THIS WEEK YOUR BASKET CONTAINS: Potatoes, carrots, salad mix (endive, claytonia, watercress, spinach, and lettuce), onions, radish micro-greens, and cooking greens (bok choy, cabbage, and kale)

When you are finished with the microgreens we would be happy to take back the pots for re-use!

TULIPS ARE ALMOST READY!  Polly can send along a gorgeous bouquet of 10- 12 blossoms plus filler for only $12.  You can order one time or as a standing order.  Just  email to order (with flowers as the subject) and we’ll add them to your veggie basket.

At this time of year  when we regularly buy organic potatoes (something we do to reserve garden space for sweet corn) we keep an eye out for any other good deals on organic produce.  This week we were able to procure some very nice carrots and bought enough we should have about 2 weeks’ worth for you.

The greens mix lends itself to recipes that call for somewhat longer cooking times.  The two recipes below would work well.

MIXED GREENS ENCHILADAS

2 Tbs. veg. oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped

4 cups coarsely chopped greens

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. flour

½ cup milk

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

6 corn tortillas

½ cup salsa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Heat oil, sauté onion & garlic until golden.  Add greens in small amounts until cooked down.  In another pan, melt butter, stir in flour, add milk slowly and then cheese.  Stir until thick then mix into cooked greens.  Fill the tortillas, roll and place in a lightly oiled baking dish.  Spread salsa over and bake for 25 minutes, until edges of tortillas are crisp.  Adapted from The Cook’s Garden catalog.

GARLICKY BRAISED GREENS

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

5 minced garlic cloves

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup water

Salt and pepper

2 Lbs. greens, stemmed

2 tsp. lemon juice

Heat 2 Tbs. oil in Dutch oven until shimmering. Add onion and cook until lightly browned.  Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant (30 sec).  Stir in broth, water, and ½ tsp. salt.  Bring to a simmer.  Stir in chopped greens a handful at a time and cook until they start to wilt.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer until greens are tender (25-35 minutes).  Uncover and increase heat to medium high.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until bottom of pot is almost dry, and the greens start to sizzle.  Take off heat.  Stir in lemon juice and 1 Tbs. oil.   Season with salt, pepper, and extra lemon juice to taste.  Adapted from Vegetables Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen

The recipe below seems perfect for the carrots this week. 

BRAISED CARROTS

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. carrots (about 5-6)

6 cloves garlic

2 c. drained, seeded, chopped canned tomatoes

¼ c. fresh mint

3 slices lemon, plus juice from the rest of the lemon

1 Tbsp. sugar

¾ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. anise seed

¼ tsp. ground cumin

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel and chop carrots lengthwise into 5×1/2×1/2-inch sticks.  Put oil and carrots in a heavy skillet.  Cook over high heat, stirring often and scraping the browned bits with a wooden spoon, until the carrots have browned nicely, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic, tomatoes, mint, lemon slices, sugar, salt, anise and cumin; mix well.  Cook until bubbling vigorously, then reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Stir, turning the carrots.  Cover and cook until the carrots are very soft, 20 minutes more.  Add lemon juice and season with pepper.  Serve hot or at room temperature.  Serves 4. From Eating Well Feb./Mar. 2006.