This week your basket contains: potatoes, purple sprouting broccoli, or Chinese broccoli, or cauliflower, BEET THINNINGS (half shares), green elephant garlic, bok choy (full shares), SCALLIONS, and salad mix (spinach, arugula, endive, lettuce & mustard greens).IF YOU HAVE NOT YET LET US KNOW YOUR RENEWAL PLANS FOR THE COMING YEAR, PLEASE LET US KNOW ASAP.  We have people “on the bubble” waiting to know if they will have a spot with us and we would like to finalize our list for them as soon as we can.

If you haven’t returned your plant order form, you can also VISIT OUR FARMERS MARKET BOOTH at the Beaverton Farmers market Saturdays from 8:00 to 1:30 starting this week.  We will have a broader selection of vegetable, herb, and flower starts, beautiful fresh bouquets, and free gardening advice.  Come by and say hello and pick up some goodies for your garden.

For our lunch Monday we experimented with the beet thinnings. For whatever reason, the idea of beet greens (and the little roots) sautéed with wasabi and pickled ginger seemed like a great fit.  We tried it and it was very tasty.  We served it with poached eggs on top, and the mix of the yolk and the red juices from the beets made our plates look like a sunset!  You could do this with bok choy as well, though the colors will not be as vivid.

SAUTÉED BEET GREENS WITH WASABI AND GINGER

1 bunch beet thinnings

1 small onion, chopped

1 green garlic, chopped

1 small cauliflower or broccoli raab

½ tsp. wasabi paste

1 Tbs. pickled ginger, chopped

2 Tbs. toasted sesame oil

Salt to taste

Heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan.  Add the onion, garlic, and wasabi paste and sauté until the onion is translucent.  Add the chopped beet thinnings, cauliflower or raab, and pickled ginger.  Continue cooking until the beets and cauliflower/raab is tender.  Add salt to taste.  Divide onto plates and top with soft poached eggs and serve with a slice of toast to absorb the yolk and juices.

This recipe can be made with any or all of the greens in you r basket this week.  Substitute green garlic for the garlic cloves.

WINTER PESTO

5 cups greens

3 cloves garlic

½ cup olive oil

½ cup toasted walnuts

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ tsp. salt

Squeeze the garlic into a food processor; add remaining ingredients except the cheese and process until it becomes a smooth green paste.  Stir in Parmesan, taste and adjust seasonings.  This can be served on pasta, dolloped on toast or used as the base for soup.

After giving a non-potato gnocchi recipe recently, I thought a potato-based version would be nice, too.

POTATO GNOCCHI

2 Lbs Potatoes

1 ¼ cups flour (more if needed)

3 Tbs cold butter

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Pierce the potatoes and bake until tender (45 min. to 1 Hr).  Peel while hot and pass through a food mill or ricer, letting them fall into a large bowl so they stay light and fluffy.  Let cool 15 minutes then sprinkle with the flour and 1 tsp salt.  Using your hands, gently work until you have a smooth, soft dough.  If it seems sticky, add a few Tbs. more flour, but don’t overwork it.  Take ¼ of the dough and roll into a long rope about ½ inch thick.  Cut it diagonally into pieces about ¾ inch long and roll into small balls in your hands.  Set them in a single layer on a baking sheet lightly dusted with flour.  Repeat with remaining dough, then cover with a towel and refrigerate for a few hours if you are not ready to cook them.  Bring a large casserole or skillet of water to a boil and butter a large gratin dish.  Add salt to the water then lower to a simmer.  Add up to 15 gnocchi and cook gently until they float to the top.  Count to ten and lift them to the dish with a strainer.  Repeat with all the gnocchi.  When you  are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, shave the cold butter over the gnocchi and cover with a thick veil of cheese.  Bake until bubbling and browning, about 25 minutes.  Add fresh pepper and serve.  From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison