Organic Harvest Box for June 21, 2012

It's really late tonight as I'm writing this, so I apologize in advance for any nonsensical musings about garlic scapes and kohlrabi.  I'm trying my best to get the blog posted on Wednesday evenings and hopefully - coming soon to an email near you - to send the blog via email at the same time as your invoice based on the popular response from the survey.  So in my effort to get this to you on Wednesday night, after getting through regular work and family commitments, the blog is getting my full attention as last item to get done very late in the evening.

I am so excited to get garlic scapes this week, maybe a little overly excited.  I love scapes, I discovered them only last year and have been asking the last 3 weeks at the Ottawa Farmers Market, "when will you have scapes?"  And now we do, I bought a huge bag at the market and we are getting more in our veggie box this week.  You may have even had some scapes in your green garlic last week - they are the long firm bean like stems that come out from the green leaves of the garlic.  Scapes have a milder taste than garlic and are very versatile.  They can be sauteed, steamed, chopped fine, stir fried, grilled, put in sauces or pureed into pesto.  You could saute them with this week's green beans, or make a pasta with the scapes and spinach.  I have so many plans for my scapes, but I'm most excited about making pesto from them.  

Getting ready to make Scape Pesto

There are so many recipes out there for scape pesto that it really just depends on which ingredients you want more or less of.  Here are a few different recipes:

• Scape Pesto 2 Ways 
• Scape Pesto - from www.seriouseats.com
• Scape Pesto - from a local blogger

My Scape Pesto

I came across a recipe for Double Garlic Soup that could make use of last week's green garlic (if you have any left) and this week's scapes, and also this dip recipe from 2 Sisters Garlic in Indiana.

White Bean and Garlic Scape Dip 

1/3 cup sliced garlic scapes (3 to 4)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, more to taste

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt, more to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling.

In a food processor, process garlic scapes with lemon juice, salt and pepper until finely chopped. Add cannellini beans and process to a rough purée.  With motor running, slowly drizzle olive oil through feed tube and process until fairly smooth. Pulse in 2 or 3 tablespoons water, or more, until mixture is the consistency of a dip. Add more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice, if desired.  Spread out dip on a plate, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with more salt.  Serve with bread, tortilla chips, etc.

It may be sounding like it, but this is not late night craziness. I am also excited to get kohlrabi this week. Not quite as excited as I am about the scapes, but a little oddly excited about kohlrabi. I had it for the first time at some point last year in our veggie box and my girls ate it all up - just sliced - they thought it was apple. It was delicious. At some point this spring, my mother told me that my grandmother used to grow kohlrabi all the time in her garden because it grew so easily, and so my daughter and I planted some this spring in front of our tomatoes. I only have 4 plants, and the bunnies have eaten the leaves off three of them, so they are a bit sad looking but the bulbs are growing and should be ready soon. 

I read a few different things about kohlrabi and my favorite description is "little sputnik like vegetables." The bulbs should trimmed of leaves and then stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. The small ones can be eaten as is with the skin, larger ones need the tough skin peeled off. Most of what I read recommends eating kohlrabi raw and I completely agree.  Have it chopped as a snack, cubed, or shredded into a salad such as Kohlrabi Apple Slaw with Creamy Dressing. If the leaves are still on the "sputnik" then they can be sliced into a salad, that is if the bunnies haven't eaten all of them off the plants (not that I'm bitter or anything). Kohlrabi is also good cooked, slice or dice it and wrap in tinfoil to grill on the BBQ or cook it according to this recipe for Kohlrabi Ham Bake.

Okay, now I am into late night craziness as evidenced by the photo, so just one last thing for this week's box. My favorite mom website is SavvyMom.ca.  The most recent installment of One Ingredient, Four Ways, on their EatSavvy section is about cucumbers, which for me is perfect timing.  Number one - we have cucumbers in the box this week, and number two - we are entertaining at the cottage this weekend (where the kids will outnumber the adults, hence sliders instead of burgers) so I can try the Lamb Sliders with Cucumber and Feta Sauce.  The other cucumber recipes from EatSavvy are Homemade Tzaziki, Roasted Salmon with Fresh Cucumber Salsa, and Chilled Cucumber Soup.

Under the wire, blog finished and posted on Wednesday evening, a first for me, like growing kohlrabi and making scape pesto.

POST NOTE - Friday, June 22, 2012 - just got my box and Tasha wanted everyone to know - try to eat your green beans soon, ASAP if you can.

Organic Harvest Box for June 14, 2012

A potted basil plant?  What if it doesn't grow, how guilty will I feel? It's the same sentiment I had when my mother-in-law told me that she had a hibiscus tree for me when we first got married, what if I kill it?  "Maybe you should keep it for now until we get a bigger place."  That was 15 years ago, I still don't own any indoor plants.

Some basil at Belle Terre

I am pretty decent at keeping a vegetable garden but in the last few years, I haven't had any luck with basil. It could be the constant sun in the backyard, or the plant boxes that didn't retain any moisture, and most recently the children that like to water everything all of the time, over and over and over.  This year, I have my herbs in a new pot, and not surprisingly the mint has taken over almost the whole pot.  Luckily, my oldest daughter is keen to chew on anything that comes out of our garden so every time we go outside, she can have a sprig of mint.  I will try to grow the 3" potted basil in that big herb pot.  I did a bit of reading to make sure I am doing the right things with my basil, and what I did learn is that basil does need sunny conditions (up to 8 hours per day) with soil that has good moisture retention.  It is important to regularly (weekly) pick the basil leaves to encourage further growth, and apparently by pinching the centers, it will promote bushiness.  Fresh basil is so great to have all year if you can.  My favorite use for fresh basil is a simple Caprese Salad which you could do this week with the new basil plant (your first trimming) and the hot house tomatoes.  Pick up a really good piece of buffalo mozzarella or fresh mozzarella, your favorite olive oil and I opt for some balsamic vinegar as well.  Part of the fun of making Caprese salad is deciding how to present it.  Later in the summer when I have cherry tomatoes, I slice them in half and then toss them with squarish chunks of mozzarella or torn pieces of the cheese.  With the tomatoes that are coming in this week's box, a more interesting presentation would be to slice the tomatoes into 1/2" slices and mozzarella into 1/4" slices.  Overlap the tomatoes and mozzarella in a round on a plate or my absolute favorite (taken from a great meal we had at Casa Bella in Gananoque years ago) is to alternate stacking them about 2" high.  Sprinkle the basil leaves over the salad.  Drizzle the olive oil over, sprinkle with a bit of balsamic if you choose and a really good salt (I love fleur de sel for this) and a bit of pepper.

I am making a new lamb dish this weekend for friends from the Early Summer edition of LCBO's Food and Drink magazine - it is Slow-Roasted Breast of Lamb with Potatoes and it calls for Yukon Gold potatoes - how apt that we are getting some in our box.  This dish is a bit fancy, but you could also use your potatoes for roasting in the oven or on the BBQ, or sliced with some onions, the green garlic, and some butter wrapped in tin foil and placed on the BBQ.  Here however is the LCBO recipe - I'm sure in a few months it will be available www.lcbo.com, but not just yet.

4lbs lamb breast on the bone (about 2 breasts), trimmed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2lbs large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut in thirds
1/2 c. 2 inch rosemary sprigs
1 whole head garlic, separated into cloves


SAUCE
1/2 c. red wine
2 tbsp. port
2 c. beef or chicken stock
1 tsp. tomato paste


Preheat oven to 275F.  Cut away any excess fat from the top of the breasts.  Sear, fat side down in a large skillet over high heat for 3 min. or until browned.  Turn over and repeat for bone side.  Season lamb with salt and pepper and place, fat side up, in a roasting pan.  Add potatoes to skillet and toss in lamb fat to coat.  Season with salt and add to roasting.  Sprinkle over rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves and cover pan tightly with lid and/or foil.  Place in oven and roast for 3 to 3 1/2 hrs or until the meat is fork tender and much of the fat has melted.  Uncover, raise heat to 400F and roast for 20-30 minutes longer until potatoes are golden and meat is browned.  Remove lamb and potatoes from roasting pan to a carving board.  Let rest for 10 minutes while you make the sauce.


Discard all fat from roasting pan but keep any juices.  Discard rosemary.  Slip garlic out of skins and discard any burnt ones.  Mash the remaining garlic.  Add red wine and port and place over high heat scraping the base of the pan to incorporate all the browned bits as well as the garlic.  Reduce by half then add stock and tomato pasted.  Continue to boil until sauce coats the back of a spoon.  Divide the breasts into ribs and serve with potatoes and sauce.


I got a sneak peek at the green garlic when I was picking up last week's box from Tasha, it looked so good and I can't wait to use mine.  Green garlic is regular garlic that is picked before the bulbs start to form.  It can be called spring garlic or baby garlic.  Farmers sometimes offer it up when they are thinning their crops and lately as it becomes more popular, some are growing it as a crop.  It has a milder flavor than garlic but still stronger than a green onion or chive.  To use green garlic, slice off the root and remove any tough green leaves.  It can be used in very much the same way as green onions, baby leeks, regular garlic or chives.  I plan to use some of the green garlic in the sauce for a big batch of pasta that I am making for the kids (who are not getting served the breast of lamb).  I also came across this article from the New York Times, Grassy, Sweet and in Season when gathering info on green garlic, and I am definitely going to try their Seared Pork Cutlets with Green Garlic Salsa Verde - with my overabundant mint, my own chives and fresh lemon juice from the lemon in the veggie order.

In wanting to give a few more ideas to use some of the vegetables in this weeks box, I thought that broccoli and lemon or green beans and lemon would make a great combination.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks this - I came across so many recipes for both.  I think the appeal is in the contrast of yellow zest against some fresh dark green vegetables and also the fresh taste of lemon paired with some crisp greens. I really had to narrow down the list of recipes so I'm recommending to use the broccoli and lemon with chicken in any one of these recipes: Lemon Chicken and Broccoli, Chicken, Broccoli and Lemon Stir Fry, or Lemony Broccoli Pasta with Chicken.  Or use the lemon with the green beans in Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic, Lemon Green Beans, or Green Beans with Lemon Butter.  All are pretty straightforward easy recipes and most can use the green garlic as well.

Good luck with the basil plant, hopefully it will continue to prosper throughout the summer so it can be used over and over in a variety of recipes and doesn't get sunburned, over watered or picked by little hands too soon.