Kati's Frittata

Missing Shelley's Friday recipes?

Shelley is traveling around South East Asia (lucky lady) so the wonderful Kati Stazer sent us this recipe.

Kati, an LAUSD schoolteacher, was one of my first customers at the Silverlake farmers' market. She loves sweet pea flowers. Thank you so much Kati for all your support and encouragement over the years. You are an amazing lady.

Here is Kati's recipe:

Hi Tara,

Here's a recipe for a thick Italian omelet using chard or kale, full of vegetables, herbs and cheese. Unlike many other egg dishes, frittatas can be made ahead and reheated or served cold or at room temperature. This dish reheats in the microwave and can keep in the refrigerator, in a tightly sealed container, for up to one week. By cutting back on the amount of cheese used, you have a lower-fat version.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter or butter substitute
1 medium-sized onion, peeled
1 tsp. salt
2 or more large stalks of ruby chard or kale
2 medium-sized potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled and thinly sliced
1-2 tsp. dried rosemary crumbled
1/2 tsp. dried sage
2 tsp. fresh minced garlic
8 large eggs
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup finely diced Gruyere cheese

1. Remove and mince chard or kale leaves and cut stems in 1/2 inch long pieces. Place leaves and stems in separate containers and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Add butter, and when melted, toss in onions. Cook, stirring frequently over medium heat until they just begin to brown, at least 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low, add 1/2 tsp. salt and cover skillet. Cook about 15 minutes more, or until onions are soft.

3. Stir in potatoes and herbs. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, stirring intermittently, or until potato slices are tender.

4. Add chard or kale stems and saute about 2 minutes more. Stir in chard or kale leaves and garlic and cook another minute, or until leaves are wilted but still bright green. Remove pan from heat.

5. Break eggs into large bowl, add remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, and beat well with a whisk. Add vegetables, black pepper to taste and cheese. Stir until evenly distributed. Clean and dry skillet and return to burner over medium heat. Preheat broiler.

6. When skillet is hot again, add remaining olive oil, wait about 30 seconds, and swirl to cover pan. Pour in vegetable-egg mixture and cook undisturbed over medium heat, 3 to 4 minutes, or until bottom of eggs have firmed.

7. Transfer skillet to broiler, and broil about 3 minutes, or until frittata is firm in center. Remove from broiler, and run knife around edges to loosen frittata. Slide or invert onto large, round plate, and serve hot, warm or at room temperature cut into wedges.

Here is the bounty list from 2/10:

From Sage Mountain Farm: loose leaf greens such as Red Russian Kale, spinach, mustard greens.

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Bacon avocados, Satsuma Mandarins

Japanese Turnips, Golden Beets, Napa Cabbage, Navel oranges, Round Carrots, Purple Kale, Red Leaf Lettuce, Escarole, Butternut squash, Brussels Sprouts, Arugula and Mizuna from Underwood Family Farms.

And from Weiser Family Farms: Watermelon radishes, parsnips, Red Thumb potatoes, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, DeCicco Broccoli.

Enjoy!

Cheese-y Stuffed Summer Squash

I love the patty pan squash we've been getting lately. It's so pretty, I hate to cut it up and ruin its attractive scalloped edge. If I must cut it, I prefer to slice it crosswise, that way at least some of the slices retain their distinctive scallop.

This recipe is great because the squash is kept whole, maintaining its lovely shape. The squash is scooped out, stuffed and cooked until tender. While the recipe may sound complicated, it's really quite easy and the finished dish looks like something special.

I like the combination of vegetables in the recipe below, but one of the wonderful features of stuffing is you can add whatever you like. Vegans can replace the cheese with quinoa or bulgher; carnivores might like to include a little crumbled bacon, sausage, or chorizo. Whatever your tastes, I encourage you to try this delicious recipe with patty pan squash or any other summer squash such as zucchini.

Cheese-y Stuffed Summer Squash

2 medium patty pan squash
1 T butter
2-3 T chopped red onion
3-4 leaves finely chopped chard
1/4 C chopped shiitake mushrooms
1/4 C grated cheddar or jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree. Wash and dry the squash.

2. Using a sharp knife, slice a very small piece (crosswise) off the rounded bottom of the squash so that it is stable when standing. Then, with the squash standing, using a melon baller or a small ice cream scoop, cut into the top of the squash and scoop out the flesh (and seeds) leaving about 1/2 inch along the sides and bottom.

3. Finely chop the squash flesh that you've removed. There's no need to peel the skin. However, you may want to cut away and compost any tough stems.

4. Place the hollowed out squash in a small saucepan, bottoms down. Fill with about 1 inch of water. Cover and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Cook the squash in the covered pan until barely tender, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

5. While the squash is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the onions and saute over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the chopped squash flesh and saute 1 minute. Add the chopped chard and shiitake mushrooms and saute until tender and dry.

6. Spoon the cooked vegetables into a small mixing bowl and add the grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until the cheese is well combined. It's fine with the grated cheese melts from the heat of the cooked vegetables.

7. Divide the stuffing into two portions and spoon it into the hollowed out, parboiled squash, mounding it into a nicely rounded top.

8. Place the stuffed squash on a slightly greased, small cookie sheet and place in the hot oven. Bake until the top is well-browned, about 10 minutes. Serve whole, or using a sharp knife, slice in half lengthwise.

If you'd like, you can season the stuffing with a little sage or oregano. A little parsley is also nice.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: bi-color corn, Blue Lake green beans, golden beets, Japanese turnips, green bell peppers, chard, Valencia oranges, patty pan squash, red and green leaf lettuce, and Orange Gem tomatoes.

From Sage Mountain Farm: heirloom melons, white carrots, cucumber, collard greens, garlic, and hybrid tomatoes.

And from Silver Lake Farms: parsley, cilantro, arugula, and mustard microgreens.

Enjoy,

Shelley

Chard Quiche

Arugula + flowers edible too

Butter Lettuce - a shareholder fave

Jacqueline's son takes a seat on her foot

Kohlrabi - cook the tops and eat the rest raw

Here's what Farmer John had for us at the Silver Lake pick-up this week:

Wild celery (great for soups and broth)
Turnips
Red and golden beets
Radishes
Kohlrabi
Fresh garlic
Arugula
Green chard
Russian kale
Butter lettuce
Red romaine
Chamomile
Oranges

Even though my garden is brimming with chard, it was delightful to see it in the CSA box again this week. Truth be told, I can't get enough of this delicious and nutritious vegetable.

Lately, I've been making chard quiches. Quiche is great at any meal - breakfast, lunch, or dinner; and you can eat it hot, room temperature, or cold. I like to make a couple of quiches at a time and freeze one for later. They re-heat nicely in the oven.

This recipe calls for chard, but you can substitute the Russian kale we got today, if you'd like. Or you can make one chard quiche and one kale quiche, or cook the chard and kale together and make two mixed chard and kale quiches. Whatever you decide, you can't go wrong with this tasty dish.

Chard Quiche

For the crust: Use the recipe below or your favorite pie crust recipe
1-1/2 C flour (I use white flour, but you can combine white and whole wheat)
1 t salt
1 stick very cold butter, cut into pieces
1-2 T very cold cream
ice water

1. Put the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse 1-2 times to distribute the salt.

2. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is only partially incorporated and resembles a coarse meal.

3. Working quickly with the processor running, add the cream and a little ice water through the feed tube. Continue adding a small amount of water and processing until the dough sticks together when pressed between your fingers. The trick here is to process the dough as little as possible and don't let it form a ball in the processor.

4. Turn the dough out onto a floured pastry cloth. Press it together to form a ball. This recipe makes enough dough for two (2) 9-inch standard pies, so if you're making one quiche, cut the dough in half before rolling. Store the other half in the refrigerator. It'll keep for about 5 days.

5. Roll each piece of dough into a 12+ inch circle. Line two 9-inch pie pans with the dough and crimp the edges as desired. If you're only making one pie, you can freeze the rolled dough in a pie pan for later use. If you'e not saving one for later, refrigerate the pie pans with the rolled dough while you make the filling.

For the filling: This recipe makes enough filling for one quiche. Double it if you're making two quiches.
1/2 medium red onion
1 bunch chard
2 t butter
2 to 2-1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1 C beaten eggs (about 4 large eggs)
1 C milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Slice the red onion very thinly and saute in 1 t butter until very slightly brown. Set aside and allow onions to cool.

3. Wash the chard well. Chop the green part of the chard and saute in the same pan with 1 t butter. Cover until wilted, then remove the cover and cook off any water. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. You can compost the white stalks or save them for another use, such as adding them to vegetable soup.

4. When the chard and onions are cool, mix them together in a large bowl with the grated Swiss cheese. Stir well to combine. Taste this mixture and season with salt and pepper, if you'd like.

5. In a 3 or 4 cup liquid measuring cup, beat the eggs with a fork until well mixed. Pour in the milk to make 2 C of egg-milk mixture and continue mixing with a folk until the eggs and milk are well combined.

6. Remove one dough-lined pie pan from the refrigerator and spread the chard-cheese mixture evenly in the pan. Pour the egg-milk mixture through a mesh strainer into the pan, spreading the liquid until it covers the chard and cheese. Fill to 1/4 inch below the top of the crust. [If you have a little extra egg-milk mixture, you can use it for French toast.]

7. Bake the quiche at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden and the center is set. Remove it from the oven and let the quiche rest for 10-15 minutes before serving or allow it to cool completely and refrigerate for a later use.

I've used different types of milk for quiche and I've found that whole milk and evaporated milk are excellent. Two-percent (2%) works fine, too. However, skim milk does not produce a rich and smooth filling. I like to use a mixture of Swiss cheeses, too. Try your own combination of Gruyere, Emmenthale, Jarlsberg, or other Swiss cheeses.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Reconnecting with CSA

I'm all bundled up in my husband's giant bright red alpine weather coat, jeans filthy from this morning's job, wet from the rain. Merry Elkins, whom I haven't seen in nearly a decade (since my PR days) discovers the CSA pick-up point and asks "what's this?". OMG! It's YOU! Small world... I think Merry's joining the CSA. Cool! Funny how paths cross in life...

Later, Jodi shows me pictures of a gorgeous salad she'd made at her brother's last month. The salad was tossed with arugula flowers. She'd sent the pics to her pal, Alice Waters, who understands the beauty in such things. Alice is coming to LA on Saturday for a book-signing BTW. She is signing copies of her new book "In the Green Kitchen" at Lost & Found.

Here's what Farmer John had for us at the Beachwood Canyon pick-up today: (Thank you for taking all those bags of soil away!) You rock!

oranges (yay!)
arugula (strip the stems of leaves, flowers are edible too)
curly mustard greens (pictured above)
radishes
russian kale
green chard (see previous post for recipe)
chamomile (dry the flowers in a paper bag)
butter lettuce (peeps are loving this!)
red and golden beets
baby bok choy
wild celery
turnips (try steaming them)

Here's a recipe from Lauren at Nuttri-Savvy.

Hi Tara,
Hope the info. I sent was helpful (Calcium, Magnesium, Vit D for healthy bones). My husband - an 'intuitive chef' came up with this recipe and it's healthy & green:

Mizuna & Chard saute
(Serves 6)

1 bunch of mizuna
1 bunch of green chard
1 young garlic clove minced
1.5 TBS olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 medium turnip shredded

In a large pot saute young garlic in 1 TBS olive oil, add mizuna and chard and cook until just tender. In a processor, shred turnip. Add cider and a half TBS of olive oil. Plate mizuna and chard with shredded turnip mixture on top. Enjoy a healthy, delicious serving of leafy greens.

Nutritional info: cal 70, fat 3.5g, sodium 350mg. carb 7g, fiber 3g, protein 3g

Sincerely,

Lauren O'Connor, MS, RD
Registered Dietitian


Thank you Lauren,

Tara

Chard and Eggs

Chard is a great vegetable. It's easy to grow and grows practically year-round. Beginning gardeners can get a lot of satisfaction from a few chard plants. Chard comes in several varieties, most commonly green and red. The red, with its magenta spines and veins, is both beautiful and tasty.

Chard is very easy to cook and can be a slightly more substantial substitute for spinach in many recipes. I like to simply chop and saute chard in a skillet with a small amount of butter over low heat. Cover the skillet until the chard is wilted, then remove the cover, turn up the heat, and cook off the liquid. Be sure to rinse the chard well to remove any grit before cooking. There's no need to dry it, though. Just chop it and pop it in the pan. You can cut off and compost any woody parts of the stems, or feed them to the chickens - they seem to love chard. Add and little salt and pepper to your cooked chard and you've got a simple and tasty side dish.

If you want to get fancy, you can start by sauteing a little red onion or green garlic before sauteing the chard, as chard goes well with both of these flavors.

Once you've sauteed the chard you can make a lovely meal by topping it with a poached or fried egg. Omnivores might enjoy including a slice of cooked ham or crumbled bacon.

Another way to eat chard is with scrambled eggs. Once the chard is cooked and liquid has cooked off, scramble some eggs in a bowl and add it to the hot skillet. Turn down the heat and stir the eggs with the chard until done. Season with salt and pepper. You can make this dish much richer by adding a little cream cheese or goat cheese chopped into small chunks just before the eggs are done. Stir in the cheese until it gets warm, but don't let the cheese melt entirely. Maintain the integrity of the chunks.

Chard is wonderful in quiche, too. Check out our Silver Lake Farms cooking classes where we'll be making chard quiche.

Enjoy!

Shelley