This past week we cleaned up the brassica (cabbage family) and fennel bed, as they were both full of weeds from the recent rain.  We also harvested the last few remaining handfuls of peas.  Our pea bed was severely damaged from hail a few weeks back.  We were not able to harvest as much as we had anticipated.  So we mowed down the legumes and will plant a summer cover crop in its place.  We started our potato harvest and hope it will last for the next month.   Our French green beans are flowering and we picked a few handfuls for dinner last night.  The saying is once they start we will need to harvest every 36 hours.  So the beans should be plentiful this coming week.  Our tomatoes are growing taller by the day with lots of green ones.  Squash and cucumbers are slowly making flowers and we may have fruit in a few weeks.  Enjoy the recipes and have a great week.  

One of our favorite recipes borrowed from “Vegetable Harvest” by Patricia Wells:

Lemon-Roasted Potatoes with Bay Leaves

2 pounds new potatoes

2 bay leaves

1 lemon, scrubbed and cut lengthwise in 8 slices

2 tablespoons best-quality walnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1)    Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2)    Scrub the potatoes, but do not peel.  Halve them lengthwise.  In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, bay leaves, lemons, lemon juice, oil, and salt.  Toss to evenly coat the potatoes.  Transfer to a roasting pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.  Roast until the potatoes are soft and golden, turning the potatoes regularly, about 40 minutes.  Remove from the oven and remove and discard the by leaves.  Season generously with oregano, rubbing the herb with your palms to intensify the oregano flavor.

Spring Greens Pilaf with Oranges and Olives borrowed from “Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini” by Elizabeth Schneider

½ pound mustard greens, kale, or chard

1.5 tablespoon olive oil

1 minced garlic clove

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

1 cup long-grain white rice

1 cup orange juice

½ teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

¾ cup water

3 tablespoon sliced green olives

1 orange sectioned and diced

3 tablespoon roasted and chopped cashews or almonds

Cook greens until just softened.  Heat oil in medium saucepan over moderate heat.  Add garlic and cumin.  Add rice and stir often until golden about 6 minutes.  Combine orange and lemon juice, zest, salt to taste, and honey in a bowl, stir to blend.  Add juice mixture to rice with greens, water, and olives.  Bring to a boil, stirring.  Reduce heat to lowest point, cover and cook 20 minutes.  Without uncovering, remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes.  Fluff rice in to dish, incorporating orange dice and nuts.