This week your basket contains: Purple Majesty potatoes, kale, spinach, ELEPHANT GARLIC SCAPES, lettuce, mint, KOHLRABI, Asian broccoli (half shares).

This is a great way to use all of your spinach, and any other greens you may have on hand.

SPANAKOPITA

1 lb. mixed greens

1 onion or 2 leeks, chopped

½ lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic

3 eggs

6 oz. feta cheese

¼ c. parmesan cheese, grated

1 tsp. oregano

¼ tsp. rosemary (optional)

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ lb. butter (1 stick)

1 lb. filo dough

Wash and chop greens into ribbons. Bring 2 quarts of water to the boil. Drop in greens and boil for about 5 minutes. Drain in colander. Saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms in the olive oil with salt and pepper until tender. Squeeze any remaining moisture out of greens and stir them in to sauté pan. Cook for a few more minutes, then remove from heat.  Beat the eggs in a large bowl and crumble in the feta. Add the parmesan, black pepper, nutmeg, oregano and optional rosemary. Add a little salt, remembering that feta is salty. Stir in greens sauté mix.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the stick of butter and brush a 2 or 3 quart oblong baking pan with it. Spread the filo dough out flat next to the pan. Brush the top layer with butter and lift it and the layer under it onto pan. brush next sheet with butter and lay it and the layer under it onto pan at a slight angle to the last layer. Continue to layer the sheets of filo, brushing every other one with butter and turning each one slightly so that the edges fan out over the sides of the pan. Stop when you have about 8 sheets left.  Spread the greens mixture evenly over the filo dough in pan, pushing it to the corners. Fold the edges of the filo dough over the mixture. Take the remaining sheets of filo and layer them on top of the greens mixture, again brushing every other sheet with butter, but this time pushing the edges down into the sides of the pan. It is difficult to do this neatly; just rumple the edges down into the sides of the pan (they will form a nice crisp edge after baking). Brush the top of the spanakopita with butter and make 1/2” deep diagonal slashes across it with a sharp knife.  Bake for 50 minutes, until the crust is puffed and golden. Cut into squares or diamonds and serve immediately.

Our elephant garlic forms garlic buds as it starts to form flowers.  We pull the flower buds as soon as they appear  in order to concentrate the plants’ efforts into the bulb.  We use them in any way you can use elephant garlic.  They are especially delicious sautéed in butter and mixed into scrambled eggs.  Spinach and mint are a match made in heaven.  Here is a nice way to bring them together along with your garlic scapes.

SPINACH AND MINT SOUP

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 (9- to 10-ounce) russet potato, peeled, thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
4 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
3 green onions, chopped
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained very well
1 cup chopped fresh mint, divided
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika

Heat 1/4 cup oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add potato and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups broth and green onions; bring to boil. Cover and simmer until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Add spinach, 3/4 cup mint, and cilantro. Simmer soup 1 minute.  Puree soup in blender in batches; return to same pot. Thin with more broth by 1/4 cupfuls, if desired. Season soup with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in small skillet over low heat. Mix in paprika; cook 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with paprika oil; garnish with 1/4 cup mint.

Our strawberries are looking great!  We expect to have a good harvest of the best ever strawberries in a few weeks. The variety is Shuksan, a large, very sweet berry that one old time berry grower we know calls “the Cadillac of strawberries”.  Email your order now, and we will send them along as soon as they are ready ($3/pint or $30/ flat of 12 pints).

We’ve started delivering plant starts this week.  There is still time to order your garden starts as they will be good to plant for a couple more weeks.  If you’ve misplaced your list of available starts, we’ve posted the list on our web site.  Just email to order.