Local Box Lookout, week of 04.06.2009

Here’s what to expect from next week’s Local Box. Remember you can still order up a Local Box until Saturday – and possibly later, depending on your zip code. Check out Greenling.com for details.

• lettuce
• herbs
• tomato
• French carrots
• strawberries
• spinach
• Swiss chard
• spring onions
• radishes
• arugula

Local Box Lookout, week of 03.30.2009

Here’s the forecast for next week’s Local Box:

• green lettuce
• green garlic
• collard greens
• purple kohlrabi
• strawberries
• spinach
• Swiss chard
• spring leeks
• microgreens
• cilantro

Remember, you can still order next week’s Local Box through today (and possibly later, depending on your zip code). Enter your zip code at www.greenling.com to get started!

Local Box Lookout, week of 03.16.2009

Here’s what to expect in next week’s Local Box. Haven’t ordered one yet? There’s still time. You can still order next week’s Local Box through Saturday and later, depending on your zip code. Click here to check it out!

• Chioggia beets
• spinach
• cilantro
• green shallots
• kale
• cabbage
• strawberries
• oranges
• Swiss chard
• crimini mushrooms
• herbs

Local Box, 03.04.2009

Is cilantro the new okra? I’m not sure it’s reached Key lime or Meyer lemon frequency yet, but we sure have seen a lot of it lately! On a tip from a reader, I’m thinking of turning this new bunch into pesto this week. I’m sure to eat salads of red lettuce and spinach this week, too, and maybe some of those luscious long radishes with butter and salt. What to do with such petite, red kohlrabi, though? Some research is required on that front. How about you? How will you eat out of the Local Box this week?

Bulghur Bowls

Do I need a more appetizing name for this dish? It’s my latest favorite quickie: Heat up a little olive oil or butter in a sautée pan. Add garlic or onions. Add rinsed (but not spun) and torn greens – collards, spinach, arugula, kale, or whatever else you’ve got. After greens are wilted, sprinkle bulghur over them and salt. Cover and reduce heat to low for 10 minutes or so – long enough to steam the bulghur. Season as desired. I like soy sauce on mine, and chiles are nice, too. I thought my husband was crazy when he whipped out the salad dressing for his bulghur bowl the other night, but he insists it was an inspired choice.

What are your go-to tricks for eating – FAST – out of the Local Box?

Local Box Lookout, week of 03.02.2009

Here’s the lookout for Local Boxes next week:

• spinach
• lettuce
• cilantro
• green shallots
• kale
• turnips
• green cauliflower
• oranges
• kohlrabi
• radishes
• Swiss chard
• avocado

Remember, you can still order this week’s Local Box through Saturday and later, depending on your zip code. Click here to check it out!

Local Box Lookout, week of 02.23.2009

Here’s what the folks at Greenling have planned for this week’s Local Box. Remember, you can still order this week’s Local Box through Saturday and later, depending on your zip code. Click here to check it out!

• spinach
• lettuce
• radishes
• green onion
• kale and collard bundles
• sweet potatoes
• carrots
• grapefruit
• kohlrabi
• mustard greens

Local Box Lookout, week of 02.09.2009

Here’s the forecast for next week’s Local Box contents.

• brussels sprouts or broccoli florets
• spinach
• cilantro
• herbs
• green shallots
• mixed bouquet of greens
• mixed lettuce
• grapefruit
• yellow onion
• kohlrabi or cabbage

Remember, you can order up until two days before your delivery day. So if your delivery day is Tuesday, you can still order through Saturday. To find your delivery day, enter your zip code on the left at Greenling.com. Then click here to add the Local Box to your order.

Karen’s Green Pasta Sauce

I met Karen Hett from Sun City at a Greenling cooking class held last fall at Green Gate Farms. As conversations among local foodies are wont to do, ours soon turned to the subject of greens: What to do with so many collards, kale, chard, and more? Karen emailed me this recipe, for which she credits lots of sources and plenty of tweaking, a few days later.  I modified it a bit according to the contents of my refrigerator last night, but the results were still tasty – and outrageously nutritious. All told, I used up a bunch of Local Box spinach, one of collards, some green garlic, a handful of cilantro, and about a third of a Meyer lemon.

6 cups packed greens, including chard, basil, parsley, stems removed
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (not canned)
1/2 small lemon, sliced thinly
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chicken broth, can be made from bouillon cube
chopped olives, green or black
pine nuts
one cup sliced chicken, if desired
1 lb cooked pasta, your choice. This works well with any tube pasta or linguine.

In food processor with the motor running, drop in garlic, onions, lemon; add greens a little at time.

Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and olive oil until a paste is formed.

Remove from food processor and place in sauce pan with grated Parmesan. Add
chicken slices if using. Stir until the cheese is melted, adding more broth if
necessary. Taste for seasonings, add salt and red pepper flakes.

Serve over hot pasta of your choice, sprinkling with chopped olives and pine nuts. Pass extra Parmesan.

Lots of Bowl Action – and Some Plates, Too

The Local Box fed us well this weekend, as we stayed home catching up on household chores.

Friday night, we stir-fried last week’s bok choy and a sprinkle of salt in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, adding a sauce of 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, and 2 tablespoons butter per a simple-but-excellent recipe we found in the Gourmet cookbook. We served it over rice in big bowls and ate it with chopsticks – making a very fast meal feel festive.

Then Saturday, we washed and spun some Local Box spinach to make salads we dressed with last week’s then-green tomato, onion, roasted beets, hard-boiled egg, toasted bread cubes, and a homemade bacon vinaigrette.

For Sunday breakfast, we made a simple omelette filled with queso asadero, then topped it with my husband’s ingenious salsa of avocado, tomato, onion, and a spritz of Meyer lemon juice.

And finally, for dinner as we watched that other bowl last night, we feasted on pasta in an improvised sauce of Meyer lemon juice and zest, rosemary, onion, and red-pepper flakes. Alongside, we had turnips in a delectable glaze, per the recipe here. It was, we agreed, the best turnip preparation we’d ever tasted.

All in all, I’m poised to finish up last week’s Local Box before this one’s arrives. How are you progressing on last week’s Local Box? Anything you’re having trouble using?