Quick Arugula Salad

Strawberry Arugula Salad

As with most salads, there’s a lot of room to play with the ingredients. If you have only one of the vinegars, use it alone, or try red wine vinegar. If you don’t have poppy seeds, it’s ok to omit them. You can also use spinach instead of arugula. Make it easy!

Arugula                                                       Goat cheese or feta

Strawberries                                              Toasted pine nuts

Dressing:

2 tablespoon white wine vinegar       1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 ½ teaspoon minced red onion          1 tablespoon honey or other sweetener

6-8 tablespoons olive oil                       1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon poppy seeds                         ¼ teaspoon paprika

¼- ½ teaspoon sea salt

Toast nuts and sesame seeds separately in a skillet over medium-low heat until lightly browned. Remove from pan and cool. Be careful on the pine nuts, they go from alabaster to char in a minute!

Combine all of the dressing ingredients except oil in a jar and shake. (Or whisk in a bowl.) Then add oil and shake (whisk) again to emulsify. Toss with arugula; sprinkle on the fruit, cheese and nuts.

Eat! 

Have you ever seen a dog eat a kale chip?

Their teeth are not made for it.

Human teeth, on the other hand, are perfectly suited to breaking down the fibrous stems and leaves of kale.  Those stems always taste like slightly sweet broccoli stems to me--anyone else?  It is the chewy quality of kale that is the number one obstacle to enjoyment, in my experience of talking with CSA members and customers.
Many people, Todd and I included, love kale chopped and cooked on the stove in garlic and olive oil.
If kale is a challenge for you, try the methods below that will drastically reduce the chew factor.

The Massage Method
De-stem and chop your kale.  (Save the stems for boiling into stock for later.)
Splash on equal parts sesame oil and lemon juice.
Generous dash of salt.
With clean hands, massage the salt and dressing into the chopped leaves until the pile of greens visually diminishes (just a couple minutes).
Depending on your personal preference, the leaves may be tender enough for you to enjoy after the massage.  Otherwise, let sit overnight in the fridge to marinate.

The Blanch Method
Boil a pot of water.  Fill a bowl with cold water.
Dump your kale (de-stemmed if you want) into the boiling water for 1 - 2 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon into the cold water.

You can use the Massage Method or the Blanch Method to break down your kale before integrating into another dish, for example adding to a sauté.
More here:
http://www.peasantsplot.com/recipe_kale.html

"How's the Farm?"
I will mostly let the photos speak for themselves.  As my printed note mentioned last week, the spring has been overly wet.  This means that the soil has been too wet to till for much of the spring.  Todd has been getting on the tractor whenever he can, but many of our plantings are delayed.  Please be patient and don't worry--we will get everything to you over time!
We are not entirely upset about the rain.  In fact, we are thankful for the water because it has surely replenished our wells from last year's drought.  We also skirted a tornado last week.  Cannot complain.

Squash just transplanted last weekend!

Anna, Claire and Jake.

Red Russian kale.

Broccoli.

Dinosaur kale, with some leaves harvested.

We put a line of drip tape along all plants.

Chard, coming along, coming along.

Carrots!

Potatoes--17 rows 200 feet long.

Where the magic happens.

Another view of the packing shed and our truck.

Jay-Z

So many seedlings waiting for transplant.

Ladies and gentlemen...Basil.

Please don't take my picture.

Claire the Optimist.

A garlic scape ...escaping!

May is great.

May has been a time of optimism on the farm, despite one unfortunate encounter with a zombie raccoon.  (I'll let that story go for another time.)

Around the start of the month, as part of the high tunnel saga, Todd drilled big holes in the ground.  For concrete, for anchoring endwalls, for peace of mind.  We have been working on improving the tunnels to withstand high winds.  If you've ever been out on the farm here in the spring, you might remember the wind?  I am hearing it now, whipping and whistling.  The sound of the wind compliments the jostled feeling I already have due to the spin cycle at the other end of this trailer.

We have been keeping up on planting and all kinds good omens abound including the arrival of our perennial blue heron by the creek.  Our spring crew includes Jake, Claire and veterans Maeve and Dave. More workers will arrive in June when we add harvesting to our long list of tasks.  Worker shareholders have also started their shifts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.  The farm is a buzz of people, birds, bees and plants. As it should be.

REMINDER:  CSA members, don't forget to keep an eye out for an email at the beginning of June to confirm the first pick-up date!

Seedlings getting blasted with fans to condition them for the high winds on the prairie.

Get ready for the salad days, CSA members!

Blue potatoes before planting in April.

Today, potato plants are up!

Greens protected from flea beetles with row cover.

Broccoli hardening in a cold frame a couple weeks ago.

Broccoli now in the field.

These flowers are better indoors.