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CSA member Amy says:
“This is the best soup ever! I used nonfat yogurt instead of cream and chard instead of spinach (cause that’s what was in the CSA box). Maybe a titch more lemon juice, but just a titch. Yum! Enjoy!”
Garlic Scape Soup
From Super Natural Cooking, by Heidi Swanson
2 tablespoons clarified butter or extra-virgin olive oil
2 dozen garlic scapes, flower buds discarded and green shoots chopped
3 large russet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into ½ inch dice
5 cups vegetable stock or water
2 large handfuls spinach leaves, stemmed
Juice of ½ lemon
½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
Chive blossoms, for garnish (optional)
Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the scapes and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and stock, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and beginning to break down.
Remove from the heat, add the spinach, and puree using a hand blender. (If you must use a conventional blender, be careful; the hot liquid can burst out the top and make a huge, potentially painful mess. Try leaving the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape. Cover the top with a kitchen towel and blend in batches at low speed.) Season with the lemon juice, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Whisk in the cream for a silkier texture. If the soup tastes flat, add salt a few big pinches at a time until the flavors really pop. Serve garnished with the chive blossoms.
From our CSA member Debbie:
This recipe is especially good with kale which is quite substantial. I haven’t tried it with other greens, but bet it would be good. It’s one of those flexible recipes, fresh or canned tomates, more broth if you like your soup soupier, etc.
Savory Thick Greens Soup
2 bunches scallions (green onions)
2 large tomatoes or 1 can (14.5 oz) Italian plum tomatoes
2 T olive oil
2 cans (16 oz each) red or white kidney beans
1 cup long grain brown or white rice
2 quarts chicken broth or water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh greens such as kale, spinach, turnip, or mustard greens
1. Thinly slice the scallions, including most of the green tops. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor or blender until smooth.
2. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the scallions and saute until just beginning to wilt, about 1 minute.
3. Add the tomatoes, beans with their liquid, rice and broth. Bring the liquid to a boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover pot and cook gently over low heat until the rice is tender, about 25 minutes for brown rice, 20 minutes for white rice.
4. Meanwhile, trim and rinse the greens, then coarsely chop. Add them to the pot and simmer just until wilted, 3-4 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot.
Yum!
With sprouted lentils.
With sliced almonds.
A Quick Meal using up leftover salmon.
1. Start with a layer of Arugula (or salad mix) on a plate or in a bowl
2. Sprinkle with fresh blueberries
3. Crumble on salmon fillet pieces (or substitute tuna?)
4. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar (I like balsamic or apple cider vinegar)
5. Serve with fresh steamed green beans on the side or over the top
6. Optional: add sliced almonds or sprouted lentils
7. Enjoy!
PS it would turn into a gourmet lunch or light supper with the addition of the neighboring grilled bread recipe.
Bok Choy (aka Pac Choi) is a lovely asian green that has a crisp stem and a mild leaf. CSA member Pete likes to snack on it raw and also raves about a Bok Choy soup his mom used to make growing up in Moorehead.
For today, however, I will share the way I was taught to cook Bok Choy while I was working at my first CSA in college. My coworker Amy had just returned from studying abroad in China, and she made this for me on a hot plate on the floor of a dorm room at St. John’s (where we lived for the summer).
–Break off the stems from the center and wash, paying special attention to getting off the grit from the bottom of the stem.
–Leave the stem and leaf whole or cut into bite size pieces, keeping the leaves and stems separate (the leaves into 2-4 pieces, the stem into 1-2 pieces).
–Saute garlic and grated fresh ginger in olive oil (the amount is up to you. This past weekend I used ~2 inches of fresh ginger and 4-5 garlic scapes).
–Throw in the stems and saute for a few minutes (how long depends on how crisp or soft you want them)
–Throw in the leaves, stir, cover with a lid to let it steam for a minute.
Serve with rice, and tamari/soy sauce.
Cook pasta, drain, then run the colander under cold water. (I used the veggie orzo pasta and LOVED it.)
Put it in a bowl and add:
–chopped green onions
–garlic (or garlic chives, coming soon in your box)
–frozen peas
–radishes, chopped or sliced
–hakurei turnip roots, chopped or sliced
–raw hakurei turnip greens, finely chopped
–raw lamb’s quarters, finely chopped
–some sort of protein, maybe a can of tuna or garbanzo beans
–cheese, I used shredded parmesan and some leftover chevre
–dressing, I used olive oil, balsamic, and apple cider vinegar, but you could go the mayonnaise and/or mustard route too.
Stir it all up and enjoy!
(I didn’t put quantities on things because you should add more or less according to your own taste and how much you are trying to use up. This recipe is a great way to use up a lot of greens without really noticing them while you eat them. So if you are new to greens just chop them up fine and mix a whole bunch in with the pasta!)
From CSA member Adina:
Don’t know what to do with too many lamb’s quarters? Quiche! Adina quiche (because I used no recipe really). Sorry all my recipes are sort of loose improv, but this is how I cook, by using instinct, rather than measuring tools.
Saute (add in this order) onion, red pepper, lamb’s quarters, kale, artichoke hearts (I used canned), black olives.
Add pepper, and herbs – I used Italian herbs and fresh oregano (from Chris 
)
I added no salt because the feta I used (below) was plenty salty.
Blend about 1/3 pound feta (or more, use your taste buds) and 4 eggs.
Pour over mixture of veggies.
I baked at 375 until done – meaning, about 20 minutes, till no more loosy-goosy egg.
I used no crust, and we were quite happy with it. But you can use a crust if you feel like it.
Enjoy. And feel free to play around with the veggies. We LOVED it!
Ok, I admit it, even CSA farmers sometimes find themselves looking into a fridge of produce that needs to get used up fast! Here is a stand-by easy way to use up large quantities of veggies. (Like gigantic green onions, for example…)
–Chop** up a generous amount of what you want to use up (onions, greens, zucchini, etc).
–In a separate bowl, beat up a bunch of eggs with some milk/kefir/yogurt. I used 8 eggs for a 10-inch skillet. This is a flexible amount, but generally speaking too many is better than too few in this recipe.
–Use a cast-iron skillet (so you can finish it off in the oven).
–Saute butter, olive oil, garlic and whatever else you want. For example, yesterday I chopped up a lot of green onions and the whole bunch of kale from week #2 and threw it in.
–Add chopped fresh herbs near the end of sauteing. (I used up all the oregano and lemon thyme from week #1 with this one recipe.)
–Spread the sauteed stuff out evenly in the skillet, add a little more butter or oil, and then pour the eggs over the top.
–I generally turn down the heat a little, and then let the eggs cook on the stovetop for a while.
–Sprinkle some grated cheese over the top.
–Bake in a 350 degree oven until the eggs finish cooking through. (Yesterday I had my frittata on the stovetop for ~10 minutes and then in the oven for ~15-20 minutes.)
**I chopped the onions and kale up pretty small, because I made this for my grandma and I and I know she doesn’t care for kale. This is the only way I have seen her eat it. In fact, both times I’ve made this dish for her she has really liked it and asked for seconds!
*Follow the directions below for cooking any thinner green like Lamb’s Quarters, spinach, arugula, turnip greens, and radish greens. For thicker greens like collards and kale you will need to cook a little longer.
Bring an inch or so of water to boil in a pot. Have a slotted spoon ready and throw a medium sized handful of greens into the boiling water. By the time you stir them around so they all get wet, they will be done (wilted and bright green). Scoop them out, put in a bowl, and repeat the process until you’re done. They do cook down A LOT so you may want to wash and have ready more raw greens than you might think necessary.
Early summer is The Time for greens! If you haven’t taken part in this seasonal tradition before, here are a few tips to bring you maximum ease and enjoyment:
- Storage. Greens will last longest in your fridge if you wrap them with a slightly damp towel and then put them into a plastic bag. Leaves attached to a root (like radishes, turnips, carrots, beets, etc) should be cut off from the root and stored separately if you want to eat them (or they’ll wilt).
- Consider buying a salad spinner. It makes washing and drying greens much easier and faster, and will help you to happily use up all your greens before they go bad. (I am lazy about greens in my fridge, and this has helped me a lot!)
- Spruce up your salad and make extra. I have found that salads rise to a whole new level if you take an extra five minutes to add things like: thinly sliced radish, onion, or turnip; nuts; fresh or dried fruit; cheese like feta, chevre, or even cheddar. Make enough that you can easily bring some to work for lunch the next day, and you’ll eat through your bags of greens lickity-split!
- Dressing/Sauce variety. Keep things tempting by giving yourself many dressing choices. For raw salads try an oil & vinegar Italian type (very easy to mix up yourself—use balsamic or cider vinegar) or a creamy sweeter type (like Ranch, Vidalia onion, or Brianna’s brand Poppy Seed). For steamed greens try soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, a tahini or peanut based sauce, or maple syrup mixed with mustard.
