Greens - Hyper-local, Hyper-super, Força at Solstice, it's like butta.

When people live out loud, trying to find their calling, they give permission for others to do the same.  There are so many amazing people trying to make a living while making their corner of the world a better place. In Brasil, there is the single word expression, "Força!" It doesn't translate well but it sort of means Courage or "May the strong force that we all have be with you right now!" Here's a few folks that give me força:

Trey on a rooftop in Philly - no gear!

Trey and Deirdre Flemming are two young farmers with a new baby and a new farm who are rockin' Philadelphia through farmers markets, teaching classes, and growing. Check out this recent coverage on Urban Apiaries enterprise where the hives on city rooftops are hyper-productive! 

Mountzy and the Marvelous Murrays

Punk-guerilla-farmer Tim Mountz and not punk Amy Bloom who were just published in Martha Stewart's Whole Living and this comprehensive article in Growing Magazine.  Katherine Broadbent and her magical herb garden at Inverbrook Farm, a place that is a source of a lot of força.

And there's Philly's brilliant young "rock star" Nic Esposito, whose new book "Seeds of Discent."

Yvonne and Denise at Karen Vollmecke's

And Yvonne Post from Cooking for Real is once again working with Triskeles' Food for Thought Program, helping kids who never touch soil get down and dirty.

And Chris Henwood Costa of Turning Roots Farm, just took eight kids touring, hiking and canoeing from the headwaters of the Brandywine in Honey Brook to mouth in Wilmington in a lesson on leadership, the watershed and themselves.

Speaking of Headwaters, Victory's recently nationally rolled out their flowery hoppy Headwaters, and proceeds will help benefit groups that protect their headwaters, or sources of streams and rivers.





And then there's our local Mason Porter and Hoots and Hellmouth and Sisters 3. Ruben's favorite song right now is Alien Baby from their grammy-worthy new album.

His favorite line is:

"It's a bird, it's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's just you"

because of the unspoken reference to Superman!
 
Super men and super women - that's what these folks are! And it seems to be happening when the solstice comes upon us, when energies spiral into their peak. Keep the fires burning.

Superwoman Hilla Haut runs the Camphill Cafe where I work at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills. She makes butter from Seven Stars cream and uses it's by product, instead of milk in recipes. My Russian grandmother said this part of the milk was used as medicine for typhus, if memory serves...I had no idea you could just beat it until you get the stuff to splash out.  It's like magic when it splashes! I also learned that the residents with disabilities make it every Wed for the Sweetwater Bakery cookies!

Kale Quiche, by Hilla Haut (I didn't measure anything, with confidence from Hilla's approach and used all the greens I had, kale, swiss chard, spinach and beet greens. I blanched after boiling in water for about 4 minutes, and this keeps the greens "green" and makes it very quick to fry if the onions are already fried).

(for 15 people to fit a lasagna pan)

Crust:
2 C white flour
1 ¾ C whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp salt
21 TBS butter
(Hilla makes the butter using Seven Stars Farm’s cream in a food processor. The blue milk is what she uses for the milk in the quiche filling, see below. I used a pint of heavy whipping cream)

Press the dough flat in the pan.

Filling:
One bunch kale (or any greens) – rinse well, chop. Stir fry with olive oil and lemon juice. Let cool before adding the egg mixture. (I boiled and blanched first before adding to fried onions)

Whisk together:
10 eggs 
5 C milk or cream
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

and add 3 C grated mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake at 325 degrees "until it's not wiggley anymore and golden on the top" - about 45 minutes to a hour.

Woodfired Plate by Michael Simon

Cherries, berries and salad dressing (and changing changelessness)

Chon-ji is a tae kwon do form that Ruben learned a couple of years ago. The literal Korean translation is  'the heaven the earth.' He uttered Chon-ji once when we were in the mountains in Western Virginia where the clouds were touching the earth all around us. It is a word that signifies the beginning, and is an idea from the I-Ching that life processes are based on changing changelessness....Perhaps sort of like how a head of lettuce or a cherry is exactly the same thing each year and yet so completely different.

Maple syrup and balsamic vinegar dressing (from Farmer John's Cookbook, the Real Dirt on Vegetables  
1 C extra virgin olive oil
3 TB maple syrup (grade B has a stronger maply taste)
2 TB balsamic vinegar
2 TB finely sliced basil (I prefer to leave it out of dressing)
1 TB lemon juice (fresh squeezed is recommended)
1 ts dry mustard (i use wet dijon)
1 clove garlic minced
salt
pepper
The book says it stores up to two weeks in the fridge, but my guess is if you leave out the basil it will store longer and there's no need to put it in the fridge where the olive oil will congeal.


We're going to have a "heaven on earth" salad today with local cherries, blueberries and hull peas...I'm not going to take a picture of it, some things are better without words or images.

porcelain base, glass punctures and drips

Broccoli rabe (and bupkis)

From the Sankanac CSA first bounty of June. I've got bupkis to say, (except that bupkis ain't bupkis even though it is just bupkis). Just want to share this delicious recipe.  
Broccoli Rabe and savory pine nuts from Food 52


Savory Toasted Pine Nuts:

• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, or more, to taste
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground dried rosemary
• 1 large pinch of salt
• Ground pepper, to taste

1. In a shallow microwaveable bowl, toss the nuts with the Worcestershire sauce until well distributed. Sprinkle on the rosemary and salt and toss well. (You can also toast these in the oven. See Step 3, below.)
2. Add freshly ground pepper to taste, and toss again. I use white peppercorns because they have a nice fresh taste.
3. Microwave for thirty seconds on high. Remove the bowl immediately, as the pine nuts will continue to cook. Stir them around in the bowl and repeat. (If toasting in the oven, put them in at 400 degrees Farenheit for 45 seconds at a time, removing them promptly and stirring quickly each time, as they will continue to cook on the baking sheet after being removed from the oven.)
4. Continue until the pine nuts are generally toasty brown. Don't worry about toasting every last one of them.
5. Watch them carefully, lest they burn. Pine nuts go quickly from a lovely brown to inedible, so please don't allow yourself to be distracted.
6. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
7. I recommend making these in the microwave because you can better take advantage of the sweet and spicy solids left by the Worcestershire sauce as it dries out during the cooking process. In a bowl, you can more effectively recover that flavorful residue, to use in coating the pine nuts. 
 

Shallow flat bowl by Pam Owens of Jugtown. I've had this bowl for about 15 years and use it all the time, especially good for mashing.

 

The Rabe Side:

• Broccoli Rabe, as much as you want to serve
• A few short glugs of good olive oil, to taste
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice, or vinegar (white balsamic, champagne or white wine) for sprinkling
• The best finishing salt you have
• Ground pepper to taste

Blanch the broccoli rabe for about two minutes in salted boiling water. Immediately drain and plunge in cold water; run more cold water over it to keep that cold water bath cold. Drain the rabe again and set aside.A minute or two before you're ready to serve, put the drained rabe in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir gently to release the water clinging to the rabe. You want that to create just a bit of steam in which to warm the rabe. Add the pine nuts and take off heat. Immediately before serving (and I mean immediately), sprinkle the lemon juice (a tiny bit is better) over the rabe and pine nuts. If you do this in advance, it will turn the rabe a yellowish brown color, so wait until you are actually going to serve this to add the lemon juice.Toss gently, test for salt, and correct if necessary. Grind some fresh pepper on, if you like it.

some pac choi and onions from this week were added too