This week your basket contains: potatoes, green garlic, baby beets, BABY CARROTS, MINT, cooking greens (chard, kale, red mustard and  turnip greens), and salad mix (spinach, arugula, endive, lettuce & mustard greens).NEXT WEEK IS THE FINAL WEEK OF THE 2018-19 YEAR!  If you will not be continuing with us, please check around your home and leave out any baskets you may have for our driver to pick up.  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.  Plant starts are being delivered today.  If you made an order but didn’t get plants, let us know so we can get you the items you want.  If you haven’t returned your plant order form it isn’t too late; just email your list to us.  You can also VISIT OUR FARMERS MARKET BOOTH at the Beaverton Farmers market Saturdays from 8:00 to 1:30.  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.

This week’s basket is something of a mix of a “last hurrah” and “coming attractions”.  The cooking greens are (mostly) the last harvest of several crops (chard & mustard) that have been producing for us through the winter.  The baby beets and carrots are from a final thinning of the beds we planted in a hoop house back in February.  While there are only a few carrots in each basket, we think you will find that they are sweet and very tasty.  I don’t imagine many will make it to a cooked dish as they are so good raw!

Beets are great with a bit of heat like horseradish or wasabi.  We really like this dish as a side.  We use a prepared horseradish sauce instead of fresh horseradish and find that it takes more than the called for amount to get a pleasant kick in the dish.

BEETS ROLLED IN HORSERADISH BUTTER

4 beets

2 Tbs butter

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs freshly grated horseradish

Salt & fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Begin by scrubbing and cleaning the beets.  Cook beets 30 minutes in lightly salted boiling water, or bake until tender.  Rinse under cool water and slip off the skins.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish root.  Add 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar.  Add the cooked beets, stirring gently to coat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  From The Cook’s Garden.

For lunch yesterday, Polly made this dip as a dressing for our lamb and veggie pitas.  Delicious!

YOGURT TAHINI DIP WITH MINT

1/3 c. Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp. Roasted Tahini

2 Tbsp. Finely chopped mint

1 finely chopped green garlic

1 tsp. Lemon juice

Water to thin

Salt to taste

Mix tahini, lemon juice and a couple of Tbs. of water together in a bowl.  Add yogurt, garlic, and mint and mix well.  Add water to achieve desired texture.  Taste, then adjust mint and salt to taste.  This works well as a dip for veggies or chips.  It is also great as a spread on sandwiches.

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING

4 large egg whites

4 large eggs

1 cup skim milk

2 Tbs. Dijon Mustard

1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary

4 cups whole grain bread cut into 1” cubes

5 cups chopped greens, wilted

1 cup diced ham

¾ cup shredded Gruyere

To wilt the greens rinse thoroughly in cold water.  Transfer into a large microwaveable bowl with a cover.  Microwave on high 2-3 minutes until greens are wilted.  Squeeze out any excess moisture before using greens in recipe.

Preheat oven to 375^o.  Grease an 11 x 8 inch baking dish or 2 qt. casserole.  Whisk together egg whites, eggs and milk in a medium bowl.  Add mustard, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste.  Toss bread cubes, ham and wilted greens together in a large bowl, add egg mixture and stir well to coat the bread.  Transfer to baking dish and push down to compact.  Cover with foil.  Bake until custard has set; 40-45 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle with Gruyere and continue baking until the pudding is puffed and golden on top; 15-20 minutes.  Adapted from Eating Well April/May 2006.