anti‐inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti‐fungal and antiseptic properties, as well as vitamins C, A, B‐complex, and many minerals. It tastes great with roast pork, lamb and chicken. Add it to a marinade with garlic and lemon juice. Soak fresh rosemary in olive oil or vinegar to infuse them, or soak it in milk or cream and use in desserts. Add it chopped to soups, salads, and pasta, or mix it with garlic and butter for a flavorful garlic bread. When Farmer Nash makes ground pork burgers, he will
always add chopped fresh rosemary at about 1 tablespoon
per pound of pork. Delicious!

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About Hulless Oats

Oat groats

The naked oats in your farm share box this week can be made into a tasty and hearty oatmeal breakfast.

Also called “naked oats,” the variety of these hulless oats is appropriately called Streaker. When harvested and threshed, the oat kernels are almost free of the tough, inedible hulls of common oats. After winnowing, the grain is ready to cook for oatmeal or grind for oat flour. Remove any lingering hulls by floating them off in water, then check for any tiny pebbles that may have gotten through in the threshing process. Once soaked, hulless oats can be sprouted because they are a healthy living grain, unlike common oats that are de‐hulled by a heat process that actually damages the whole grain. Use oat sprouts in salads or in your leftover turkey sandwiches.

Hulless oats contain lots of dietary fiber, cancer-fighting phytochemicals, protein, vitamin B complex, and minerals like magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, copper and iron. They help lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, prevent type 2 diabetes, and aid in weight control. Soaking sprouts prior to cooking is recommended, especially if you want to prepare them as a porridge, and they do wonderfully in a crockpot. You can also soak them overnight, put them raw in a blender with juice, milk or yogurt, and the sweetener of your choice, and blend until smooth. Then layer chopped fruit, raisins, nuts, etc. with the blended oats to make a beautiful breakfast parfait!

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Rhubarb-Ginger Cobbler

4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup rapadura sugar
2 teaspoons allspice
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, tightly packed
1 egg
1/3 sorghum molasses
3+ tablespoons grated ginger root
2+ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup milk with vinegar (or buttermilk)

Put rhubarb in a bowl. Pour sugar over it and toss well to mix. Let stand in refrigerator for an hour. Drain rhubarb and discard all but 1/4 cup juice. Return to its bowl, sprinkle with allspice, and toss.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a large rectangular baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with the brown sugar. Beat the egg into the creamed mixture and add to the sorghum and ginger root. In a small bowl, mix together the ground ginger, cinnamon, mustard, baking soda, and the flour. Add in increments to the batter, stirring as you go along. Add the milk-with-vinegar and beat until smooth. Pour the rhubarb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Drop the ginger mixture by the teaspoonful on top. Bake for 30 minutes and then turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees. Bake for another 15 minutes, until the cake is well browned. Yields 8 servings.

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Using Fresh Dill

dill, bunched

What’s your favorite use for dill? Let us know in the comments below!

Looking for dill-flavored inspiration? Here are several fantastic uses for dill that you might not have thought of.

  • Add sparkle to a tuna sandwich.
  • Enhance a cold gazpacho soup.
  • Mix 1/4 cup fresh dill with 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add 2 sliced cucumbers, 1 cup sliced red onion, and 2 cut-up tomatoes. Toss, and let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.
  • Got a favorite pureed carrot soup recipe? Be sure to garnish it with some delicate dill fronds for a treat that’s not only tasty, but visually appealing.
  • Dill with salmon is a marriage made in heaven. Add finely chopped garlic, too!
  • Add to Greek green salads, with romaine, sliced scallions and crumbled feta.
  • Make your own sourdough bread? Throw in some olives and dill.
  • Chop 1/2 cup dill fine and mix with 2-3 tablespoons butter, salt, and pepper.
  • For an incredible roasted chicken, use a spoon to get dill under the skin of the breasts, thighs, and legs, and massage it around the meat. Stuff some into the cavity of the chicken with lemon slices and garlic.
  • Add to potato soup, or potato salad with lemon and green onion.
  • Add to cole slaw, omelets, lentil dahl, or borscht.
  • Make dill sauce with plain yogurt, mayo, sour cream, garlic, lemon, and salt and pepper.

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Pickled Chard Stems

rainbow chard stalks

Not sure what to do with chard stems? Pickle them!

Many people like to lightly steam chard greens for their health benefits. But don’t throw the stems away! Once pickled, they can be added to salads or sandwiches, or just munched as is.

1 pound chard stems (from about 4 bunches), cut into 4″ lengths
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons Nash’s black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Toss the chard stems and shallot slices in the salt and let them stand in a colander in a sink for 1 hour. Rinse and drain well.

Meanwhile, toast the mustard and caraway seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until mustard seeds begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Let cool.

Bring the vinegar, sugar, and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan; let cool slightly. Pour brine into jars. Let cool slightly, add chard stems, shallots, and seeds, then cover and chill for 24 hours. They will last for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

We thank epicurious.com for this recipe.

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Chard Frittata with Garlic Sauce

rainbow chard, bunchced, on display

Rainbow chard stalks stay vibrant even after you cook them!

1small onion, chopped
1 bunch chard, stems and leaves separated and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
6 eggs, whisked
Cheese for topping
Ground black pepper

In a skillet, saute onion and chard stems with basil until tender. Cover and stir occasionally. Add chard leaves. Pack it in and replace lid. When shrunk add scrambled eggs, stir quickly and press evenly in pan. Cover and turn heat down very low. Top with cheese and sprinkle with pepper. Cut with pie server when egg is cooked and top with sauce.

Sauce
1 cup yogurt
3 garlic scapes, finely chopped, or 6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup cream (optional)

Mix together and serve generously on chard frittata with fresh tomato.

We thank Teri Crockett of Nash’s Farm Store for this recipe.

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What to Do with Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes

Curlicues of bunched garlic scapes look whimsical, but scapes are seriously tasty.

Do you love garlic but have run out of last season’s garlic cloves? Not to worry—garlic scapes are here! Scapes are the tall flowering stalk of the garlic plant. They have a mild garlic flavor and can be used to add garlicky goodness to so many dishes. Here are several tasty suggestions.

Garlic Scape Pesto—Blend with pine nuts, Parmesan, olive oil, lemon, and salt and pepper. Add basil, if you want.

Grilled or Roasted—Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper, and grill for 2 minutes on each side.

Hummus—Swap scapes for garlic cloves. Great in a lemony, tahini-free hummus.

Compound Butter—Add some lemon and fresh thyme.

Pizza—Delicious on a white grilled pizza with caramelized onions.

Stir-fry—They lose some bite when sautéed, so use 3-4 times as much.

Salads—Blanch them first, like you would green beans.

Soup—Add to soup towards the end to get the best flavor from the scapes.

Pickled—Add to your favorite pickle recipe, or just pickle the scapes themselves in vinegar, salt and dill.

Sautéed—Great with shrimp.

Quesadillas—Grill them first and add lots of cheese!

Omelets—Add cut-up scapes, arugula and a little basil along with cheese.

Pork Burgers—Mix with Nash’s Italian sausage or ground pork, and a little rosemary. OMG!!

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