Foodie Friday: Salad Greens

YAY for our Veggie Season starting!!!  Today is the first day of our weekly vegetable share from our CSA.  This is our 9th season with Salt Creek Farm.  We moved to Port Angeles on a Sunday in 2002.  I found a note about this farm on a bulletin board in town the following Wednesday.  I hazard to guess that we had our first taste of fresh, local, organic goodness within a week of moving to this town.  I’m thrilled to be sharing recipes with the farm members again this season.  This marks the 4th full season with me as the Salt Creek Recipe Maven.  I *love* this job.

So, blog readers, you get the recipe goods too.  Every Friday from now until sometime in October, I’ll be sharing recipes for food that is in season and fresh.

These first few weeks will feature a whole lotta green.  I’ve gotten word that we’ll likely get some leeks too. Yum!

A word about storing salad greens (and other greens too!) from none other than Martha Stewart!
“To keep lettuce and other greens fresher longer, wash and dry them thoroughly before storing. Wrap greens in paper towels, then place in resealable plastic bags. Seal the bags tight, and keep in the vegetable crisper. Check the bags during the week, replacing any damp towels with dry ones.”

Honestly though, I don’t usually have a problem with my salad greens going south before I eat them up.  Giving them a rinse and a spin in a salad spinner will get them through the week.

Here’s a recipe by Sharon Hook from an early cropsheet in 2004. Adding some sort of sausage would be lovely in this recipe too, but we’d all do well to eat a bit less meat with our veggies!  Oh, and chop up your leek whites and cook them with the garlic in this recipe for an added yum factor.

PASTA WITH GREENS, WHITE BEANS AND ROSEMARY
2 lbs Kale, or any other “assertive” green turnip greens will do too (note- if you don’t have 2 lbs of “assertive greens” left in your share, you can either use less, or mix in some spinach, etc. Just don’t boil it in step 1.)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large garlic cloves
¼ tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves
2 cups cooked great Northern beans and 1 cup reserved cooking liquid or 1, 15 oz. can of white beans plus 1 cup stock
¼ tsp minced lemon zest
1 lb of your favorite pasta
STEP 1: boil 2 quarts water. Boil greens until tender, about 7 minutes.
Strain the greens, then refresh in cold water. Squeeze dry and coarsely chop.
STEP 2: While the greens are cooking, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil for the pasta. Cook as directed.
STEP 3: In a large saute pan, heat oil, garlic, pepper flakes< if you like them> and rosemary until garlic is fragrant. Add greens, spinach etc. here if you are using it, saute until coated with oil. Add ½ cup of reserved cooking liquid or stock, cook until are tender and have absorbed the liquid < about 5 minutes>. Stir in the beans and remaining stock, cook another 5 minutes. Mix in the lemon zest, then mix with the cooked pasta.