Week 3

Hi everyone,
This might be a bit short since we actually are having a few dry, sunny, beautiful days! The rain we've had over the last month has been really challenging. It put everything on the spring planting schedule way behind. So now that the weather is giving us a window, there's a lot to do!

As you saw in an email a few days ago, the veggies available to give out this week are a bit limited. There's plenty more on the way, and lots more is getting planted right now to be ready for future CSA days, but right now things are a bit tight. Thanks for hanging in there with us!

Here's what you have:
Salad Mix (with pea shoots- so tasty!)
Swiss Chard (very nice in a quiche or frittata)
Rhubarb
And depending on your pick-up day and share size:
Tuesday Large share- beet greens
Tuesday regular share- arugula
Thursday both shares- Asian Greens

-Don't worry, if you haven't had it yet, you will soon!

I have another rhubarb recipe to share from a CSA member. This is especially good for people with gluten or dairy sensitivities.

(copied from the "Stuff I feed Brian" blog)
Buckwheat Rhubarb Cobbler Recipe - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free version

Gluten Free Rhubarb Buckwheat Cobber - with yogurt on top!

Ingredients:
1 cup buckwheat groats soaked for about 30 minutes
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
cinnamon
6-8 tbs honey*
2 tbs coconut oil
1 tbs chia seeds stirred into 8 tbs water to make chia gel
4-6 stalks of rhubarb sliced thinly (about 2-3 cups)
1/2 tsp lemon zest
*for a vegan option replace honey with maple syrup or agave

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If using solid coconut oil, scoop a teaspoon of the coconut oil onto a glass casserole dish that has a lid.  (About 8"x8" or a 9" diameter round dish is good.). Place in the warming oven for a couple minutes to liquefy the oil and then tilt the pan to grease the dish. 
• Place your chopped rhubarb in the baking dish and mix gently with the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of honey, and about 3 tbs of water. 
• Mix together your gluten free flour and baking powder in a bowl. 
• Drain the soaked buckwheat. Mix together the buckwheat, chia gel and 1 tbs liquefied coconut oil. 
• Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients as well as some cinnamon and the remaining honey. 
• Plop your buckwheat mixture on top of the rhubarb and cover. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350 degrees, uncover the dish, and bake for about 30 more minutes or until golden brown on top. 
• While this is a great, naturally sweetened dessert, I also justified eating leftovers for breakfast because buckwheat and fruit are both breakfast foods. Tasted great with yogurt on top!

And here's another recipe for rhubarb pie:
Ethel's Rhubarb Pie
"Here is my grandmother's Rhubarb Pie; very sweet, and very good, especially after it has been refrigerated."

3 cups Rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces before measuring
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 T flour
large pinch of salt
Mix sugar, flour, egg and salt. Add to rhubarb and bake between crusts.(I have made the pie with just a bottom crust successfully). Bake at 450 F for 10 minutes to brown the top crust, then turn oven down to 350 F for 30 minutes.



Also, I had a request for tips on how to freeze some of the greens you've been getting. It's pretty simple, but it won't work equally well for all the different greens. Probably the best sports about being frozen are spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens and kale. Arugula is probably too delicate- it'd be better to make it into a pesto (which will keep quite a long time, preserved in the olive oil).
The basic method is to blanche the greens lightly (i.e. boil it for just a few seconds), then drain it, pat it dry a bit, then put it in a freezer bag or tupperware. However, I don't really like the idea of boiling greens. It just seems too rough. I've asked around, and what seems to work even better is to put the greens to be frozen in a bowl with a microwave-safe cover, and heat in the microwave from 1-2 minutes until wilted down. (You may have to experiment with the time, depending on the size of the greens, your microwave, etc). Once they're wilted, you can chop them up slightly and put them in your freezer container. Once frozen, they can be thawed and used in quiches, casseroles, lasagna, spanakopita (Greek spinach pie/pastry- delicious!) or just heated up with a drizzle of vinegar as a side. I don't know exactly how long they'll stay good in the freezer, but in my experience, if I use something within a year, it's fine. But feel free to use your own scruples, as I don't think that is an official guideline. :>)

Spanikopita- yummy!