I am loving my farm share.   I could not really tell in advance if it would work out to be a good deal, but now I am certain that it is an excellent value.  I am enjoying the challenge of figuring out what to cook with a variety of vegetables that I don’t usually buy, and  I am eating more fresh, green food.

I work at a fairly all-consuming job during the summer, so I have been trying to use up my vegetables in the simplest preparations possible.  I have found that canned cannellini beans have been coming in very handy.  A few weeks ago, the escarole was pared with cannellini beans and chicken stock for a simple soup. Last week we got garlic scapes, which I have never used before. I love them!  They are beautiful and delicious.  If my vegetable loving grey tabby cat wasn’t so determined to eat them, I would have kept them as a bouquet for a few days before eating them.  The scapes were pureed with cannellini beans, lemon juice and olive oil to make dip.  This week, a bunch of Italian parsley was minced up with garlic and  lemon zest to make gremolata and thrown in another puree of cannellini beans.  In addition to being easy and versatile, canned cannellini beans are cheap.  If I had more time/money I would totally buy nice dry Royal Corona, Cassoulet, or Ayocote Blanco beans from Rancho Gordo (supplier of the most delicious beans I have ever eaten), but for now it’s cheap cans of Goya cannellini all the way.

FARMSHARE WEEK 4

• baby bok choy-  added to healthy ramen with homemade rice noodles.
• Lettuce and shell peas-  made into salad with radishes, toasted pepitas, avocado and smokey buttermilk chive dressing.
• Strawberries- used to top buttermilk panna cotta (more on this in a later post)
• Spring Onions and Arugula- sautéed with radish greens and eaten with huevos rancheros for breakfast
• Parsley- made into Gremolata White Bean Dip and spread onto this amazing healthy gluten-free bread made from seeds and nuts from the blog My New Roots.

GREMOLATA WHITE BEAN DIP

• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
• The grated zest of 2 or 3 lemons
• 5 small cloves of garlic (fewer if they are larger), peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 can ( 15 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• a squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

1. In a food processor, process the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper until it is all finely chopped.
2. Add cannellini beans and process to a rough purée.
3. Gradually add the oil to the puree and process until smooth.
4. Taste and adjust with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

WHITE BEAN AND GARLIC SCAPE DIP

adapted from The New York Times

1. In a food processor, process the garlic scapes with lemon juice, salt and pepper until they are finely chopped.
2. Add cannellini beans and process to a rough purée.
3. Gradually add the oil to the puree and process until smooth.
4. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and lemon juice.

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