Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
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I am very excited to see that we are getting our first young and tender fava beans this week! Sadly because of the rain, they will only be in the Family Shares, but not because the rain has harmed them in any way - only because the fields are so muddy that access for picking is limited. We will all have plenty of favas in the coming weeks!! See below for cooking tips for these darlings. But first, I would like to take a moment to introduce former CSA member and now personal chef, Charity Dasenbrock, who has generously offered to contribute recipes and tips for using what's in the box from time to time. Although not currently a member (she is only one person; "anybody out there want to split a share?" she asks), she very much wanted to connect to the farm and give back to the community in some way, and so offered to write for the recipe section of the newsletter. Since this is her first week, I asked her to introduce herself, so - take it away, Charity! - Debbie

A few words from Charity
For several Seasons I was a CSA member and received a small share from Live Earth Farm. I loved going and picking it up weekly. But being just one person, even though I split with a friend, more often than not it was too much food. A delicious problem to have, for sure! I also traveled a lot in those years, and ended up donating many weeks of my share (and love that the farm makes it easy to do that, too). Sadly, I made the decision to discontinue when I lost my share-splitter. I am so supportive of the concept of the CSA though, and am loving seeing the movement grow. It is heartening to see that we are moving away from Big Ag and back to the small farms where we know who grows our food and where exactly it comes from. We know how it is grown and get to witness the love and the work and the dedication of those who bring it to us.

[from Debbie: to get a little more insight on where Charity comes by her love of food and cooking, read "Why I Cook", on her blog.]

This week's share contains a wonderful amount of greens.  Dark green leafy vegetables are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. I was amazed to learn how important Vitamin K is. It helps regulate blood clotting, helps protect bones from osteoporosis, might help reduce atherosclerosis, and might help regulate inflammation. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, so make sure to use oil when eating your greens.

You may be less familiar with the Asian greens, the Tatsoi, the Mei qing choi, and the Mizuna. I have a couple of recipes that will make it easy for you to try them. - Charity

Steamed Asian Greens with Sweet and Spicy Sesame Dressing
1 - 2 lbs. combination of Asian greens (can include bok choy, and while broccolini is not an Asian green, it would be delicious included here too, as would the cabbage)
3 tbsp. tamari or Bragg's Amino Acid
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp. honey or raw agave nectar
1-2 tsp. dark sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or mashed
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, finely chopped (if you can find Thai chilis or any of the other hot red peppers, they add a nice bit of color as well as heat)
1 tsp. sesame seeds

Steam the greens for about 5 minutes or until they are tender. In a small bowl, combine the other ingredients. Combine the greens with the dressing, and toss well. Garnish with additional sesame seeds. Serve right away or this is delicious chilled as well.

Some people find the taste of mizuna similar to arugula, so here is a recipe where you could easily use one or the other.

Pasta with Mizuna and Walnuts
adapted from a recipe found on ecometro.com
Serves 4.

1 lb. cooked pasta (soba noodles or spaghetti are good choices)
3 slices thick sliced bacon, diced, or an equivalent amount of pancetta
1 bunch of roughly chopped mizuna
1 C coarsely chopped walnuts
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small yellow or red onion, diced
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the bacon in a skillet and drain. Dice the bacon and set on paper towels to drain. Wipe out the pan (or not! I love bacon drippings) [I'm with ya there, Charity!] and add olive oil, onion, garlic, and vinegar. Cook for 5 or 6 minutes until the onions start to caramelize. Add the mustard, walnuts, and lemon juice and stir to combine. Add the mizuna and cook until it starts to wilt. Add the zest, salt and pepper to taste. Combine with the pasta and serve.

Charity Dasenbrock, on how to cook Artichokes
Most of the time I boil my artichokes. First cleaning them and trimming. I cut off the top inch or so, and trim off the leaves that don't look so good. If they are quite small, you don't need to worry about the choke. Otherwise remove that inner part.  Fill a large pot with water, add salt and bring to a boil. Add artichokes and cook, depending on size, 20 minutes for small ones, up to 45 minutes for large ones. You can add aromatics to the water, such as lemon peel, garlic (green garlic from the share), a half cup of white wine.  I also love them roasted. Again, you need to clean and trim them. If they are small, cut them in half. Larger ones, can be quartered. I boil them, as above for 15 minutes. Remove from the water and drain. Place them cut side up on a roasting pan and brush or generously drizzle them with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, or an Italian herb blend. Roast in a 450º oven for 10-15 minutes. (Again, this will depend on their size, keep an eye on them.) You can also do this last part on your grill, putting the oiled cut side down. This will take 5 to 10 minutes.

Back to Debbie now. Here's what I wrote about preparing artichokes a couple years back, so if you are a newby to cooking them and would like additional info, check this out as well. And for details on how to cook them in a pressure cooker, click here. I, of course, need to try Charity's roasted version -- yum!! Note that I mention in these older newsletter references that the chokes are of the 'thornless' variety. The ones we're getting this year, from Swanton Berry Farm, are a heritage Globe variety, and  do have the thorns on their leaf tips, so you will indeed want to trim them off!

Wondering what to do with your apples? How about all those different salad greens... the lettuce, arugula, mizuna? Give this a try!

Debbie's greens and apple salad with honey-mustard dressing
for two LARGE salad eaters, or four smaller ones

Generous handfuls of leafy salad greens (lettuce, arugula, mizuna, in any combination)
1 apple
a couple radishes (optional)
slivered fresh mint leaves (optional, but a yummy addition!)

dressing (quantities are approximate, as I don't measure):
1/2 tbsp. cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. roasted walnut oil
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 to 2 pinches of salt (i.e. to taste)

Put washed and dried salad greens in a big bowl -- the bigger the bowl, the easier it is to toss! I don't know how many people try to toss a salad in a small bowl, and it just ends up going everywhere. Don't feel silly using an unusually big bowl; it works really well! Oh, and be sure to spin and/or blot dry your greens well before using too. Wet salad greens dilute the dressing, and it doesn't stick well and so puddles in the bottom of the bowl. With dry greens, the dressing clings beautifully and everything glistens!

Quarter, core, and cut apple into bite sized pieces (I don't peel them unless the peel is skanky; polish the apple up before cutting and it is good to go). I usually slice the quarters into thirds lengthwise, then holding the sliced quarter together in a bunch, cut crosswise again into two or three pieces, depending on how big the apple happens to be. Add cut apples to salad greens.

Slice up a couple radishes and throw them in with the greens for added color and crunch, if you have them. If you're using the fresh mint, lay several leaves together in a stack, roll them up, then slice thinly crosswise and toss into the bowl with everything else.

Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small cup until blended, then pour over greens, apples and radishes and toss well to coat. Don't dress the greens until you're ready to sit down to eat; that way everything is fresh and crisp and bright. (Dressed salad that sits for half an hour or more can start to get wilty and limp. Still fine to eat, but it just doesn't look as perky.)

Lastly, a little something about those young fava bean pods!

Young Fava Beans
The bag with what looks like giant green beans in your share this week would be the young favas (you'll see in the coming weeks that they get MUCH bigger!). Prep and storage: These you can just stick in the fridge in the bag they came in. To eat: top and tail the pods just like you would green beans, washing as needed, and cut into bite-size segments. Steam about 5 minutes, then eat any number of ways: simply tossed with a little butter, salt and tarragon (or other herb), or, sauté some chopped green garlic up in olive oil, add steamed pod segments, a little herbs de Provence, and salt to taste. Or lightly oil whole pods, sprinkle with salt, and grill or roast them. In the next week or two I'll talk about how to use the favas when they get bigger.

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