This week your basket contains: potatoes, RADISHES, mustard greens, cooking greens mix (collards, cabbage, bok choi, and kale) and salad mix (lettuce, spinach, arugula, endive, French sorrel, and turnip thinnings)

We are very happy to have radishes for you this week.  While they may not seem like a big deal, to us they are more than just a new thing in the baskets; they represent the beginning of a new year’s growing for us.  In normal circumstances, radishes take 28 days from seeding to harvest.  Every year radishes are the first thing we seed (in a hoop house) after January 1^st.  This year they were seeded in early February and took a full 60 days to reach maturity.  You can, of course, slice your radishes into salad or stir fry, but with the number we have, the following recipe would be a great way to use them.  You can always use the greens along with your cooking greens as well.

RADISH TOP SOUP

4 Tbsp butter

1 cup chopped onions or leek

8 cups loose packed radish leaves

2 cups diced peeled potatoes

6 cups water or stock

salt

1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Fresh ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan, add onions or leeks and cook until golden, approx. 5 minutes.  Stir in radish tops and cover pan.  Cook over low heat until wilted, 8-10 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook potatoes until soft in stock along with 1 tsp. salt.  Combine with radish tops and cook, covered, for 5 minutes to mingle flavors.  Puree finely in food processor or food mill.  Add heavy cream if desired.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve hot or cold.  Note: less butter can be used and cream is unnecessary.  We add whole radishes to the potatoes for more radish flavor.  Serves 4-6.  Adapted from The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash.

This is an interesting way to use greens.

AFRICAN PINEAPPLE PEANUT STEW

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

4 cups chopped greens

2 cups un-drained crushed, canned pineapple (1 20 oz. can)

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1 Tbs Tabasco sauce

1/2 cup chopped cilantro or parsley

salt

chopped scallions

In a covered sauce pan, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly browned.  While the onions sauté, wash the greens, removing and discarding any large stems.  Slice the greens crosswise into 1 inch wide slices.   Add the pineapple and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer.  Stir in the greens, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the greens are tender.  Stir in the peanut butter, Tabasco and cilantro.  Simmer for 5 more minutes.  Add salt to taste and serve garnished with chopped scallions.

This recipe lays out a technique that we use to make a soup out of just about any green we have.

GREEN SOUP

2 cups chopped greens

1/2 onion, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled & diced

3 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. dry sherry

1 quart chicken or vegetable stock

salt & pepper to taste

½ cup cream

fresh nutmeg

In a large heavy bottomed pot, saute onion in butter until translucent.  Add stock and potatoes and cover. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.  Pour a cup of the soup into a food processor or blender along with a handful of leaves and blend at high speed.  Repeat until all the soup and greens are blended.  The mixture should be a nice, fresh green.  Return the soup to the saucepan, add sherry, and reheat.  More stock can be added at this time if the soup is too thick.  Stir in cream, heat and correct seasoning.  Add several grinds of fresh nutmeg.   From The Winter Harvest Cookbook by Lane Morgan

In an effort to reduce the use of plastic, we put mustard greens (bunched)  into the same bag as the cooking greens mix for all half shares.  You can use them together or separately.

RHUBARB is just about ready.  We can send along enough for a pie (approx. 1Lb.) for only $3.  Email to order.