Hello folks, add your favorite green bean recipe or usage as a comment below. I’ll add a nice beany photo later. Thanks.

All right, here are kale recipes a-go-go. Please feel free to leave yours as a comment at the end of the list. Some folks sent formal recipes and some sent suggestions that are simple ways to prepare it that they enjoy. Recipes are below, and the suggestions I added as comments just quoting directly from their emails. Click on the Kale-a-palooza title to view the post in it’s own window with the comments.

This first recipe is the way which we eat 90% of our kale here on the farm. It’s not a super rigid recipe. Just because the kale is raw, don’t be afraid. The dressing wilts the kale so that it’s just like eating kale that you steamed or blanched. It is important to let the dressing tenderize the kale for 15-20 minutes before serving. We also usually top it with some roasted cashews.

Kale Quinoa Salad

For the dressing:

1 clove garlic

1 small shallot, sliced thin

3 tablespoons soy

1 tablespoon brown miso

2 tablespoon tahini

1/4 cup sherry, apple cider or rice vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil

For the salad:

4 cups shredded kale

1/2 cup sliced apple

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup cooked quinoa (cooled)

Saute the shallots together with the raisins until both

are tender. Set aside.

Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a

blender and purée. In a large bowl assemble the salad

ingredients and toss with the dressing. Let it stand for

at least 15 minutes for the kale to tenderize. Top with

the shallots and raisins and serve. Keeps well for the

next day as well.

Greens and Garbanzos

You can make this with any of the greens (kale, turnip, chard), but kale is one of the best for it.

One bunch kale, ribs removed and roughly chopped

one can garbanzo beans (about 1.5 to 2 cups cooked if you cook your own from dry)

Garlic – 1 to 3 cloves minced, depending on how much you like garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup water

Lemon juice to taste

olive oil

Saute the garlic in 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (one good glug from the jug).  Add the kale (no need to dry it off after washing) and saute until wilted.  Stir in garbanzos and cumin, and pour the water over the greens.  Cover and simmer until tender – depending on the age of the greens this will be 2 to 5 or 6 minutes.  Sprinkle with a little lemon juice – maybe a teaspoon – salt and pepper to taste.

You don’t really have to measure anything – the amounts given are just to give you an idea of the range to be in.  Super simple and super delicious.  Serve over couscous or as a side on it’s own.

A little cayenne is a fun add.

Chorizo and kale

1lb chorizo, we use the bulk, uncured, at the Wedge or Seward coop.

2 bunches of kale

1/2 cup toasted almonds

Cut kale into strips or small pieces.

Sauté the chorizo, breaking it up in little pieces.

When done, about 8 minutes, add kale and cover for 3-4 min

Cook for about 5-8 more minutes stirring.

Sprinkle almonds on right before serving.

It’s a quick meal. We’ve also done it with hot Italian sausage. If there is zucchini we add that too…

Sautéed Kale with Garlic and Vinegar

1 bunch kale

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Stem the kale and chop coarsely. Heat a large skillet, add oil and kale, and cook until wilted. Add salt and garlic, and cover the pan. When the greens are fully tender—from a few minutes to fifteen, depending on maturity—remove the lid and allow any excess liquid to cook away. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar.

Greens and Bulgur Gratin

Gourmet | September 1995

yield: Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coarse bulgur
• 2 pounds assorted greens such as kale, collard, escarole, spinach, Swiss chard, and/or mustard greens
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
• 6 ounces chilled whole-milk or part-skim mozzarella, grated coarse

For topping

• 1/2 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation

In a heatproof bowl pour enough boiling water over bulgur to cover by 1 inch. Cover bowl with a plate to trap steam and let stand 20 minutes. Drain bulgur in a large fine sieve, pressing out excess liquid, and transfer to a bowl.

Keeping each variety of green separate, tear greens into bite-size pieces, discarding stems. Still keeping greens separate, wash thoroughly by dunking in a sinkful of water and transfer to a colander to drain.

Put coarser greens (kale or collard) in a 4 1/2- to 5-quart kettle and steam in water clinging to leaves, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add delicate greens (escarole, spinach, Swiss chard, and/or mustard) to coarse greens and steam, covered, stirring occasionally, until just wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain greens in colander, pressing out excess liquid.

In a large heavy skillet cook garlic in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened but not golden. Stir in greens and bulgur and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in Parmesan and remove skillet from heat.

Preheat oven to 400°F. and lightly oil a 1 1/2-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish.

Spread half of greens mixture in dish and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella. Spread remaining greens mixture over mozzarella and smooth top with a rubber spatula. Gratin may be prepared up to this point 8 hours ahead and chilled, covered.

Make topping:
In a small bowl with a fork stir together bread crumbs and oil until crumbs are evenly moistened.

Sprinkle topping over greens mixture and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until bubbling and top is browned lightly.

Potato Kale Soup with Gruyere

– from Cooking Light magazine

2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

7 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth (I use roughly 1/3 homemade broth, 1/3 store bought, and 1/3 water instead)

4 cups coarsely chopped peeled Yukon gold potato

1/4 tsp salt

1 bay leaf

6 cups chopped fresh kale

1 tsp dried basil

9 tbsp shredded Gruyere cheese

Melt butter in large saucepan over med heat. Add onion, cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Add garlic, cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Stir in broth, potato, salt and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender.

Stir in kale and basil.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until kale is tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Partially mash potatoes with a potato masher until thick and chunky.  Top with cheese.

Tequila-Braised Kale

Makes 4 servings

Vegan recipe

Many thanks to my cooking class culinary assistant and vegetarian friend Lisa Genis for introducing me to dinosaur kale, which is quite similar to the Tuscan variety, and for sharing this unusual recipe she created.  Robust kale, with its bitter edge, partners well with chickpeas.  It’s also a great mate for couscous (see Tips), which I prepare according to package instructions to use as a base for the braised kale.

1/2 cup dry-packed julienned sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup boiling water

1/3 cup tequila

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4”-thick slices (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 bunch dinosaur, red, or black kale, stemmed (if necessary) and coarsely chopped (about 8 cups) (see Tips)

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

Combine the dried tomatoes and boiling water in a small bowl; soak the tomatoes for about 10 minutes or until softened.  Drain, reserving the liquid.

To make the braising liquid, combine the tequila, vinegar, and the tomato liquid in a small bowl.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it just begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the cumin seeds and garlic; stir constantly for about 30 seconds.

Add the kale; stir until it is coated with the oil.  Add the braising liquid, tomatoes, and chickpeas; reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the kale is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Stir in the lime juice, salt, and pepper.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Tips

Couscous, sometimes called Moroccan pasta, is a tiny, beadlike pasta made from semolina flour.  It is available both in white and whole-wheat varieties in most supermarkets.  It keeps almost indefinitely in a tightly closed container in a dark, dry place.

Kale, a loose-leafed member of the cabbage family, is at its best during fall, winter, and early spring; it doesn’t tolerate heat well and can become bitter if grown in the summer months.  Choose fresh, brightly colored bunches of kale with no sign of browning or insect damage.  Store in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; beyond that, the flavor becomes quite strong.  Clean the leaves well just before using by swishing the greens in a bowl of cold water; lift the greens from the water, leaving any dirt in the bottom of the bowl, and repeat if necessary.  Be sure to check both sides of the leaves because dirt can cling to the undersides.  If they are more than 1/8” thick, remove and discard the tough center stalks before using.

Fettucine with Sausage and Kale

Kale and Mushrooms with Creamy Polenta

Kale with Garlic and Bacon

Tuscan Kale Chips

I meant to post a few field photos with last week’s post, but didn’t get around to it, so here they are now. 1st round of lettuce transplants in the field, freshly weeded and mulched garlic, and 10,000 little onion plants. Hoping for some real rain this weekend, last weekend only amounted to 0.3″ here at the farm.

A warmer than usual March has led into a warm April so things around here are hopping. Looking at the trees and plants makes me think that we’re about 2 to 3 weeks ahead of schedule with the spring. We had our first meal of ramps last weekend and they were already plenty large, by this weekend they may be too big. Ramps are a wild leek which grows in the woods around this area, they are delicious. I even heard of someone finding a few morels already, which would be record early for them. The blossoms are just about to open on our fruit trees, and I picked our first meal of asparagus today.

Will all this warm weather translate into the first shares coming earlier than normal? It really depends. All the plantings for the shares are scheduled out so that they meet up with each other to fill the boxes with a nice variety of items, we can’t simply start planting it all earlier or things won’t sync up the way they’re supposed to and I’ll end up with one or two things that are ready to harvest in the field instead of 6 or 8. What it should do for sure is bring about more variety earlier in the season and limit some of the ‘lettuce every time, all the time’ early boxes.

Warm weather aside we could really use some nice gentle spring rains. Since I put the rain gauge back outside on March 10th we’ve only had 1.87 inches of rain. That probably puts us a good 4 or 5 inches below normal. So it was that today after seeding the first peas and spinach, I found myself having to turn on the irrigation for the first time this year. It’s pretty dry when I have to irrigate in April.

The dry weather has put us ahead of the game a bit for now. We got all the potatoes planted the last couple of days which is the earliest I’ve ever put them in. Today we got 2/3 of the onions in with the rest on deck for tomorrow. Getting the big jobs of the onions and potatoes out of the way is a wonderful start to the season. It’s tempting to put the first round of lettuce in this week as well. It and many things in the greenhouse are getting a little bit big for their britches.

Our mild, dry spring has continued the last couple of weeks which has made it optimal conditions for getting things done as we prepare for the farm season. We did finally manage to get the cover on the new greenhouse, after our first attempt failed. Last week we also got all the electrical worked out and tied in so that we have functioning vents and fans. I think we’re about as far as we’re going to get with it this spring. My plan is to install radiant heating in the floor so that the plants get heat to their roots, but with spring here I don’t think that’s going to be happening until fall.

The weather has been good to the plants in the greenhouse, with quite a bit of growth to the onions since the photo a couople of posts ago. We’ve also had quite a bit of sunlight, which keeps it nice and warm in the greenhouse. It’s not unusual for us to have a string of cool cloudy days this time of year where things barely grow, but we’ve been fortunate to avoid that this year.

Lastly is a picture of the garlic, which is up and growing nicely for this early in the season. Buds are swelling on the trees and catkins are coming off the poplars and boxelders. The turkey vultures also returned on April 1.

I was out turning the compost pile earlier today and saw an amazing site that I’ve never witnessed before. I had just taken my earplugs out and could hear a whistling sound like a jet. I looked up and there in front of me were two bald eagles spiraling downward with their talons locked on each other. The sound that had made me look up was the air moving over their wings at high speed. This job does have it’s rewards.

I started my farming career by working for a number of other talented farmers and learning the craft from them. Now that I’ve been doing it for 12 years or so, I find that helping other people interested in farming is one of the most rewarding things about my job. To that end this year we have a great crew with a lot of experience. One of whom is Alissa Moore. She’s been working on vegetable farms for 3 years now and is ready to try her own small project as a farmer. So we’ve freed up some of our ground so that Alissa can begin her own farming venture, while she’s working for us, and the result is Rusty Hoe Farm. She’ll be doing about 10-15 shares of her own, delivered to the Seward neighborhood in Minneapolis. We’ll be growing a couple of the crops for her shares, but mostly it’ll be her deal. Since Hog’s Back is now sold out of shares I’d encourage you to check out Rusty Hoe, you can read her blog and download her brochure here.

As of today, shares are sold out for the 2010 season. Thank you! We’ve been loving the warmer weather which has allowed us to get cranking on some projects around the farm. The main one right now is getting our new greenhouse built. We managed to get the posts and bows in the ground last fall before the ground froze, so now that the snow has disappeared we’re getting the rest of it assembled. We’re going to need the space in it soon, so hopefully the weather continues. Below is it’s current state today. In the background you can see the old greenhouse where the onions and shallots are up and growing nicely.

With the turn of the weather we had a rapid increase in birds around the farm. I had been listening for the sound of the first red-winged blackbirds all week last week, and then finally on Saturday they showed up en masse with about 60 of them in the maple tree in the front yard. You can see one of them posing from it’s new favorite perch on top of the new greenhouse. We followed that with a lovely Sunday where I counted about 40 Sandhill Cranes flying by, saw a few robins, and heard the first bluebirds. Yesterday while Jesse and I were working on the greenhouse we saw more sandhills, a couple of flocks of either tundra swans or snow geese, and had the first killdeers chasing each other around the skies.

Hello folks,

If you’re signing up now and want to use the automatic payment form, just ignore the fact that it says the first payment will come out the first of March since that date has passed. We’ll just take the payments out beginning with April 1st and continuing until July 1st. Or, if you want to make other arrangements, just let me know. Just 5 shares are still available.

The yellow and walla walla onions are up in the greenhouse, I’ll get some photos of them up when they look a little more interesting than germinated seeds.

Next week, being the first week of March, is the traditional week to fire up the greenhouse here at Hog’s Back Farm. I’ve been in there this week cleaning up from last year and chiseling frozen potting mix into the tubs so that we’ll be able to make soil blocks next week. We’ve had some nice sunny weather lately which can make it nice and toasty in the greenhouse without any supplemental heat. Next week we’ll be seeding around 10,000 onions and shallots for the 2010 season. These will spend several days in our germination chamber where the temperature stays steady around 80° until they germinate. Then they’ll be taken out and placed on benches in the greenhouse.

We still have 10 shares available for the 2010 season, visit the signup page to claim your share of the onions and everything else. We will put up a post when shares are sold out, so if you don’t see a more recent post that says that then we still have shares available.

Share sales have been brisk this last week and we still have shares available. As of today we have about a dozen shares unspoken for, click on the signup tab of the website and download the 2010 brochure and signup form to sign up. There’s also a link to the signup form in the previous blog post.

This winter season has been unusual in how many mornings we’ve had hoar frost covering the trees. It  tends to happen on cold nights when we have a little bit of fog. When the fog rolls in the water vapor in it crystallizes on the trees which are actually colder than the air temperature of the fog, it’s also called radiation frost, but that sounds a little less inviting. When I went out on Saturday morning it was unusually heavy, more than an inch of frost in some patches. The sky was a very deep blue so it was breathtaking. It was cold, probably around 5°F. It was a lot like the trees were all made out of very large thick white pipe cleaners.

Oscar and I disturbed three deer who were looking for some food, it’s been a tough winter on the deer who aren’t near a patch of standing corn. Oscar found a set of fox tracks and followed them all over the field and through the woods, but never found their owner.

Frost on wild grapes

Looking straight up with frost falling off the trees

Frost on one of the piles of tomato cages with the farm buildings in the distance

Sun coming through the frost in the woods