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April 19th, 2011

Garlic Close to Home!

No more local garlic bulbs until late June!
Is there an alternative outside of China and Peru? Local Garlic that is hung on the stem after the summer harvest keeps the longest but we found that by mid-March it had started to dry out. There will be nothing closer to home than the California crop expected in a month or so. My mother always relied on garlic powder. I never saw the point until now in these between seasons when we are trying to buy close to home.

BUT we do have a few alternatives. BC shallots have mild garlicky taste and are wonderful added to roasted vegetables or sautés. This week we have fresh garlic greens naturally grown at Dencor Organics on Pender Island. We will have these for the next few months! The garlic greens are similar looking to green onions with a milder garlic-y taste than the clove. I would recommend using them in salads or salad dressings as well as sautés.

Garlic Greens

At this time of year we continue to offer close-to-home storage root vegetables. Onions in particular are still from BC and Washington and we are keeping a close eye on them as we send them out, checking they are firm. As the spring season progresses they tend to dry out or sprout – as it is their nature to do. We want you to know that storage onions will not keep as long as fresh cured onion so we are not sending out as many at a time and encourage you to use them up each week! Potatoes are now from PEI as the BC crops have been used up. You may remember the rainy season last fall? It had a negative effect on the crop yields for potatoes in the Fraser Valley.

What to Make from This Week’s Box

• Artichokes dipped in Lemon Butter
• Mushroom and Pea Pod Sauté
• Red Leaf Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Chive Dressing/Dip
• Chard or Nettle Frittata
• Egg Salad and Watercress Sandwich

How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke

This website shows how I would do it and I could not say it better!

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cook_and_eat_an_artichoke/

Make sure you scan the recipes for BBQing Artichokes. Basically you steam them first and then cut in half lengthwise then grill.

Always (in my opinion) dip them in:

Lemon Butter

Melt in saucepan:

2 Tbsp butter

Then add juice of an organic lemon to taste!

What to do with Nettles

Handle with care. Use gloves to handle raw nettles and once nettles are cooked they lose their ability to sting you.

• Add them to Potato Soup (Steam nettles until wilted and then plunge in cold water. Puree and add to your soup)
• Substitute for Spinach in Spanikopita.
• Add to Frittatas and Quiches.
• Make Nettle Pesto
• Nettle also makes a great tea. Leaves can be dried and preserved for the long winter nights.

Some Nettle health benefits:

“Nettle is renowned for its astringent, expectorant, tonic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic properties and as an important source of beta-carotene, vitamin A, C and E, iron, calcium, phosphates and minerals. All these qualities recommend it as a powerful remedy against hepatic, arthritic or rheumatic conditions, and as an adjuvant in treating allergies, anemia and kidney diseases.”

http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/nettle.html
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