This week your basket contains: potatoes, carrots, radishes or cauliflower or Asian broccoli, GREEN ELEPHANT GARLIC, turnips, lettuce mix, cilantro, and spinach.

Blendily, the wellness store owned by one of our subscribers, is having a MOTHER’S DAY SALE through May 12^th on their web site.  Get 30% off by using the code MDAY21 at check out.  Let them know you are a Pumpkin Ridge subscriber and we will deliver your order with your next veggie delivery.  We have been using several of their products and are particularly fond of their Solo Coco hand soap and Blessed with Bay hand salve.

GREEN ELEPHANT GARLIC is used much like you would use leeks or as you would use garlic cloves.  Being a milder form of garlic, they are less pungent than regular green garlic.  We use it to make a killer version of potato leek soup!  It is also larger than regular green garlic, so while the recipe below calls for 4 green garlics, 1or 2 green elephant garlics will do.

GREEN GARLIC GNOCCHI

5 Tbsp. butter, divided

4 green garlics, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1/2 tsp. salt, plus more for cooking water

15 oz. whole milk ricotta

3 eggs

1/2 cup flour

In a medium frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Add green garlic and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. In a large bowl, stir ricotta and break up any lumps by mashing them against the side of the bowl. Add green garlic and stir to combine. In a medium bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add eggs to ricotta mixture and stir to combine. Mix in flour. You should have a loose but thick dough. Cover and chill while you prepare the cooking water. Bring a large, wide pan of water to a boil. Add enough salt to make the water taste salty (about 1 Tbsp.) and reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer. Meanwhile, turn oven to 200° and melt remaining 4 Tbsp. butter is a wide baking dish in the oven. Drop small spoonfuls of chilled ricotta mixture into the water, being careful not to crowd the pan. As they cook, the gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water and they must all be able to fit in a single layer. Poach until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to dish with melted butter. Cover dish and return to oven to keep gnocchi warm. Repeat with remaining batches until all batter is used. Serve gnocchi as soon as possible.

As you can see, the greens are going great guns right now.  We decided to not mix the lettuce and spinach this week to give you a bit more flexibility in how you use them.  This would be a good recipe to use your spinach and green garlic.

SPINACH, GREEN GARLIC AND MUSHROOM PIE

¾ Lb spinach and/or other greens

1 cup sliced green garlic

2 Tbs olive oil

2 eggs

1 Lb ricotta cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups chopped onion

½ Lb oyster (or other) mushrooms

2 Tbs vermouth

1-2 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare a dough as you would for pizza crust.  Chop the spinach coarsely.  In a heavy pan, sauté the garlic in 1 Tbs of olive oil until limp.  Add the spinach with some salt and pepper and cook until the spinach is wilted and the water it releases is boiled off.  Remove from heat and toss with the lemon juice.  Beat one egg into the ricotta along with the parmesan cheese and mix with the cooked spinach mixture.

In another pan, sauté the onion in the remaining olive oil until it begins to brown.  Add mushroom and continue cooking until they begin to brown.  Add salt, pepper and vermouth and stir until the vermouth evaporates. Lightly oil a cookie sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal.  Roll out the dough to about 15×20 inches and place on cookie sheet.  Spread the Ricotta and spinach mixture onto the dough leaving approx. 3 inches around the edges and cover the cooked mushrooms over the spinach.  Pull the edges of the dough over the filling and fold together.  Beat the remaining egg with a spoonful of oil and brush onto the dough.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes.  When it is fully cooked, allow it to cool for a few minutes before slicing into wedges for serving.

RHUBARB is ready!  We can send along a bunch (approx. 1LB) for only $4 just email to order!

Our chickens are laying well right now.  You can add eggs to your basket for $6/doz.  We can send along less than a doz. in multiples of 3 eggs.  Just email to order and let us know if you want a standing order or a one-time order.