Organic! Really?
We
heard a public service announcement the other day on commercial radio that said
there was no reason to buy organic eggs since you are only eating what’s inside
the eggshell. It went on to say that what a chicken eats does not have any effect
on the part we eat. Are you kidding? This ludicrous statement leads us to need
to further educate our customers about the value of organic eating.
As
we all learned in 6th grade biology, organisms require a unique balance of
nutrients to meet their metabolic needs. In all of science to date, the
complexity of human nutrition cannot be boiled down into a simple list of
inputs to keep us going. The complexities of amino acids, which make up
proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, hormones, & nutrients,
are becoming better understood, but the matrix of interactions boggles the
greatest computers’ ability to profile the perfect diet. The
whole-being-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts is where the term “wholesome”,
pronounced “whole-sum” must have originated. For this discussion, don’t forget
the non-nutritive ingredients in foods like preservatives, processing
additives that facilitate mechanical handling, flavor enhancers, and
colorings. So why is organic different than other foods in the marketplace in
meeting the whole of your nutritional needs?
Another
aspect to consider is the green washing of the organic name in popular media
and on-line websites. We see numerous examples of partial organic farms that
try to present their products as the same. Local is not organic. Natural means
absolutely nothing. Sustainable does not have any standards around chemical
use, animal welfare, genetically engineered seeds or any other aspect of farming,
for that matter. Not to mention
third-party-inspection, documentation, or USDA backing. Educate yourself by looking closely at
websites that dance around their organic status. Ask the farm who their
certifier is. If not certified, why not? What are they doing that would
disqualify them from certification status? Do they really know what it takes be
an organic farmer? Do they know the process to be certified? Are they using GMO
seeds? Who can verify their sustainable practice? If the sign says un-sprayed,
do they own a sprayer? Do they know the life cycle of plant pests and the life
cycle of the beneficial insects that can eliminate them?
At
Elmwood Stock Farm, we try to be open to you, to clearly identify our products
as organic. We are closely regulated
and monitored by our certifier and inspector. They can drop in anytime to
verify we are following our plan and take samples for residue testing. We
welcome the scrutiny on your behalf, because certified organic offers a
benchmark for you, and any truly organically produced product can meet it. Including an organic egg!
In Your Share
Broccoli – organic
Garlic Scapes – organic
A
garlic scape is the center stalk of a hard neck garlic plant. Use this special item any manner as you
would use garlic cloves. Chop finely or use a processor. The flower head is also edible. You can make pesto; chop in salads; or sauté
similar to green onions. Refrigerate or
store in water in a vase.
Kohlrabi – organic
Use the leaves of your kohlrabi as you would kale
or collard greens: steam, sauté, juice, use in soups, or chop finely for slaw. The ball-like kohlrabi itself will keep well
for you when refrigerated.
Lettuce – organic
Sugar Snap Peas –
organic These
are edible pod, break off the ends and eat the whole pod & peas (more ready in the next week or so, needing some rainfall to fill out the pods)
OR
Spinach – organic
OR
Spinach – organic
Chinese Napa Cabbage -
organic
This
versatile cabbage is the main ingredient in egg rolls; can be chop- ed into
green salads, used in cole slaws, use in any recipe calling for common green cabbage (just reduce cooking time
slightly as it cooks fast!), stir fries well with fried rice, and will store
refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Lacinato Tuscan Black Kale Greens – organic
Recipe to Enjoy
Beef & Broccoli
Pasta Salad, adapted from a Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen
Hockman-Wert recipe, serves 2-4
¼ C water
¼ C soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
(or finely chop garlic scapes)
1 ½ tsp sugar
½ tsp ginger root,
peeled and minced
¼ tsp ground red pepper
1 ½ tsp sesame oil
8 ounces cooked beef
steak or roast, thinly sliced and refrigerated for 1 hour or more
4 oz linguine, cooked
and cooled
2 C broccoli, stems cut
into bite sized pieces, florets separated, blanched and cooled
Optional: 1 T diced
onion
Optional: 1 T toasted
sesame seeds
Combine in a small saucepan
water, soy sauce, garlic, sugar, ginger, red pepper and cook until half the
liquid evaporates. Add sesame oil, stir
and set aside.
When ready to serve, mix
together sauce with remaining ingredients, garnish with optional diced onion
and sesame seeds if desired.
Garlic
Scape Pesto, our thanks to
a CSA member for sharing this recipe found on Serious Eats dot com, if you plan
to freeze the pesto, wait until after you’ve defrosted it to add the cheese.
¼
C pine nuts
¾ C coarsely chopped garlic scapes
juice and zest of ½ lemon
½ tsp salt
few generous grinds of black pepper
½ C extra virgin olive oil
¼ C grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
In a small, dry pan set
over very low heat, lightly toast the pine nuts, stirring or tossing
occasionally until just beginning to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the
heat and let cool for a few minutes.
Combine the scapes,
pine nuts, lemon juice and zest, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food
processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse about 20 times, until fairly
well combined. Pour in the olive oil slowly through the feed tube while the
motor is running. When the oil is incorporated, transfer the pesto to a bowl
and stir in the grated cheese.
White
Bean and Garlic Scape Dip adapted from The New York Times, serve with freshly toasted bread, pita bread and/or
vegetables.
1/3
C sliced garlic scapes (roughly 4-6 of them)
1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice, more to taste
½ tsp sea salt, more to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
15 oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
¼ C extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice, more to taste
½ tsp sea salt, more to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
15 oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
¼ C extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
In
a food processor, process together the garlic scapes with the lemon juice, salt
and pepper until very finely chopped. Add the cannellini beans and
process to a rough paste.
With
motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil (this is a perfect time to use
the feed tube of your food processor) and process until nice and smooth. Pulse in 2-3 tablespoons of water. Add more lemon juice, salt and
pepper if desired. Place dip in bowl,
drizzle with olive oil and serve, makes 1 ½C.
Tuscan Kale with Maple,
Ginger and Pancetta, recipe from Fast, Fresh & Green by
Susie Middleton, editor of Fine Cooking Magazine, this dish offers a mix of
salty, sweet and spicy!
salt
1 bunch Tuscan black
kale
1 oz very thinly sliced
pancetta
1 T unsalted butter
1 ½ tsp chopped fresh
ginger
1 tsp pure maple syrup
2 small lemon wedges
Fill a 4 to 5 quart pot
two-thirds full of water. Add 2 tsp
salt and bring to a boil. Remove the
ribs from the kale. Grab the rib with
one hand and rip the two leafy sides away from it with the other. Cut or rip the leaves into two or three
smaller pieces. You’ll have about 4 oz
of greens. Add the greens to the
boiling water and start timing immediately.
Taste a leaf after 4 minutes. It
shouldn’t be tough or rubbery, if it is, cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Drain the kale very thoroughly in a strainer
in the sink. Press down on the kale to
squeeze out some excess liquid.
In a skillet over
medium-low heat, arrange the pancetta slices and cook until crisp and lightly
browned, 6 to 8 minutes, flipping once or twice. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the butter to the pan, and as soon as it melts, add the
ginger and stir to soften it slightly in the butter, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, add the maple
syrup and stir well.
Lift the kale from the
strainer, squeezing one more time to release excess moisture, and add to the pan
with the maple-ginger butter. Put the
pan back over medium-low heat and toss the greens until well coated and
slightly warmed, 30 seconds to 2 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat, taste, and season very lightly with
salt. Crumble the pancetta over the
greens. Toss briefly to mix and
transfer to serving plates, crumble pancetta over the top. Serve with lemon wedges.
Roasted Kohlrabi,
from Cook’s Illustrated Perfect Vegetables
1-3 medium sized
kohlrabi bulbs; skin peeled away and cut into ¾ inch cubes
1-2 T extra virgin olive
oil
salt and freshly ground
black pepper
½ to 1 T minced fresh
parley
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and
heat oven to 450°. Toss the kohlrabi,
oil and salt and pepper to taste together in a large bowl until combined. Spread the kohlrabi onto a foil-lined rimmed
baking sheet in a single layer. Roast,
shaking the pan occasionally, until the kohlrabi is browned and tender, about
30 minutes. Transfer the kohlrabi to a
serving bowl, sprinkle with the parsley, adjust the seasonings to taste, serve
immediately.
