What's New This Week!

Good Morning Everyone!

It must be May because last week felt like it went by at warp speed with days filled to the brim with end of school year events, fervent work in the garden, chats with farmers lining ups visits (my favorite!) canning and cooking 40 pounds of asparagus, outdoor oyster eating and a "too cloudy to see anything" Super Moon watch..(did you see it?). I love when more daylight equals more fun! 
On the more random side; this week we invite you to explore the wonderful world of Kohlrabi with lots of suggestions on our Pinterest Board "Ideas for this Week", and I invite you to get this stuck in your head so that like me, every time you say "kohlrabi" you sing it like this!  There are so many great things on both lists this week and I hope you share some of the cooking you do with us on our Facebook page or Twitter where we're gabbing about good food and much more! 
Here's to a terrific week ahead!

Lisa and Zeke

New This Week:  
 

Say hello to Local, organic Spring Garlic from Country View Farm in Pennsylvania will give you your pungent spring allium fix. We like spring garlic better then ramps and find that you can use them just the same. 

Not new, but fleeting, local organic rhubarb from Village Acres in Pennsylvania is still available. Get it while the gettin's good!

We're so excited to be bringing you a sweet selection of  organic teas and tisanes from serendipiTea , a company and store in Manhasset, NY that's been around almost as long as we have and has been supporting environmental stewardship from the start. We really love their tea and their mission and think you're going to feel the same way.  We put together a knock-out variety of organic black and green teas as well organic tisanes. Check them out in "To Drink" under "Tea". 

This week  Betty's Grab Bag  is growing...for real!  We have two of our favorite variety of  heirloom tomato plants ; Brandywine and Virginia Sweets. Big, juicy and just what your garden needs, even if it's a big pot on a sunny balcony! We also have  Sweet Bay Laurel plants  so you can grow your own bay leaves. There are a couple other items in the grab bag that are new this week...but we want those of you who like surprises to go check them out!

Highlights from last week's blog in case you missed it:  Recipes for Roasted Asparagus and Garlic Soup with Toasted Sunflower Seeds, a quickie lunch; roasted veggies wrap with hummus, a super easy Asparagus and Feta Fritatta,  a bright fresh Barley Salad with Radishes, Asparagus, Tarragon and Mint, a beautiful and so, so delicious Strawberry and Rhubarb pie and finally a kale recipe that might just replace Brad Pitt in your dreams!

Here's a recipe to start off this week's list  for  Momfuku's Ginger Scallion Sauce . It's highly addictive and will be extra delicious with the local red and white scallions or the spring garlic! If there is one recipe to try first from the Momofuku cookbook, I would say it would be this one. Once you've got a batch of this (and you may want to double it), you can plop it on just about anything else you make in the cookbook...or out of the cookbook, and it would add the punch of flavor  that will elevate say a piece of grilled meat or pan seared tofu, to greatness.  It is a "mother sauce" at both Momofuku and Noodle Bar (two of David Chang's NYC eateries) where it is stirred into hot noodles, as a topping for a runny fried egg on rice, on grilled meats etc...

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions (greens and whites: from 1 to 2 large bunches)
1/2 cup finely minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
1 1/2 teaspoons usukuchi (light soy sauce)
3/4 teaspoon sherry vinegar (as I went to grab mine, it came barreling out of the cabinet and broke sending tiny shards of glass and vinegar everywhere, so I used white wine vinegar and it was fine).
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt , or more to taste

Mix together the scallions, ginger, oil, soy, vinegar and salt in a bowl.  Taste and check for salt, adding more if needed. (I really think the salt is fine, as is..more would be too salty).Thought it's best after 15-20 minutes of sitting, ginger scallion sauce is good from the minute it's stirred together up to a day or two in the fridge. Use as directed or apply as needed.