CSA Harvest #14

Good day everyone! We are excited to announce that there will now be fresh baked artisan breads avail for those of you picking up your baskets in Roseburg. Anthony (the baker) and Sandee his wife will be offering samples of their difft loaves with some avail to buy for $3 loaf. We have had their bread and it is delicious! The bread will be avail. for sampling and purchase from 5-6:30pm tomorrow (Wed) at the pick up site on Broccoli Street.

Here is a letter from Anthony regarding his breads!~

Hi, My name is Anthony Szlachciuk. I am a new baker and my specialty is Artisan sourdough bread.


Some of my clients are : "Black Bird Bar and Grill", "Mystic earth" and "Till it shines" coffee and deli.
You might have also seen me selling my loaves at Roseburgs "Old Town Market" on Thursday nights or "The Lookingglass Farm Market" on Fridays.


This week at the CSA pickup i will have four kinds of sourdough boules and batard loaves.


The types are:
1. Walnut Cranberry loaf
2. Currant loaf
3. Roasted Jalapeño and cheddar cheese
4. Plain Seeded(Flax, sesame and sunflower seed)
Come and see me for free samples of these tasty breads and I will have fresh bread for sale. loaves cost 3 dollars.


Thank you so much and sincerely at your service
anthony

We hope you find some time to sample their breads. We support community through community supported agriculture (and baked goods) ;)

Suzie, Asinete, M.A, Violet, Sally and Grandma GG


Harvest This Week Includes:

Fennel

Ambrosia Cantaloupe (super ripe.. eat promptly and store in fridge!)

Rainbow Chard

Garlic

Yellow sweet onions

Peaches OR Plums

Peppers (jalapeno and Anaheim. Chile Relleno recipe below!~

basil (finally)

Heirloom tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes

Strawberries

Raspberries (hopefully enough for all!)

Cucumbers

Summer squash

How to Use it!

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutesCook time: 10 minutesIngredients

1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
1/4 cup olive oil
Method
1 Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters.
2 Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.

3 While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4 Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.



5 Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)

Yield: Makes 24 small slices.


Caprese Salad
Yield- 4-5 servings

Ingredients
3 vine-ripe tomatoes, 1/4-inch thick slices
1 pound fresh mozzarella, 1/4-inch thick slices (found this at Fred Meyer in their salad bar area)
20 to 30 leaves (about 1 bunch) fresh basil
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Coarse salt and pepper
Directions
Layer alternating slices of tomatoes and mozzarella, adding a basil leaf between each, on a large, shallow platter. Drizzle the salad with extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Baked Chile Rellenos with Corn and Crema
serves 4

Prep time 45 minutes, total time 1 hour
6 Anaheim chiles
5 ears fresh corn, husks and silks removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
Black pepper
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, or other Mexican melting cheese
½ cup Mexican crema
Procedures1
Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and preheat oven to 375°.

2
Meanwhile, if you have a gas stove, turn heat to high on one of the burners, and set as many of the anaheims as will fit on the grate. Cook, flipping and moving the chiles often with a pair of tongs, until blackened on all sides. If you don't have a gas stove, turn on broiler to high. Place chiles on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil, and place underneath the broiler. Cook, flipping occasionally with a pair of tongs, until blacked on all sides.

3
When chiles are blackened, transfer to a plastic bag and seal. Let them steam for at least five minutes. When done, peel off the blackened skins. Cut a slit down the side of each, starting under the stem and continuing down to the tip. Carefully remove the seeds, being careful not to tear the chile.

4
Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the corn cobs. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When shimmering, add the onion and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent, about two minutes. Add the corn, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until corn turns golden brown, about five minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

5
Carefully stuff each chile with a layer of ½ cup of the sauteed corn mixture, ¼ cup of the shredded cheese, and 1 ½ tablespoons of the crema. Finally, add a 1 ½ tablespoon of cheese on top of each slit. When stuffed, place each chile slit side up on a baking dish.

6
Transfer baking dish to the upper middle rack in the oven and cook for ten minutes. Turn on the broiler to high, and cook until the cheese is golden brown, about five minutes. Serve immediately.

CSA Harvest #13~ the halfway mark!

Here we are at the halfway point for CSA deliveries and the climax of the amount of produce you will be getting in your baskets. As you noticed in the early part of the CSA deliveries leafy greens reigned supreme, now the heat of summer and longer days have allowed the later maturing crops to ripen! Hello this week to eggplant, shallots, peaches and melons!
For those of you who love your lettuce it will be back as the days cool off. We have another planting of lettuce in the ground and the deer have found it. We do not have deer fencing... living on the flood plain of the river we are not willing to invest that much money into a project to have it wash away when the river decides to flood again. This means each year in the late summer when the hills dry up we have deer to contend with. By day they sleep in the shade along the river and at night while we sleep they help themsleves to their favorite things on the farm~ beans, lettuce, corn and carrots. In a few weeks you may find your carrot tops nibbled down or jagged edges on your head lettuce, the telltale sign that a deer has smapled it before you. Our dogs do their duty and bark from our fenced in yard but we do not like to let them loose to chase the marauding deer since we live right off of Highway 99 which is highly traveled at all hours. So please excuse any cosmetic flaws you may see (especially in your lettuce greens) in the next coming weeks!

We wanted to include some images from the great onion harvest of 2011! With Geronimo's help we were able to haul in the walla wallas, red torpedo, red marble, cipollini, red zepplelin, Alisa Craigs and copras. We store the onions on pallets under the shade of the fir trees. Be prepared for the large onion flood coming your way!

This year we have also experimented with growing shallots.. that delicious onion family member that tastes like onion crossed with garlic. Shallots are usually a delicacy item.. very expensive to plant from bulbs and seed. The shallots in your basket were started from seed way back on the cold day of February 2nd.. they did great and now hang in our barn drying for storage. You will see the shallots as regular visitors to your basket now too!


Please don't forget about our upcoming annual potluck at the farm happening September 18th from 2-6pm... please RSVP as soon as you can to let us know you will be attending, what you will be bringing and how many in your group.


This Week's Harvest Includes:

Potato Mix ( yukon golds, purple majesty and mountain rose) use combined for great colors!

Green Haricot Vert Beans and Yellow Wax Beans

Carrots

Strawberries (we are so impressed with these seascapes and how long they pump out these berries!)

Shallots

Tomatoes

Cherry Tomato Mix (includes sungolds, red cherry, isis candy, brown berry and lemon drop)

Cucumber

Summer Squash

Red Marble onion and Cipollini Onion

Dill (great with potatoes!)

Eggplant! (finally!)

Melons

Peaches (we are hoping enough for everyone) Please bear in mind the trees are young (only three years old) and only a few are really loaded with fruit. Also much to our dismay earwigs have come out at night and started to nibble into the ripening fruit. Next year we know now to apply tanglefoot (a sticky paste that you apply to the base of tree that prevents insects from crawling up the trunk) For this year please cut away any superficial holes you may see in these sweet, fragrant beauties!


How to Keep it and Eat it!

Eggplant~ these fruits are members of the nightshade family like their brothers tomatoes. They keep best loose in the crisper drawer of your fridge. They should be eaten within 5 days for best quality.

Baba Ganoush~ no eggplant introduction is complete without including this recipe! A wonderful dip for pita wedges or spread for sandwiches.

Ingredients
1 eggplant
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste in natural food section of grocery store)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2.Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel skin off.
3.Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

Spicy Szechwan Eggplant

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, diced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon chili sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 tablespoons water
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 large green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger root
1/2 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined (can substitute chicken here)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon vegetable or sesame oil

Directions
1.Remove the eggplant stem and cut into 1-inch cubes. In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, chicken stock, chili sauce, sugar, ground black pepper and oyster sauce. Stir together well and set aside. In a separate small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water, and set aside.
2.Coat a large, deep pan with cooking spray over high heat and allow a few minutes for it to get very hot. Saute the garlic, half of the green onions, ginger and shrimp for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until they begin to brown. Stir in the ground beef and cook for 3 more minutes, again stirring constantly, until browned.
3.Pour the eggplant into the pan and stir all together. Pour the reserved soy sauce mixture over all, cover the pan, reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the reserved cornstarch mixture and let heat until thickened. Finally, stir in the rest of the green onions and the sesame oil.

CSA Harvest #12

The colors and tastes of summer can be experienced in your basket this week. Finally so many of the crops that we have had our doubts would produce anything have finally started to come alive and decide to grow and produce something edible for us all. The corn is tasseling (finally!) Neon purple eggplant are appearing and we will harvest the first ripe melons tomorrow! A true sign that summer is upon us.

This week and last week we have been busy getting many of the fall crops planted. More broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, cilantro, baby greens, radishes and turnips. Soon as the days shorten and turn cool again it will be too late to start more things so we take advantage now of our warm days to get things to grow!

Also on the farm we are doing our big onion harvest. When we see the tops of the onion leaves start to turn brown and die back we know that the onion bulbs are done growing and it is time to stop irrigating them and let them start drying to cure for storage. We grow lots of onions (perhaps too much!) but we figured that onions were a staple that many of you use to cook your meals plus the onions can be stored for many months once cured and added to your baskets over a long period of time.
This week in your basket you will find a tremendous yellow onion, perhaps the biggest you have ever seen! This variety is an heirloom sweet variety called Alisa Craig.

Next week will be CSA harvest #13.. this means our halfway mark with 13 more weeks to go. It also means for some of you that the second half of your payment is due. If you are unsure of your balance please email us.

Also we hope you all can make it to our 4th annual Potluck/Farm Tour Sunday September 18th from 2-6pm. Please RSVP via email if you think you can make it!

Enjoy this week's bounty!

Suzie, Asinete, Tione, Grandma GG, M.A, Sally & Violet


Harvest This Week Includes:

Strawberries

Dill

Glacier and Oregon Spring Tomatoes

Summer Squash

Head Lettuce

Cucumbers

Cantaloupe (possibly on rotation) Small variety called Tasty Bites and larger Sarah's Choice.

Fennel Bulb

Beets

Alisa Craig Sweet Onion

Garlic

Yellow Wax and Haricot Vert green beans (half share this week)

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes (possibly on rotation.. hoping we can get more ripe ones on vine before delivery tomorrow!)

Raspberries (like cherry tomatoes possibly on rotation depending how many more ready to harvest in the am.)

How to Use it!

Roasted Beets with Dill

yield: Makes 6 servings

This simple side dish is even easier to prepare if you roast the beets the day before you plan to serve them.

Ingredients
2 pounds beets, trimmed (about 6 medium)
1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter (can use less and still tastes great!)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
print a shopping list for this recipe

Preparation Preheat oven to 400°F. Place beets in small roasting pan with 1/4 cup water. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake until beets are tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Peel beets. Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Stir in dill and lemon juice. Add beets and toss until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; serve.


Creamy Beet with Dill Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds raw beets, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large onion, cut into large dice
1 tablespoon butter
1 pinch sugar
3 large garlic cloves, thickly sliced
1 teaspoon toasted caraway seeds*
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken broth, homemade or from a carton or can
2 tablespoons fresh dill
1 1/2 cups half-and-half (or whole milk)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Garnish: chopped hard-cooked egg

Directions
1.Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep saute pan until shimmering.
2.Add beets, then onion; saute, stirring very little at first, then more frequently, until squash start to turn golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes.
3.Reduce heat to low and add butter, sugar and garlic; continue cooking until all vegetables are a rich spotty caramel color, about 10 minutes longer.
4.Add caraway seeds and cayenne pepper; continue to saute until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute longer.
5.Add broth; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until beets are tender, about 10 minutes.
6.Using an immersion blender or traditional blender, puree (adding fresh dill) until very smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. (If using a traditional blender, vent it either by removing the lid's pop-out center or by lifting one edge of the lid. Drape the blender canister with a kitchen towel. To 'clean' the canister, pour in a little half-and-half, blend briefly, then add to the soup.)
7.Return to pan (or a soup pot); add enough half-and-half so the mixture is soup like, yet thick enough to float garnish. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed. Heat through, ladle into bowls, garnish and serve.
Footnotes

*To toast caraway seeds, heat 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds in a small skillet over medium-low heat until they start to gently pop and smell fragrant. Cool slightly, then crush with a rolling pin.

CSA Harvest #11

Eleven weeks down and 15 more to go and the best things are still to come! Peaches which are ripening, sweet corn tasseling, melons growing, eggplant, basil, shallots, winter squash, pears, brussels sprouts, and much more!

For many of you this is the first time you have tried a CSA program. As you wade through new and possibly strange vegetables (ie: kohlrabi!) each week you may wonder again what the benefits are of eating locally. We found this list of reasons why it is important to eat locally and in season. This list is not complete but it is a good start!

10 Reasons to Eat Local Food

1. Eating local means more for the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy. When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community at every transaction. (reference)

2. Locally grown produce is fresher. While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer's market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value which declines with time.

3. Local food just plain tastes better. Ever tried a tomato that was picked within 24 hours? 'Nuff said.

4. Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen. Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be "rugged" or to stand up to the rigors of shipping. This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods, and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine.

5. Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic. In a March 2005 study by the journal Food Policy, it was found that the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic. (reference)

6. Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons. By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their peak taste, are the most abundant, and the least expensive.

7. Buying locally grown food is fodder for a wonderful story. Whether it's the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal.

8. Eating local protects us from bio-terrorism. Food with less distance to travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination. (reference)

9. Local food translates to more variety. When a farmer is producing food that will not travel a long distance, will have a shorter shelf life, and does not have a high-yield demand, the farmer is free to try small crops of various fruits and vegetables that would probably never make it to a large supermarket. Supermarkets are interested in selling "Name brand" fruit: Romaine Lettuce, Red Delicious Apples, Russet Potatoes. Local producers often play with their crops from year to year, trying out Little Gem Lettuce, Senshu Apples, and Chieftain Potatoes.

10. Supporting local providers supports responsible land development. When you buy local, you give those with local open space - farms and pastures - an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped.

As farmers we would also like to add that commercial farmers only collect about 10 cents of the retail food dollar. The majority of that food dollar goes to brokers, advertising and shipping cost. Local farmers like Big Lick Farm who sell directly to the consumers cut out the middle person and get full retail price for their food. Farmers can earn a fair wage to raise their families.


Upcoming Farm Tour and Potluck!

We hope you can all join us for our annual farm tour/potluck. We have decided on Sunday, September 18th from 2-6pm. More details to come as we near the date! We hope you can all come out and see where/how your food is grown!

Enjoy this week's goodies!

Suzie, Asinete, Tione, Grandma GG, M.A, Sally and Violet

Harvest This Week Includes:

Kohlrabi (peel until you get to the tender flesh inside)

Garlic

Walla Walla Onion (please store in fridge!)

Green Simpson Lettuce

Cucumber

Squash mix (zephyr and costata romanesco zucchini)

Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (recipe ideas below)

Tomatoes

Strawberries

Raspberries OR Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Maxibel Haricot Green Beans (full share only this week.. new planting just kicking into production).


Recipe Ideas:

Flat leaf parsley is a mainstay of our gardens each year. It grows all season and as we cut it it just comes back again better than before. Parsley is so good for you too! It is rich in Vitamins A and C and the minerals, iron and calcium.

Your parsley will keep very fresh stored in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. We love it especially chopped very fine and added to our fresh green salads. If you would like to get more fancy here are some ideas!

Tabouli
2 cups bulgur
2 cups boiling water
1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch mint
3 cloves garlic
4 tomatoes
3 scallions
juice of 4 lemons
⅓ cup olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
Salt to taste

1. Place bulgur in large bowl, add boiling water and toss well with a fork. Let rest in refrigerator for ½ hour.

2. Finely chop mint and parsley; peel and finely chop garlic. Cut tomatoes into ¼” cubes. Slice scallions finely.

3. Add all vegetables to bulgur. Combine lemon juice and olive oil. Pour over bulgur-vegetable combination. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Let flavors blend for at least two hours before serving. Serve chilled or at room temperature.


Chimichurri a traditional Argentine spicy condiment that is typically served with grilled and roasted meats

1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons minced onion
1/3 cup vinegar
5 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Finely chop the parsley and garlic in a food processor. Add the onion, vinegar, water, salt, oregano, pepper flakes, and black pepper and process until the salt crystals are dissolved.

2. Add the oil in a thin stream. Do not over process. The chimichurri should be fairly coarse.

3. Correct the seasoning, adding additional salt or vinegar to taste. Let stand at room temperature for several hours before serving.

CSA Harvest #10

Hooray for summer that is actually outside and now reflected in your CSA baskets! Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, squash and berries. The luscious bi-color sweet corn will not be far behind. We would have been getting ready to harvest the first crop by now if our first two sowings had not rotted in the cold, wet spring soil. Many of the other U-Pick farms in our area will have corn long before us since the seed they plant is treated with chemical fungicides to protect them from rotting in the uncertain Spring weather. Due to our certification with Certified Naturally Grown we are not allowed to use these seeds and chemicals and instead we need to rely on Mother Nature to let us know when the time is right for the corn to grow on its own. Of course this method resulted in quite a bit of wasted seed that rotted and time planting and replanting only to have nothing sprout. Still we would not farm any other way!

We wanted to include a picture of our faithful helper who arrives every Monday and works nine hours straight stopping only for an occasional sip of water. Geronimo comes from Oaxaca,Mexico and is a great help to us this season. His help allows us more time to play with Tione and make sure his needs are met. The pictures above show Geronimo digging up the potatoes that you will be enjoying in your baskets this week. Potato digging is hard work and I am not very good at it. I seem to find the potatoes best by spearing them underground with my digging fork. If you see spuds in your basket that have nicks or cuts it's a safe bet that they are ones I harvested. Please enjoy nicked ones first since they do not store as well. In your baskets this week is a mix of Red Pontiac potatoes, Mountain Rose (look inside when you cut them and see the beautiful rose colored hue!) Also the magnificent but stingy yielding Purple Majesty Potato. We have over 8 other varieties of potatoes growing at the farm yet to harvest!


Enjoy your bounty!

Suzie, Asinete, Tione, M.A, Violet, Sally and Jeanne


Harvest This Week Includes:

Potato Mix

Romano Beans

Carrots (new crop! yummy!)

Green Onions

Strawberries

Rainbow Chard

Summer Squash Mix

Cucumbers

Raspberries (this week we do hope for everyone! If not enough for all those who did not get last week will!)


How to Cook it and Store it!

Rainbow chard is one of the favorite crops we grow at the farm for a number of reasons. First of all every time we pick a bunch we don't know whether to cook it up or put it in a flower vase to enjoy its vibrant colors! Another reason is that chard is a crop that we can keep harvesting from almost all season. As we harvest the outer, largest leaves the new leaves keep coming up from the middle. The majority of the crops that we grow at the farm are harvested once and done (carrots, potatoes, beets, onions, turnips, radish, head lettuce). The last reason we love chard is because it is so darn tasty, easy to prepare and so good for you! Chard has high levels of magnesium, calcium, vitamin K, iron, potassium, vitamin A, folate, zinc, copper, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and vitamin E. Not only beautiful but good for you too!

Your chard will keep best wrapped in plastic bag in crisper drawer. Use by the weekend in one of the recipe ideas below.

Stuffed Chard Leaves

ingredients

1 pound 90%-lean ground beef
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 medium shallots, minced, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
8 large Swiss chard leaves, stems removed (see Tip)
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

directions

1.Gently mix beef, breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon shallot, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl until just combined. Divide the mixture into 8 oblong 3-inch portions.

2.Overlap the two sides of a chard leaf where the stem was removed and place a portion of beef there. Tightly roll the chard around the beef. Place each roll, seam-side down, in a large nonstick skillet. Pour in broth, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a roll reads 165°F, 8 to 10 minutes. Discard any remaining broth.

3.Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining shallot, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and crushed red pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the shallot is soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 8 minutes. Serve the chard rolls topped with sauce and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

4.Tip: Remove chard stems, including the widest section of the rib at the base of the leaf, by making narrow triangular cuts.


Chard with Olives and Goat Cheese

ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound chard, stems and leaves separated, chopped (see Note)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives (can use kalamata)
1/4 cup currants
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese (2 ounces)

directions

1.Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chard stems, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in chard leaves and cook, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in olives and currants. Dot goat cheese over the top, cover and cook until the chard is tender and the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes more.
2.Note: After washing the chard for these recipes, allow some of the water to cling to the leaves. It helps steam the chard and prevents a dry finished dish.

recipe source
eatingwell


Easy Chard Recipe

Ingredients

1 large bunch of fresh Swiss chard
1 small clove garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water
Pinch of dried crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon butter
Salt

1 Rinse out the Swiss chard leaves thoroughly. Remove the toughest third of the stalk, discard or save for another recipe. Roughly chop the leaves into inch-wide strips.

2 Heat a saucepan on a medium heat setting, add olive oil, a few small slices of garlic and the crushed red pepper. Sauté for about a minute. Add the chopped Swiss chard leaves. Cover. Check after about 5 minutes. If it looks dry, add a couple tablespoons of water. Flip the leaves over in the pan, so that what was on the bottom, is now on the top. Cover again. Check for doneness after another 5 minutes (remove a piece and taste it). Add salt to taste, and a small amount of butter. Remove the swiss chard to a serving dish.