Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Recipes

ASSERTIVE GREENS WITH ONIONS OR SHALLOTS AND CREAM

A bit of background — all leafy greens are not interchangeable. Some are delicate enough for salads; others can be tough as shoe leather. In general, though, they fall into two categories, each of which is handled differently. Within each category, though, the type of green used is pretty much interchangeable. The “tender greens” (beet greens, Swiss chard, spinach) are delicate and moisture-rich. The “assertive greens” (kale, mustard, turnips, collards) are stronger in flavor, and require added liquid as they cook.
This is a great recipe for those more assertive greens. Technique is the key. The initial shallow blanching erases some of their bitterness without robbing them of their character. It preserves their color and flavor, saves time, and allows them to be cooked more quickly.Once the greens have been blanched and drained, they can be used in any number of tasty recipes. In this one, the sweetness of the onions and the richness of the cream mellow the bitterness of the greens.

Source: Perfect Vegetables: A Best Recipe Classic, 2003, by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine (Entered by Janice Matthews)
Serves: serves 4 (about 2 cups of cooked greens)
Vegetarian!

Ingredients

2 pounds kale, collards, mustard or turnip greens, washed and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. unsalted butter
2 medium walking onions (white portion only) or shallots, chopped fine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Step by Step Instructions

1. The essential blanching step: Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a deep pot, add the salt and greens, and stir until wilted. Cover and cook until the greens are just tender (about 7 minutes). Drain in a colander. Rinse the pot with cold water, refill it with cold water, and pour in the greens to stop the cooking. Gather a handful of greens, lift out of the water, and squeeze dry. Repeat with the rest. Roughly cut each bunch of greens, and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
2. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add the onions or shallots and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes. Then add the squeezed, cut greens and stir to coat them with the butter.
3. Stir in the cream, sugar, thyme, and nutmeg. Cover and cook until the greens are heated through (about 2 minutes). If any excess liquid remains, remove the lid and continue to simmer until the cream has thickened slightly (about 1 minute longer).
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Market News

Just a short note this week, so you can get right to ordering. I’ve included a great recipe up above from the website. There have been several nice recipes added to the system this week, and I encourage you to share with us how you use your ALG purchases there. There are currently 60 recipes now marked as being in season using ingredients you can buy right now, and many more there you can browse. As the ingredients come into and out of season, the recipes themselves do too, and that has made for a great way to find new ideas and make the most of what’s available from our growers. Unlike other recipe sites on the ‘net, this one is built right in to the market, and you can add ingredients to your shopping cart right from the recipes themselves (or view recipes while looking at specific products for sale). All the recipes come from your fellow shoppers, and we’d really like to see your recipes there too!

I’ve also noted our upcoming farm tour down below. It looks like this spring will see many wonderful local food events around town, and I’ll share them with you in this space. Please let me know of any you might know about. I consider myself “in the know” about these things, and still there are events going on that I don’t find out about until they’ve come and gone.

Thanks so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!

Upcoming Local Food Events

March 23rd: Be a Farmer For A Day at Long Shot Farms Have you ever wanted to learn how to plant asparagus? How would you like to give it a go? Here is your chance to do it with no risk! Long Shot Farm in Arnoldsville, Oglethorpe County, is a new establishment focusing on Granax onions, tomatoes, and perennial blueberries and asparagus. It will take some time to establish their beds, and Rochelle Long needs your help. Come join a small group of volunteers to help plant asparagus. Participants will go home with asparagus crowns of their own while supplies last. The event will be held on Saturday, March 23 and will begin at 10:00 AM. You will spend two hours planting asparagus crowns into the prepared bed, enjoy a free lunch around noon, and tour the farm after lunch. Sign up for this free tour by adding reservations to your order (look in the “Event Reservations” category). For more information, contact Cathy Payne at broadriverpastures@gmail.com.

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. Most of the other area markets are also all closed for the season too. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse, and several ALG vendors also sell there.

Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!