Tag Archives: rose geranium

CSA – March 28 2014

­­­Happy Spring!  Perfect weather for the Greens!
March 28 2014 Distribution List:

  • Basil Pesto
  • Poultry Herbs
  • Dill
  • Dilantro
  • Flat Parsley
  • Watercress Box
  • Baby Bok Choi
  • Rose Geranium
  • Spigarello
  • Chervil
  • Baby Red Kale
  • Optional Eggs

 

Some we like raw, some we like wilted and some, we “cream” by cooking into half milk, half buttermilk for “creamed collards”.  Below are some examples of cooking with whatever I had on hand, in this case, extra milk products this week. Two different meals are depicted here, the creaming of collards and then wilted greens with cream of celery…which happened to catch my eye as over-grown in th greenhouse…the spigarello is pictured at the bottom, just barely wilted with caramelized onions and garnished with a few rounds of sausage.  Mike made quick work of that and is now a preferred menu item this season <3. Really is simple to just cook greens quickly (th spigarello is just barely in the heat long enough to turn green and wilt, maybe a minute or two), and then add to a cream sauce….my sauce was just milk products I had in the fridge, seasoned to taste (salt, pepper, dash of nutmeg) and thickened with a teaspoon of corn starch, mixed in with cold water on th side, and then cold mix stirred into the hot milk batch. (The collards I cooked in water until tender, then added to cream base.)  For the finely diced greens seen below, just pop your cream sauce in the cuisinart and blend to the thin-ness you desire. These quick combinations dominated the menu planning as we are in full swing planting for the year ahead.

 

Now is the time to sign up for the next CSA season, which begins on May 1st.

If you need access to check out what is offered and a sign-up sheet, then see this address: specials.planetearthdiversified.com/csa and know that we have you in mind so please do not hesitate to let us know what you like best <3.

2014_3_28_Happy Spring

What’s Hot: peppers, tomatoes, cucs, oh my!

wheatgrass trays for décor and juicing; yes, careful: cats like chewing on it, too….

raspberries (half pints, hand picked daily) we make frozen drinks and crème pops from this fruit, too

limited citrus: currently, Calmondin oranges, kaffir limes and bitter orange (great for zest, calmondins are fantastic scissor cut into drinks [i cut them into “flowering wedges” and leave whole under ice], used as a salad dressing, marmalade, glaze etc.  The skins are much thinner and more edible than the other 2.

flats of tomatoes (the hand pollinated classics that got me addicted to farming and heirlooms from the field that are coming soon)

cases of peppers (we get all seed verified, specializing in Hatch, NM and Pepper Institute varieties…please note that we have taken the “Safe Seed Pledge”)

arugula  (8×8 box of baby green)

watercress (8×8 box of clean top growth)

tatsoi (8×8 box of baby green; all are ready to use from the box)

lemon verbena (garnish, syrups, muddled drinks, stewed with fruits, chicken, fish, tea)

rose geranium (ditto above, all applies…contains more of the chemistry of the scent for rose than a rose! )

tis the season to dress in mint!

english, thin skinned  cucumbers

squash, & squash blossoms

potatoes, check for availability… lots of Adirondack reds i can remember off the top of my head…

mixed heirloom eggplant varieties, including the Louisiana green, Japanese Bride, etc.

superb jalapeño jelly; we do have by the case… red fire jelly is the hottest variety (caution!)

pesto varieties… basil, sorrel, watercress, arugula, etc.  also made to order for vegan requests, etc.

flat leaf parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, spearmint, peppermint, dill, basil, thai basil, (see also microgreens for many herbs are available as such also), red shiso, lemon verbena, rose geranium, pineapple sage, nasturtium in leaf and flower, mixed edible flower chef boxes, black leaf amaranth (wine colored), baby beet leaf, mixed color Chard, fig leaves, wild grape leaves,  wildcrafted garlic mustard, now is the season for wildcrafting goldenrod, anise hyssop, Echinacea, ginger root (not harvest time yet)

its summer: did i mention basil, mint, & dill? cilantro: hard to grow in this heat, but we’ve got some!

greens, lettuces, etc: like kale, kohlrabi, colored chard, etc.

im sure there is more but i have to run out on delivery…. catch Mike at the Forest Lakes farmers market

Rosey Outlook Coffee Cake

Roses in the Flower House
Select Rose Geranium leaves
Press garnish leaves into greased pan
Making rose ribbons with scissors
Select Lemon Verbena leaves
Select roses
Rose petals, base of leaf removed
Dry mix showing floral additions
Flowers, petals, shredded leaves for garnishing batter
9×9 Rosey Outlook Coffee Cake
Flowers pressed into top
Pineapple Sage Blossoms

 

 

“Rosey Outlook” Coffee Cake Recipe:    9×9” pan              oven: 350F          bake: 30 min/toothpick test

1 1/3 cups flour
2/3  cup sugar (brown sugar, honey, etc, to taste)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk*
1/4 cup butter, soft*
2 eggs*
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup shredded rose petals, rose geranium blossoms & leaves, pineapple sage blossoms, and slivers of lemon verbena
Save a pinch of shredded leaves, flowers, and 5-12 small geranium leaves for lining pan and pressing into top of batter.
Separate leaves, etc and process/scissor cut to add to dry matter and top the cake with…grease baking pan; (glass is my top choice), press into pan some petals, leaves and ribbons of your floral materials…in medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder.  Add flower/leaves and use hand mixer on low speed to combine with flour, etc.  ( If using a wet sweetener like honey, add to wet section of recipe.) In another bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, vanilla, *making sure to use at room temperature as butter will “coagulate” with cold milk, etc.  Beat wet mixture on medium until well blended. Pour wet mix into dry mix and beat with mixer on medium for 1 minute or until well blended.  Pour mixed batter in greased pan, on top of your selected leaves and flowers.  Finish batter with remaining leaves and flowers, using a toothpick if necessary to pin down the garnishing touches to the batter (if left standing or curled above, will get crispy and loose more color).
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Invert out of pan after cooling 10-15 minutes; bottom of pan will still be warm..
Cool completely before cutting; can be served as finger tea cakes, cut into squares and fitted on to rose geranium leaves as doilies.  Scattered rose petals add a nice touch and help signal floral nature of cake.