What’s in this week’s boxes?

Veggies:

1 bunch Red Rover Radishes

1 bunch D’Avignon Radishes

1 head Red Leaf lettuce

1  head Green Romaine Lettuce

1 bag Baby Spinach

1 bag Braising Mix-“Red Russian” Kale, “Bright Lights” Swiss Chard, “Merlin” and “Touchstone Gold” Beet Greens, “Mei Qing Choi” Bok Choy

Fruit:

2 quarts Strawberries- “All-Star”, “Wendy”, “Nor’Easter”, “Evangeline”, “Itasca” (Early Varieties)

Storage, handling and general cooking tips…

Strawberries:

Storage and Handling– Use your strawberries as soon as possible as they stop ripening as soon as they’re picked.  Don’t wash your strawberries until you’re ready to use them, as moisture causes them to spoil more quickly.  Leave the caps on and store your strawberries in an uncovered container in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge about an hour before you’re ready to use them, as they tend to have the best flavor and texture at room temperature. Rinse your strawberries gently in cold water and then pat them dry with a towel.  Finally, remove the tops with a paring knife or with a slight twist of the wrist, and they’re ready to eat or use in your favorite strawberry recipe.

It’s a little known fact… that medieval stone masons carved strawberries into altars and pillars in churches and cathedrals, as a symbol of perfection and righteousness.

Radishes and Radish Greens:

Storage- Remove the leaves from your radishes and store them unwashed in a loosely wrapped plastic bag in the vegetable  crisper bin of your refrigerator. Radishes have a high water content, and thus tend to deteriorate rather quickly so store them dry and unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and make sure to use them within a week, or two weeks at the most.

Handling– It’s not necessary to peel radishes, just give them a good scrubbing and trim off any damaged areas, or rootlets that might be sticking out.  Most of the hot spicy flavor that radishes are known for is found in the skin however, so if you’d like to make your dish a little bit milder, you can always peel them before use.

 

Lettuce:

Handling- Salad greens are fragile, so make sure to be gentle with them.  For lettuce, slice the head at the base to allow the leaves to separate from each other.  Tear your leaves into smaller more manageable pieces for use.  Lettuce can be washed by swishing it around in a basin of cold water.  If you see a lot of dirt settling in the water, wash it again, until it’s nice and clean.  The best way to dry your lettuce is in a salad spinner if you’ve got one, or if not, you can always pat them dry with a towel.

Storage- Store unwashed lettuce in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To store lettuce that you have already washed and dried, roll the leaves loosely in a kitchen towel, put the towel in a plastic bag, and place the package in the vegetable crisper bin. Wet greens will wilt quickly, so make sure they are good and dry before refrigerating them. If you have a salad spinner, wash and spin the greens before refrigerating them.  Use lettuce within a week.

 

Braising Mix:

Storage– Store your cooking greens unwashed, in a plastic bag in the vegetable bin of your fridge.  They’ll keep for about a week like this, but the sooner you use them, the better they’ll taste.

Handling– Wash your greens in cold water to get rid of any remaining dirt.

Cook Tips- Overcooked greens lose a lot of their flavor, texture, and nutritional value, so keep a sharp eye out while they’re on the stove. Greens boil in about 2 to 4 minutes and steam in about 5 to 8.  You know your greens are done cooking when their color turns very bright. If they start to darken, they’re in danger of being overcooked. Greens are also excellent sauteed or in a stir-fry.

Cooked greens can be very tasty served simply with red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper; or sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce; or for the true greens enthusiast cooked greens can even be enjoyed plain or with butter.

Cooking greens, despite their title, are also great raw.  Try mixing them with lettuce or other greens in a salad, or adding them to a sandwich.

 

Spinach:

Storage– Store your spinach in a damp towel or plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to about a week.

Handling– Rinse your spinach leaves the same way you would lettuce, make sure any dirt from the field rinses off and then dry them with a salad spinner, or pat dry with a towel.

Cook Tips-Spinach, like most greens, cooks very quickly so make sure to keep an eye on it! When your spinach turns a nice bright green color, you will know that its done cooking. Much like other greens, spinach can be added to sandwiches, burritos, soups, stir-fries, quiche, lasagna, and any number of other tasty dishes.

It’s a little known fact… that “Florentine” a word commonly used to describe dishes in which spinach is a main ingredient, is in reference to Catherine de Medici, a great lover of spinach, who married the King of France in the 16th century and claimed Florence, Italy as her home town.

 

Recipes of the Week:

Sauteed Radishes with Greens

Radish greens have a peppery bitterness that mellows slightly when they are cooked. The succulence of sauteed whole radishes will make you wonder why we don’t cook these feisty little roots more often. You can use either radish greens or arugula, or any other cooking green for this recipe. If you’re using greens other than radish greens, that might not have as much kick, try stirring in a little prepared mustard or horseradish or a dash of cayenne to compensate.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter

1 pound radishes, quartered

4 cups radish greens or arugula, or any cooking greens

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

 

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the radishes; cook, stirring constantly, until tender but still crisp, about 5 minutes depending on size. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Return the skillet to stove.
2. Put the greens or arugula in the skillet with the wash water still clinging to the leaves. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until wilting, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and radishes to the skillet; stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

From Farmer John’s Cookbook

 

Braising Greens (or Spinach) with Raisins and Pine Nuts

This classic Mediterranean preparation of Swiss chard and/or a mix of braising greens is a great way to enjoy greens.  This dish sits comfortably on the side of just about any entree. It makes a great bed for grilled meats, it’s wonderful stuffed in roasted portabella mushrooms, and it makes an outstanding pizza topping. It’s even been known to find its way inside a grilled cheese sandwich. You can make the same recipe with spinach.

Serves 4 to 6

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

½ cup thinly sliced onion

1 clove garlic, minced (about ½ teaspoon)

1 ½ -2 pounds Swiss chard, rinsed, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup raisins

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

salt

freshly ground black pepper

 

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
2. Add the chard in batches, adding more as each batch wilts (the only water you will need is the water clinging to the leaves from rinsing), and keep the pan covered between batches. When all the chard is added and the leaves are wilted, stir in the raisins, pine nuts, lemon juice, and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

From Farmer John’s Cookbook

 

Sauteéd Radishes with Hard-Cooked Eggs and Spiced Yogurt Sauce

This dish is based on a recipe from Nepal.  Cooked radishes add their peppery succulence to pieces of hard-cooked egg in an intricately flavored, curry like (but not spicy-hot) yogurt sauce.  Served at room temperature with basmati rice on the side, this makes a marvelous lunch or dinner.  For an attractive presentation, add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric or saffron powder to your rice while cooking.  This will turn the rice yellow and make for a prettier plate.  Also, if the eggs are overcooked an unpleasant greenish coating will form around the yolks.  Lowering room-temperature eggs into barely boiling water, cooking for 10 minutes, then transferring to an ice water bath for 5 minutes will result in perfect hard-cooked eggs every time.

serves 4

Ingredients:

6 large hard-cooked eggs, halved, each half quartered

1 scallion, chopped

salt

freshly ground plack pepper

2 tablespoons ghee or butter, divided

1 bunch radishes, quartered

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

1 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/4 cups plain yogurt

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon paprika

1. Arrange the hard-cooked egg pieces in a shallow serving dish.  Scatter the scallion over the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the ghee or butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the radishes; cook, stirring, until tender, about 8 minutes.  Transfer the radishes to a plate and set aside to cool.

3. Let the skillet cool for a couple of minutes, then return it to the stove over low heat.  Melt the remaining ghee or butter in the skillet.  Add the cardamom, coriander, sesame seeds, and cumin; cook, stirring constantly to prevent them from burning, until they are fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes.  Scrape the spices into a small bowl and set aside to cool.

4.  Put the yogurt in a medium bowl. If it is firm yogurt, beat it vigorously with a fork or whisk until creamy.  Add the cooled spices, cilantro, lemon juice and paprika; stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Arrange the cooked radishes over the eggs and scallions in the serving dish.  Pour the yogurt sauce evenly over the dish.  Serve immediately.

from Farmer John’s Cookbook

 

Strawberry Lemonade:

Ingredients

1/2 lb strawberries (1 1/2 cups), trimmed and halved

1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (from about 5 lemons)

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar

3 cups cold water

Purée strawberries with 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a blender until smooth, then force through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove seeds. Stir together strawberry purée, remaining lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and water in a large pitcher until sugar is dissolved. Taste, then add more sugar if desired. Serve over ice.

note: Lemonade can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

from Epicurious.com