Weekly Box Time Is Here

[Posted by Ruth]

Our Spring Farm Share from Stone Gardens Farm  will now be sending us a box a week.  This means I will no longer be found frowning and muttering in the produce section of my local store.  Just in time, I think I was starting to scare people.  Here's what we got this week:


A large bunch of Dandelion Greens
A bag of Spinach
A bag of baby Kale
A bag of baby Lettuce
Small bunch of Radishes
Large bunch of Scallions
1 dozen Eggs
We added in 1 cut up chicken and were also able to get 4 more packages of their terrific Ground Beef.


I got everything washed and prepped right away.  Last year taught me how important it is to do this.  We went for the Dandelion Greens first and had them Thursday night.  


Lamb and Dandelion Greens

This is a little bit of a cheat since the instructions should read, "First, cook too much lamb for Easter dinner."  We used up our leftover lamb with this dish, but you could use any leftover lamb, beef, pork or chicken to add meat to this.

Approx 3 cups cooked lamb (or other meat) cut into small cubes
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 T olive oil
1 bunch Dandelion Greens, washed, spun dry and coarsely chopped
Zest of 1/2 lemon, finely chopped
1 T Herbs de Provence (if you don't have this a mixture of thyme and tarragon can be substituted)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 cup cream

Heat olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook slowly until softened and a bit caramelized.  Stir in meat and the Herbs de Provence and continue heating until it warms through.  Add in the dandelion greens and lemon zest and cook stirring until the greens are wilted.  Stir in the cream, salt and pepper and cook over slightly higher heat until the cream thickens.  Serve over rice, grains or pasta.

One caution on dandelion greens.  Wash them thoroughly by submerging them in several changes of water.  Do this until you are sure they are clean and then do it about 2 more times.  Just rinsing will not get all the dirt out. 

Week 3

[Posted by Ruth]

Winding down this week and getting ready to begin week 4 tomorrow.  The amount of lettuce was a lot more manageable this week and we got through it all w/ lunch salads and salads with dinner.  One more lunch salad each tomorrow and we made it.

The beet greens got sauteed w/ garlic, oil and a bit of wine and served with pork chops on Father's Day.  I remember not liking beet greens, but these were quite good.

Tonight, we used the last of the Asian Mix and the Dandelion greens in parchment with fish.

Fish in parchment with greens
(serves 2)

2 Fish fillets - I used lemon sole about 1/3 lb each
1 bunch dandelion greens - coarsely chopped
2-3 handsfull of Asian mix - coarsely chopped, larger stems removed and discarded
1/4 Vidalia onion - coarsely chopped
2 T shoyu or your favorite soy sauce
1 T Brown Sugar
1 T grated fresh ginger
2 T white wine or sherry
2 tsp sesame oil
2 sheets parchment paper or aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 350. 

In small, non reactive bowl, mix shoyu, brown sugar, ginger, wine or sherry and sesame oil.  Whisk until sugar is dissolved.  Toss Greens and onion with this mixture.

Tear off a large enough sheets of parchment or foil to wrap the fish in.  Fold in half and place 1 fillet on each piece and top with 1/2 the greens and shoyu mixture.  Fold all around the edges and crimp.  If using parchment and you think it may come open, use a staple or two at the very edges, away from the food.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for approx 20-25 minutes.  

You can serve these directly from the oven and let people open their own packages.  We had it with basmati rice cooked in light coconut milk with a bit of lime juice.  Nice quick meal for a hot night and we're ready to face the next vegetable onslaught!