THIS WEEK YOUR BASKET CONTAINS: leeks, potatoes, Hamburg parsley, onions, and salad mix (endive, radicchio, salad mustards, miner’s lettuce (claytonia), and lettuce

The plants in the small pots in your baskets are radish micro-greens.  Like bean sprouts, they are nice additions to salads, on eggs, or as a delicate topping for cheese and crackers or other charcuterie board items.  You can use them now, keep the pot on a windowsill for a while to let them grow more, or plant them in your garden.

We are starting to harvest raab (the flowering tops of cabbage family plants)! These tender and sweet shoots are used just like broccoli.  We will be distributing these bunches on a rotating basis until we have enough to give some to everyone.  That shouldn’t be very long; we are starting to see the first sprouts of Purple Sprouting Broccoli as well!

Every year we wind up with some tiny onions that, when we have large onions to give, don’t seem worth hassling with.  This year we had enough that it felt wasteful not to hand them out even though they seem pretty minimal.  I intend to use our portion by putting them in the roasting pan the next time we roast a chicken.

Your Hamburg parsley would be a good addition to the recipes below.

COTTAGE CHEESE AND LEEK PIE

2 Tbsp butter

4 cups sliced leeks (3 or 4 leeks)

2 Tbsp flour

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp each salt, dry mustard

1/8 tsp each nutmeg, pepper

2 cups cottage cheese

3 eggs

1 single pie crust, unbaked

Sauté leeks in butter until tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in flour, cook a few minutes, add milk and cook till thick.  Add seasonings.  Cool to lukewarm.  Blend cottage cheese with eggs.  Stir into leek mixture.  Pour into pie shell. Bake at 375º for 45 minutes or till browned.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

LEONIE’S POTATO-LEEK SOUP

4 medium potatoes

4 Tbsp. butter

1 chopped leek

3/4 tsp. salt

6 cups stock or water

ground black pepper

snippets of fresh herbs: thyme, marjoram, basil

Chop leeks, including the greens, into ½ inch rounds, place into a bowl of cold water with 1 tsp of salt.  Leave soaking for ½ hour.   Clean and peel potatoes and dice into 1″ chunks.   Drain leeks and sauté in a saucepan with butter until translucent.  Add potatoes, stock, and seasonings.   Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender.   When done, puree the contents of the pan, making sure the puree is absolutely smooth. Return to the saucepan.   Thin with milk if soup is too thick. Heat gently, covered, until just hot. Do not boil.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  For a wonderful touch, swirl a Tbs of heavy cream into each bowl before serving.  Serves 4-6.

The recipe below works very well with the salad mix me put together this week.

HEARTY GREEN SALAD WITH MANCHEGO

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1 shallot, chopped

3/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups Manchego, finely grated and divided

1 pinch salt, plus more to taste

In a large bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, and chopped shallot. Break the onion up into pieces so that all of that oniony flavor gets into the vinegar. Let it sit for 1 hour and then strain out the shallots. Add the olive oil to the strained vinegars and whisk. Using your hands, toss greens with the dressing until evenly coated. Add 1 cup of finely grated Manchego, salt, and toss again.  To serve, top the salad in a serving bowl with the remaining 1/2 cup grated Manchego or distribute salad and Manchego among 4 to 8 bowls or plates.  Adapted from TORO BRAVO by John Gorman and Liz Crain

WE HAVE A 3 BEDROOM 2BATH HOME ON OUR FARM THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO RENT.  If you happen to know of anyone looking to live in the country who might be interested, please have them email us for more information and/or to arrange a time to look at the house