Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

With garlic harvest & curing in full swing, we’re cooking with organic garlic every day! Here are a few of our staff’s favorite recipes. Please share your favorites with us by leaving a “comment” below. Enjoy!

Herbed Garlic Feta Spread (or salad topper)

Combine 2 cups of feta cheese, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and 2 tablespoons of minced fresh herbs like basil or oregano. Spread on thin slices of French bread or crackers. Or drop small clumps on fresh garden greens for a zesty salad.

Summer Squash Garlic Grill Marinade

Mince 4 cloves of garlic and mix it with a pinch of fine salt. Allow it to sit for a minute (the salt will help bring out the garlic flavor). Mix with1/4 cup of olive oil and add any other herbs you enjoy grilling with. Slice zucchinis, yellow summer squashes, and patty pan squashes into broad 1/4″ slices. Brush both sides with the garlic marinade, grill for about 3 minutes on each side and enjoy.

Oven Roasted Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

Toss some small potatoes or cubed potatoes with 10 whole peeled garlic cloves, some rosemary, olive oil and salt. Bake in a glass dish for 45 minutes at 350 and enjoy as a side dish.

2 bunches organic kale

1 red onion

1 can organic cooked black beans

1 organic red bell pepper

2 cups cooked basmati rice

2-3 cloves fresh, organic garlic

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
Steam kale until limp and let cool,  Chop onion, bell pepper and garlic and add to large salad bowl.  Drain black beans and add to mixture.  Add cooked, cooled rice and kale to bowl.  Mix in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Stir in honey.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Chill and serve  cold on a bed of fresh salad green.

I want you to imagine for a minute… more fresh vegetables than two people could eat, salads with five or ten different varieties of greens… imagine knowing that your produce has only been touched by one or two other people by the time it shows up on your table.

If these are not astonishing ideas to you… you must be eating locally, you must know your grower.

I’m three weeks into my CSA membership and already I am knee deep in greens. For real… Andrew (that’s my farmer), slow down there buddy! I’ve had a giant salad 3 nights out of 5 and I still have 3 big bags of mixed greens in my “crisper” drawer. Now if you don’t know anything about CSA’s you should read my previous post here.

Even though I complain in jest… I actually I love it! These first few weeks are like a warm-up, in the early season there are only a few kinds of veggies that are ready to harvest; greens, broccoli, radishes, and the like. So my box is loaded with ‘em. There is nothing like coming out of winter and suddenly you have more fresh garden goodness than you can eat.

As I crunch on salad and steam the greens I start to crave the squash and tomatoes that are on their way. Beets, turnips, kale, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn… oh sweet corn… my mouth waters at the thought of it.

Please I implore you… I’ve said it before… but once again; If you only do one thing for yourself and your planet this year…. JOIN A CSA!