Wilted Greens

Recipe courtesy of Joi Chevalier of The Cook’s Nook

Description 

Leafy greens like collard greens, kale, and Swiss chard wilt very quickly over high heat, and the vinegar and onions with sugars help with the browning and crisping of the greens.  

Ingredients 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• ¼ whole yellow onion 
• ½ teaspoons minced garlic 
• ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes 
• 2 oz apple cider vinegar 
• 3 bunches collard greens, kale, and swiss chard leaves, torn from stem and torn into pieces 
• 1 oz salt 
• ½ oz black pepper 

Preparation 

Heat a dutch oven or 12-14″ pan. Add the oil, heat, then the onions and red pepper flakes to saute using tongs. Cook for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Toss in the kale, toss with tongs, and cover the pot, cooking for 3 minutes. Add 1oz of the vinegar, cook for 2 minutes. Add the collard greens and cook for 2-3 minutes tossing with tongs. Add the last 1oz of vinegar, cook for 1m. Add the swiss chard and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper at this point to taste. 

Growtopia Farms is located in Lockhart, TX, and is dedicated to making it easy for their customers to get quality grown produce and mushrooms from the field to their forks. Owners Cody Brown, John Ruwwe, and Quinton Rowland strive to make environmentally conscious decisions on the farm and refrain from using any synthetic agrichemicals that are harmful to humans and the environment. They amend their bed rows with compost and organic fertilizers, and utilize drip irrigation wherever applicable to reduce water usage. They compost their spent mushroom substrate on the farm, creating a closed loop energy system that not only reduces input costs, but also decreases environmental waste. This week, our team spent a morning volunteering at Growtopia and learning more about their farm – take a look at the video here, and stop by Growtopia’s booth on Sundays at Mueller!

Market Recipe: Spicy Pickles

By Sheena Moore of  Sheena’s Pickles

Prep time: 10 minutes. Processing Time: 10 minutes. Water Bath Time: 10 minutes. Yields about 4 pints.

Pickling Cucumbers (do not use salad cucumbers)
Jalapeños and/or Serrano and/or Habanero peppers
Pepper flakes
¼ cup of pickling salt
4 cups of water
4 cups vinegar

1.  Wash pickling cucumbers and remove the ends. *Note: The ends of cucumbers contain enzymes that can cause the cucumber to go soft. Remove at least 1/16th of an inch from the ends. Cut cucumbers in rounds or spears.
2. Cut cucumbers in rounds or spears and set aside in large bowl. 
3. Using gloves, cut peppers into thin slices or rounds. Add and mix peppers in bowl with cucumbers.  Set bowl aside.
4. Start your water bath by placing jars in a pot and cover jars with water. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes turn temperate down to a simmer.
5. In a separate pot, make you brine. Heat vinegar, pickling salt, over medium heat. Start off with ½ teaspoon of pepper flakes. If you want it hotter, taste, and add more as need. Brine is ready once pickling salt has dissolved.
6. Fill jars with cucumber rounds or spears. Ladle brine over cucumbers using a funnel. Leave ¼ inch head-space.
7. Remove air bubbles from the jars by running a plastic bubble remover and head-space tool into the side of the jar to release bubbles. Chopsticks will also work. Do not use any metal knives to remove the air bubbles.
8. Heat lids in hot water to warm up the seal. Do not boil the lids. Simmer lids for 10 minutes. Wipe lid of jars and place lids on top and tighten with ring.
9. Place jars in boiling water with at least 2 inches of water covering the lids and process for 10 minutes.
10. Remove jars from water and cool on counter-top under a clean tea towel.

Market Recipe: Spicy chilled noodles

Ingredients:

vermicelli/rice noodles

One small cucumber (or ½ a large cucumber) (B5 farm or Flintrock Hill Farm)

Handful cherry tomatoes (Bernhardt’s Farm or Hohn’s Acres)

Handful broccoli (you can also sub zucchini or squash) (Emadi Acres or f-stop farm)

One spring onion/green onion (Munkebo Farm or f-stop farm)

Arugula or greens of choice (Animal Farm or Bouldin Food Forest)

½ cup cashews, chopped or whole

1 tbsp Sesame oil

Spicy sauce:

3 tbsp tamari

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp chili garlic sauce

Cashew Tamari Dressing:

3 tbsp tamari

2 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 cup cashews

1 garlic clove

Black pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook vermicelli noodles – add to a pot with ½ cup water and tbsp sesame oil, cover and let sit for a few minutes, stir and cover again for a few minutes until soft. Add noodles to a bowl and let chill while you prepare the sauces and chop up the cucumber, tomatoes, and onions. For spicy sauce, add ingredients to a bowl and mix together. For dressing, add ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Add all ingredients to the bowl of noodles, top with dressing and spicy sauce, and enjoy!