How I Prepare Chard

Ingredients:

1 bunch of chard
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame seeds

STEP 1 - Remove the stems from the greens; the easiest way to do this is fold the leaf in half first. Both the stems and the greens are edible, but they need to be cooked separately.


STEP 2 - Cut the stems into lengths about an inch and a half long. Boil them in salty water (a tablespoon or two of salt in two or three cups of water - don't worry, you won't be eating this much salt) for about 3-5 minutes. Strain and Rinse thoroughly to remove the salt water.


STEP 3 - Coarsely chop greens crosswise into strips about 3/4 inch wide. Blanch and Shock: Submerse in boiling water (no salt this time) for about 30 seconds then immediately strain and rinse with very cold water to stop the cooking.


STEP 4 - In a skillet on medium heat, heat olive oil, red wine vinegar, and soy sauce. Add sesame seeds and fry them for half a minute or so. Then add stems and saute them for a couple minutes until they're cooked through. Turn off the heat and add the greens. Stir them until they've heated up.

What's in the Box

Week Six:



Siletz Tomato
Yellow Potatoes
Cucumbers
Carrots
Lettuce
Fava Beans
Baby Onions
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Chard
Garlic
Fennel

Hey... What's the cat doing in the picture...



He's after the fennel!

Cucumber Gimlet

Ingredients:

1 cucumber
1 oz. gin
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp simple syrup

STEP 1 - Remove one thin slice from the cucumber, and set it aside for garnish.

STEP 2 - Peel the rest of the cucumber, chop it into large chunks, blend them in a blender until they are liquified.

STEP 3 - Strain the puree to remove the pulp from the juice. One regular cucumber usually yields two or three ounces of juice. It takes two ounces (1/4 cup) for each cocktail.

STEP 4 - In a shaker cup with ice, mix 1 shot of gin, 2 shots of cuke juice, 1 tsp of fresh lime juice, and 1 tsp of simple syrup. Stir and strain into a chilled coctail glass and garnish.

TIP - Like all martini style cocktails, it's important to keep everything as cold as possible because the drink isn't served over ice. Be sure to chill the glass. You can do this by putting ice water in it while you're preparing the cocktail, or, if you're planning ahead enough, you can put the glass in the freezer hours ahead of time. I also store the gin in the freezer.

ANOTHER TIP - It's more labor intensive than most cocktails, and you might not want to just make one at a time. Try juicing several cucumbers at once and serving them to friends at a party.

YET ANOTHER TIP - This cocktail is less alcoholic than most martini style cocktails, but don't be tempted to add more gin; the flavor of the cuke juice is already subtle, and would be overwhelmed by more gin.

What's in the Box

Week Five:

Pink Fingerling Potatoes
Cilantro
Arugula
Cabbage
Cucumbers
Carrots
Lettuce
Summer Squash
Walla Walla Onion
Zucchini
Strawberries

PLUS: A bottle of Pinot Noir

Prepping Fava Beans

Until I first got these in a CSA box, I had never seen a fava bean before. I didn't know what to expect, so I followed the instructions in the CSA newsletter:

First I removed the beans from their pods. The pods were thick and lined with a coat of soft fuzz.




Then I boiled the beans for about a minute and rinsed them in cold water. The thick papery shells slid off easily.





After all the beans were shelled, I was surprised how little food there was compared to the amount of compost generated and the amount of work required.

The upside is that the beans are very tasty! They're rich and hearty; they remind me of edamame. I'm sure I could find plenty of uses for these beans if I search allrecipe.com, but I'm happy just to add a little salt to them and snack on them as is.