My sweet little dorm room.

This kind of thing gets us motivated!

Why we (mostly) grow OP-Open Pollinated seed

Seed Swap Madness! I tried to stay away, but got sucked into the excitement and left with several new varieties to try.

1 med onion, chopped
4-6 mushrooms, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup cooked or canned lentils
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350*F. Cut the squash lengthwise in half and scoop out the seeds, but leave the meat. Lay squash face up on cookie sheet. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, saute the onions and mushrooms in oil on med-high heat until onions are translucent. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, lentils and bread crumbs and cook for 3 minutes more. Spoon the stuffing into each half of squash and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until squash can be pierced easily with a fork. Note: if your squash won’t lay flat on your cookie sheet, you can cut a bit off the bottom. Makes 2-4 servings.

1/4 lb white beans                                         5 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 Tbsp olive oil                                                2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 onion, diced                                                  2 cups chopped escarole

S&P to taste                                                       croutons, optional

Soak beans overnight in water. Drain. Place beans in a pot, add broth, cover and cook over medium heat until beans are soft, about 30 minutes. (or use canned white beans if there isn’t time to soak and cook…) Meanwhile, place another pot on the stove, add oil, place over medium heat, add garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes or until onions soften. Add escarole and continue to cook until wilted, another 10 minutes. Add beans and broth to the pot with escarole. Add S&P as desired, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Serve hot, with the addition of croutons if desired. Serves 8.

all your collard greens 3 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced                                                   2 garlic cloves, smashed

2 bay leaves                                                        1 smoked ham hock

2 quarts chicken broth, warm                        2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp sugar                                                           Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

To prepare greens: cut away stems from collards. Wash thoroughly, dry. Tear leaves into large pieces.

Place a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and ham hock. Cook until onions are soft and starting to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Pack in the greens, pushing them down into the pot. Add broth, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a boil turning greens as they wilt. Lower to simmer, cover pot, and let cook 45 minutes. Taste the “pot liquor” (broth) and check seasoning, add S&P. Cover and cook 15 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve.  Options: Add some chopped bacon, maybe more vinegar, a little cayenne pepper; use half kale and half collards; use crock pot and cook all day.

Please continue to get your veggies from the following markets that stock produce from local growers: Alberta Coop (NE 15th & Alberta), People’s Coop and their Wednesday Farmer’s Market  (SE 21st north of Powell), Hillsdale Winter Farmer’s Market, Food Front (NW Thurman), & 12 Mile Market on SE 223rd in Gresham.

In Your Share This Week

Escarole – Coral. This is another in the endive/chicory family; it is very lettuce-like and is especially favored in France and Italy. It has a somewhat nutty but mildly bitter flavor. It can be eaten raw as a substitute – or in addition to – lettuce for salads. Best known as an ingredient in Escarole and White Bean soup, on back.

Broccoli – Fiesta. A relatively new variety for us; it’s a hybrid and proving to be good for this time of year.

Collards – Champion. Very commonly known in the south, it also grows quite well here, especially in the colder part of the year. These hearty greens should be cooked a good long time to pull the sweetness out.

Carrots – Shin Kuroda; these are a little better this week, but still best cooked.

Onion – Copra & Redwing – both excellent storage varieties

Sweet Peppers – Assorted varieties

Hot Peppers – Jalapeno, Fish &/or Bulgarian Carrot

Potatoes – Yellow Finn

Dill – Bouquet. Great in potato salads, mashed potatoes. Dill pesto would be great on baked squash.

Winter Squash – Delicata + Spaghetti + choice of 2 from: Black Forest, Futsu, Red Kuri

1 Tbsp finely chopped shallot                                    2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

4 Tbsp broth (veg or chicken)                                    S&P to taste

4 tsp olive oil                                                                   1 tsp Dijon mustard

8 oz fresh mix of wild mushrooms such as porcini, chanterelles, cleaned, trimmed and coarsely chopped

1 head frisée, washed and dried

Heat large skillet over medium heat. When droplets of water can sizzle on the bottom, add shallot, 1 Tbsp of vinegar and 2 Tbsp broth. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and increase heat to high; cook, stirring constantly, just until mushrooms have softened, about 1 minute more (do not allow mushrooms to release their liquid). Remove skillet from heat and season with S&P. Cover and keep warm.

In large mixing bowl, whisk together remaining vinegar and broth with oil and mustard; season with S&P. Add frisée and toss thoroughly to coat. To serve, divide frisée equally among 4 plates; top evenly with warm mushroom mixture and juices. Serve at once.

1-2 cups kohlrabi, peeled & sliced very thin            1 potato, sliced very thin

1 bunch chard leaves, sliced thin                                    1½ cups Gruyere cheese, grated

3 sprigs fresh thyme                                                            S&P

1 quart Half & Half

Preheat oven to 350°, butter a 13x9x2” casserole dish. Toss vegetables, cheese and seasonings together in casserole dish. Pour half & half over mix to cover ingredients. Bake in middle of oven, covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until golden and bubbling, about 15 minutes more.

In Your Share This Week

Lettuce – Assorted varieties; the final week of lettuce.

Cress – Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled. One of our favorite originals from Wild Garden Seeds, this is a cross between two other types of cress (Persian & Curly). Great in salads; it also makes amazing pesto, or Cressto(!)  Put ~5 loosely packed cups in food processor with garlic, maybe a little parsley and ½ a lemon. Slowly drizzle in ¼ – ½ cup olive oil. Stir in ½ – 1 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese and S&P to taste.

Kohlrabi – Gigante. A Czechoslovakian heirloom bred to be large and tender, OR Green Cabbage – Early Jersey Wakefield

Endive (aka Frisée) – Nina. Another favorite from our friends at Wild Garden Seeds in Philomath. Someone gave them some seeds hoping to have them ‘worked’ or brought back to commercial production. Endive is in the chicory family, which also includes escarole, radicchio, Belgian endive and dandelion greens. Most all chicories can be used interchangeably in recipes. Store unwashed in a perforated plastic bag in the fridge.

Carrots – Shin Kuroda. These don’t look so great this week, but they work very well as cooking carrots. Good for stir frys, soups, casseroles, etc.

Onion – Copra & Redwing – both excellent storage varieties

Sweet Peppers – Assorted varieties

Hot Peppers – Jalapeno, Fish &/or Bulgarian Carrot

Chard – Fordhook Giant, Golden and Rhubarb

Potatoes – Yellow Finn &/or Red Norland

Winter Squash – Sweet Dumpling

1 fennel bulb, core removed, cut into quarters, sliced very thinly, fronds reserved

1 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage

2 scallions, chopped

2 strips bacon, cooked crisp & chopped

For the dressing:                                                                      1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar                                                            3 Tbsp chopped fennel fronds

1 tsp sugar                                                                                    Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Toss fennel, cabbage, scallions, and bacon together in a medium bowl. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, fennel fronds, sugar, and S&P, to taste, in a small bowl. Add the dressing to the slaw and toss to coat.

1 red cabbage, ~1.5 lbs                                                1 Tbsp olive oil

3 oz pancetta, diced small                                          1 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced                                                ½ cup dry red wine

1 bay leaf                                                                        Salt & freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Quarter and core cabbage, then slice each quarter thinly crosswise. Heat olive oil in large pot over moderate heat. Add pancetta and sauté for ~3 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté 1 minute to release its fragrance. Add cabbage, wine and bay leaf. Season with salt and stir to coat with oil and seasonings. Bring to a simmer, cover and adjust heat so cabbage cooks steadily but gently. Stir occasionally and lower heat if pot threatens to cook dry. After 30 minutes, stir in vinegar. Re-cover and continue cooking until cabbage is very tender, about 30 minutes more.

Uncover and remove bay leaf. If there is any liquid in bottom of pot, raise heat to moderately high and cook, stirring to evaporate liquid. Taste for salt and add pepper. Serve immediately, or let cool to room temperature and reheat to serve.