The Freshest Food

Flowering arugula, greens mix, and broccoli raab contribute additional benefits to the farmscape: food for pollinators and eye candy for creatures that visually appreciate flowering plants.

This week was pretty crazy so I wasn't able to cook a lot of different things but I certainly ate well. How did you enjoy your harvest? Please share with membership by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net. And please put Anchor Run in subject line so I can find your message. Here are a few ways I enjoyed my harvest.

Spring garlic, chard, kale, escarole - made a simple but yummy dish by slightly cooking chopped garlic with chopped chard stems, then added a large pile of mixed, chopped greens. Added salt and pepper to taste - a bit of red pepper flakes is delicious too. Let the greens partially wilt, then made "wells" in the pan and cracked eggs into each of the wells. Put a lid on the pan for about a minute and then check. You want the whites of the eggs to cook, but the yolk to stay runny. Lift greens and eggs onto a plate, break the eggs and mix the runny yolk into greens, forming a sauce! Top with more pepper, chopped parsley and scallions. I also love a toasted slice of local bread to go with it.

Summer squash, scallions - as you read my article through the season, you will notice that I often do squash on the grill, as I got to do for the first time last night. It is so simple and delicious! Cut squash into halves or quarters depending on the size, brush scallions and squash with olive oil. Place on hot grill and don't go too far away. Turn as each side of squash get grill marks and cook until desired done-ness. We like it with some bite left in them. Just barely char the scallions. Remove from grill, add a bit of salt and sliver of basil or chopped parsley and you are ready to eat. Leftovers are amazing in a pasta salad.

Spring garlic, turnips, escarole - I made a Moroccan dish of ground lamb and veggies over quinoa. The recipe called for carrots, but I used our little turnips instead and it did not call for greens but I added some chopped greens at the end of cooking. The dish was so delicious, with enough for leftovers - I will add even more greens when we eat it again. Maybe some chard this time!