Greens, greens, greens

This week, my rapini, (all mixed types) was used up in one meal. Granted the meal lasted us several meals with leftovers. So, many of you have asked me what I did with all those bitter greens this week. This is what I did. I have adapted this recipe to suit the amount of greens I had. I also increased the red pepper flakes.

Rose’s Pasta with Winter Greens
1 pound winter greens (chard, kale or rapini)
2 small Meyer lemons
6 TBS olive oil
6 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
8 C water
2 tsp kosher salt
1 pound penne rigate
3 oz parmesan cheese grated

Chop up the greens into 1 inch strips (or bite sized) pieces. Juice one lemon, cut the other into wedges and set aside.

Add oil to a wide bottom 12 inch saucepan with sides at least 6 inches high. Tip pan so oil collects along one edge. Add garlic and cook gently over low heat until deep golden, about 4 minutes. Add pepper flakes, 8 cups of water and salt. Bring to a boil.

Add the pasta and stems and stalks of greens to boiling water. Boil over high heat for 7 minutes, stirring for the first few. Add leaves of greens and boil for another 7 minutes, stirring to keep pasta and greens submerged until the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and stir in half the cheese and lemon juice stirring constantly.

Divide pasta, greens and cooking liquid into serving bowls. Garnish with a wedge of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.

The New Season is Upon Us

Well, it's finally time!

Time for locally grown winter greens and farm fresh eggs. Through the months of December and January I visited the farmers' market more than usual. But nothing compares to the fresh and tasty produce I get from our local farms. This season, I have had to wait an extra month. Torture! The rains beat down and flooded out some of the plantings. But now -- next Tuesday to be exact -- I will be finally getting the freshest, local food possible.

I can't wait for the dark yellow yolks of the eggs. Shelly's "girls" have a pretty good life and that happiness is manifest in their eggs.

Oh boy!! I'm ready.

Fair Food Project

Since November I have been working for a non-profit in California with a focus on the social justice aspect of agricultural sustainability. At the end of the year, California Institute for Rural Studies rolled out its newest project, called the Fair Food Project (see it at www.fairfoodproject.org). Sometimes, we overlook the fact that one of the tenets of sustainable agriculture is social justice. Everyone thinks of environmental benefits some people think of economic equality but not many people really think about social justice. In Slow Food, we talk about good, clean and fair food. Now, in addition to asking where our food was grown, how it was grown, we should also pay attention to who actually grew it. Please take some time to watch this multi-media project. I think it is really well done.

Rain Delay

Eaters, we have been getting a phenomenal amount of rain this winter. Although it is great for our upcoming summer, it has decimated some of the newly planted greens we would normally start our CSA season with. So, sadly, last week I announced a two-week postponement of the start of our first season of local eating. But, hey, it could be worse. We could live in North Dakota. As I write this, it is 17 degrees in Bismark and overcast. Not much tilling going on there! Looking at all of North Dakota's weather postings, the high is in Fargo where it is snowing and 25 degrees.

So two weeks. I think we can wait.

2010 Season

Wow, it's been too long since I sat down and wrote here.

We're getting ready to begin the 2010 season of Eat Outside the Box. I have been getting a lot of inquiries over the winter break and hope to grow the CSA this year. It's been difficult to keep up with all my work. But, we will begin next month with winter produce from Knoll Farms and eggs from Shelly's. The cost of eggs will rise to $6 a dozen but they are so delicious I'll be paying for sure.

The chickens are so happy with Shelly who refers to them as "my girls." I hope some of you have taken the opportunity to buy eggs from Shelly and her family at the Danville farmers' market on Saturdays.

I don't know about you, but I am craving winter greens, green garlic and baby onions. I am looking forward to beets and potatoes and little tiny carrots. I wonder how all our produce is growing with all this rain.

Sheila's Update Campo di Fiori

Today I received my first notes from Sheila in Florence. She said she would keep us informed about her travels and eating in Italy. It looks like someplace we would all love.

Gail - I've been to the market and picked up our arugula for the day,
along with other fresh fruits & vegetables for today's meals. We are
just a few blocks from the Campo di Fiori, one of Rome's open air
markets, and while shopping this morning, I took a lot of photos --
here's a photo for you -- I will post more on Flickr later tonight.

::Sheila

Rapini Again

I just had a delicious and healthy lunch from our share this week. I made some pesto last night with our intense basil but didn't use it all. So I thought I'd try it with our rapini. I cleaned and cut up the rapini into bigger than bite size pieces. While boiling water for the rapini, I heated up my big wok and put in some olive oil. I added red pepper flakes and a dollop of pesto. It melted nicely. I cooked the rapini until the al dente stage. While it was draining, I added some of the sungold tomatoes to the pesto mixture. When drained, I put the rapini into the wok and cooked it all together until it was well blended. This would also be tasty on pasta if you're so inclined.

It was delicious!
Now, a Warren pear for dessert.