Good eats Early in the Season!

Early in the season there seems to be a lack of local food. This year Heron Pond Farm has worked hard to Make many greens available even before the Peas are in. There is a nice variety to the mix of veggies we have come up with. Some are mild but some have that extra bite the folks crave. The greens list changes from week to week but here are some of the offerings that you will see from Heron Pond Farm this spring and summer. Some are available today at are farm stand. Or come see us at any of the farmers markets we attend.  A great Asian Greens Guide can help you prepare some of these.

Hon Tsai Tai
(Brassica rapa)

Purple flower stems and buds.
A Chinese specialty. The young plants soon branch and produce quantities of long, pencil-thin, red-purple, budded flower stems. Pleasing, mild mustard taste for use raw in salads or lightly cooked in stir-fries or soups. For multiple harvesting of tender stems and leaves.  Use in stir fries or as a great side dish.

Yukina Savoy

(Brassica juncea)

Similar to Tatsoi but larger.
Plant habit is more upright and vigorous for improved baby leaf yields. At full size the thick, savoyed leaves are held upright on pale green petioles. Space 12-18" apart and cut at the base for beautiful, full-sized bunches 10-12" tall. Delicious steamed or stir-fried.Tatsoi and Warm Scallop Salad with Spicy Pecan Praline

Green Lance (F1)
(Brassica oleracea)

Glossy leaves and crisp, thick stems.
This uniform, budding-type Chinese kale (also called kai-lan, gai lohn, and pak kah nah) is great in stir-fries or cooked like broccoli. Harvest the stalks when 8" tall and 2-3 flower buds are open. After the main stem is cut, the plant will send up many branches for subsequent harvests.

Summer Jean (F1)
(Brassica rapa)

Tender, budded stems.
Dark green leaves with small, edible buds. Similar to Hon Tsai Tai, but with thicker stems. Stems regrow for ’cut and come again’ harvest. Best suited to summer and fall planting; spring plantings may bolt

Spring Raab
(Brassica rapa (ruvo group))

A must in Italian households. The smell of this cooking will bring me in from any field I'm in. Heron Pond Farm only grows this for spring production but we may be cooking something up for fall winter.

Clio
(Cichorium intybus)

New last year! Highest yielding and most uniform Italian dandelion.
Clio is similar but superior to Catalogna Special. It is more upright and more uniform, and thus delivers a higher marketable yield. Clio is clearly the best Catalogna type we have ever seen

Bright red stem and midvein, dark green leaf.
Eye-catching, dandelion-type chicory, definitely on the wild side.

Dandelion Salad with Lardons and Goat Cheese Phyllo Blossoms.Sauteed Dandelion Greens

Bright Lights
(Beta vulgaris, cicla group)

Multicolor chard - 1998 All-America Selections winner.

Stems of many colors including gold, pink, orange, purple, red, and white ... with bright and pastel variations. Lightly savoyed, green or bronze leaves. The taste is milder than ordinary chard, with each color a bit different. Grow from transplant - individual colors may then be separated out - or direct seed. Suitable for production year round, but somewhat less frost hardy than normal for chard. The late New Zealand amateur breeder John Eaton developed Bright Lights, and Johnny’s selects and maintains the different color stocks and produces the seeds. Sauteed Swiss Chard with Onions. Roasted Garbanzo Beans and Garlic with Swiss Chard. Bacon and Swiss Chard Pasta

Joi Choi (F1) (Brassica rapa (Chinensis group))

Pac Choi, Bok Choy, & Pak Choi are all different spellings for the same vegetable. Whichever name you use, it's the ultimate green vegetable for stir-fries.

Our Freinds over at Pete's Greens Have some great recipes!

Asian Chicken Salad with Snap Peas and Bok Choy