Kale Salad

In the summer, I eat a lot of raw food. It's just too hot to turn on the stove in my un-air conditioned house located on a concrete island, so I have amassed many great recipes for meals sans cooking.

This kale salad recipe was given to me by Baltimore Health Coach (Luke and Richele are awesome and has forever changed the way I look at food). They explained that the acidity of the lemon and the saltiness of the soy sauce breaks down the kale, so after letting the salad sit for a while, the greens become soft and tender. I have served this to people who swear they do not like kale, but they love this salad. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 large bunch kale, chopped
3 Tbsp. tahini
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. maple syrup (or honey)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Mix all the above ingredients except the kale in a small bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the kale and mix well until the dressing incorporates with the kale. If needed, add salt to taste.

Let salad mix sit for at least 30 minutes. For best results, let sit overnight in the fridge and serve chilled.

4th of July Veggie Storage

The 4th of July is already here (!) which probably also means a Baltimore getaway. Here are some quick tips for how to store the veggies while you're gone, and several recipes if you're trying to eat it before the holiday.


Chard: Best eaten ASAP but will keep 2-4 days in the refrigerator. It also freezes well - blanch first then freeze in plastic bag or container. 

Cucumbers: Refrigerate for use within 5 days. For optimal keeping, wrap cucumbers individually in paper towels, then place inside a closed plastic bag.

Turnips: Remove the greens and store them separately (you can also eat these, but they will only keep about 3 days). The root will keep for roughly a week in a plastic bag in the fridge. 

Zucchini: Best within 4-5 days in your fridge's crisper section. 
Cauliflower/Broccoli: Keep in perforated or open plastic bag to keep 5-7 days. 
Kale: Keep in sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator for 5-7 day storage.
Kohlrabi: Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge.


Eggs in Sauteed Chard: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggs_nested_in_sauteed_chard_and_mushrooms/
Tropical Cucumber Salad: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tropical_cucumber_salad.html
Zucchini bread: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/summer-of-the-bats/   
Simple Cauliflower: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/simple-cauliflower-recipe.html
Broccoli, Kale, & Cauliflower Tart: http://www.cookyourdream.com/2010/05/sprouting-broccoli-kale-and-cauliflower.html 


Made a great dish for the 4th with your veggies? Post it! Happy 4th!

Spinach and mizuna pizza!

Sorry the picture is awful, I lost my camera so I had to take it with my phone!

Today I spent a couple of hours figuring out how to use up some of these 7 (!) kinds of leafy greens. Going with my half-idea from yesterday... the sauce on the crust is a freshly pounded kale pesto. Sadly my arms were too tired to keep going with the mortar and pestle so it is pretty chunky. But man was it delicious! I used this pesto recipe: http://www.twice-cooked.com/2012/02/12/vegan-kale-pesto/ but with sunflower seeds instead of walnuts.

Topped it with some torn mizuna and spinach, a few small dollops of crushed tomatoes, and some sweet potatoes (sliced to 1/8th inch, they take about 10 minutes to cook, since my crust bakes in 8 minutes I had to pre-cook them a bit) to counteract the bitterness. Finished it off with a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a turn of the Italian herbs grinder.

The good news: All of us really liked eating this pizza, it tasted great and we felt good about the amount of vitamins and minerals we were probably getting from all of the leafy greens. We thought maybe a little more tomato would be better, just to add some moisture. Maybe I'll redo it with fresh ones when we get them ;)

The bad news: Not only did this barely scratch the surface of my mizuna or spinach (I did use all the kale though), but I still have the other 4 greens left. Maybe I should have made 3 pizzas! I hope some more people will share their ideas for this week's crop!!

Kale, Peppers, Onion, & Apple

Dinner tonight focused on using up the last of last week's kale, as well as some peppers (1 orange bell pepper and 1 yellow, plus 1 jalapeño) that had seen better days.  In lieu of a recipe, here's how I threw this all together. 

I sliced an onion and the peppers, minced some garlic,  and threw it all into a sauté pan with some olive oil.  After letting the onions carmelize a bit, I added the kale (handful by handful, letting it cook down to fit in the pan).   As the vegetables started sticking, I added some water.  A quick taste confirmed that that jalapeño was REALLY hot.  (I had included the seeds.)  The flavors needed balancing, so I added some seasoned rice vinegar.  The sour was a welcome addition, but it needed a bit more sweetness to round things out.  So, I diced an apple and threw that in.  Then I let it cook with the cover on until the apples softened.  Turned out great.  It was gone before I had a chance to take a picture.

White Beans Make All Greens Amazing!

I have to say that in the past year my love of white beans - cannellini, northern, white - has skyrocketed but they need that ever present CSA produce item to make them sing...greens! Right now of course we are getting lots of kale and chard but white beans make good culinary friends with any green really. We prepared this recipe last night with both our Tuscan kale and Red Chard (from last week! store well and it will) and it rocked! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cannellini-Beans-with-Kale-361670

bon appetit!

Welcome!

Welcome all CSA members at JHU’s Homewood Campus and beyond to the Farm to Belly blog. The purpose of this blog is to provide the foundation for the community of sustainable and local food enthusiasts that has taken root at JHU. It serves as a venue for sharing recipes, storage tips, and ideas for how to use and enjoy all the veggies we pick up every Wednesday, as well as meaningful sustainable agriculture news posts and discussions. Our goal is for everyone to come away from this experience engaged and excited about food, farmers, and our connection with the two. Our Homewood CSA community is brimming with veggie cooking (and eating) talent – so please use this blog to share your know-how to transport and transform CSA produce from the farm to your belly.


I figured the best way to start this blog (and any, for that matter) is with a little ummph – and what has more spunk than a Powerfood? So here are some tips for storing and using that winning Powerfood, Kale. 

Storage tips: Refrigerate in a sealed plastic bag for 5-7 day storage. For longer storage (7-12 months), wash kale and cut off stems, blanch for 2 minutes then immerse in cold water, drain, and place in an airtight container in the freezer.

Cooking tips: Sauté, braise, or boil and serve as a side dish, or add to pasta or stir fry. If you're looking for an idea on how to fill your Kale-craving tonight, check out this recipe! Happy kale-ing!

Whole Wheat Orzo Salad with Kale, Chickpeas, Lemon, and Feta

Salad Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat orzo, cooked according to package directions and drained well

4 cups fresh kale, chopped (about 4-5 oz. kale leaves)

1 tsp. olive oil, for pan used to wilt the kale

1 can (15.5 oz.) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained well

1/2 small red onion, finely diced

3/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese

Dressing Ingredients

zest and juice of one large lemon (about 1 tbsp zest and 3 tbsp juice)

2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar (or substitute any type of mild white vinegar)

1 tsp. ground cumin

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Sauté kale on medium high for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted and move to a bowl. Drain and thoroughly rinse Garbanzo beans and mix with red onion and feta.

2. Add cooled orzo to bowl with wilted kale, along with beans and onion.

3. Mix dressing ingredients and toss until all ingredients are lightly dressed.

4. Stir in Feta and Serve.

Recipe from: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2012/04/recipe-for-whole-wheat-orzo-salad-with.html