Ingredients:
1 head of Cauliflower
2 TBS Ghee (melted)
1/4c. Bufalo Sauce (I like Tessemae's Mild Buffalo).
1 TBS. Celery Salt

Directions:
1. Wash and cut cauliflower into small florets.  
2. In a bowl combine the cauliflower, melted ghee, and buffalo sauce and mix until the florets are well coated.
3. Spread on a roasting pan (making sure the florets do not overlap) and sprinkle with celery salt.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-50 minutes are until Cauliflower is crispy.

Barr Farms was part of hosting a really cool farm to table dinner at MESA, a Collaborative Kitchen in New Albany.  Chef Peggy of Ready, Set, Prepp'd prepared an amazing dinner full of Barr Farms deliciousness. I was talking about the farm so didn't get to eat, but it looked so good, that I made it myself at home the next day. Chef Peggy was generous enough to share her recipes, and let me share them with you! I love chard, and I have never had chard this way. It was so incredible, I couldn't get enough! I made a double batch, and we ate it all! The dinner actually wasn't that hard to prepare, and was really fun to make. Just to note, I roasted my chicken whole, not spatchcocked, and it only took about an hour because I was using smaller birds. Be sure to have a meat thermometer handy so you can take the chicken out of the oven when it just reaches "done". Overdone chicken equals dry meat. And pickled chard stems? Oh my goodness, I'm going to have these handy every week. I'm loving them!

Roasted Chicken with Yellow Corn Grits, Coconut Braised Greens and Pickled Chard Stems
 
Serves 4-6
 
For the Roasted Chicken
 
1 whole chicken, spatchcocked
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
 
Preheat oven to 325 F.
 
In a small bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, black pepper, and salt.
 
Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and liberally rub on spice mix on both sides.
 
Line a large baking sheet with a trivet and spray with non-stick spray. Place chicken, skin-side up, onto trivet and roast in oven for 90 minutes – or until internal temperature of thigh area reaches 165 F.
Let cool, then shred/pull as desired.
 
For Yellow Corn Grits
 
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ear of corn, grilled and kernels removed from the cob
1 cup Weisenberger yellow corn grits (or any non-instant grits)
Salt, pepper – to taste
 
 
In a large pot, bring chicken stock, heavy cream, and butter to a simmer – right below a boil.
 
Whisk in corn and grits – constantly whisking for a good 2-3 minutes.
 
Reduce heat to a simmer, and continue to cook for about 20-25 minutes – whisking almost continuously to avoid scorching.
 
 
Coconut Braised Greens
 
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 onion, peeled and julienned
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1” piece of ginger, peeled and minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes – more if you want an extra kick J
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 bunch collard greens, stems removed, washed, and leaves thinly sliced
1 bunch swiss chard, stems removed (but reserved for pickle recipe), washed, and leaves thinly sliced
14 oz. can coconut milk
Salt, pepper – to taste
2 tablespoons lime juice
 
 
Preheat oven to 350 F.
 
In a large dutch oven or oven-proof pot, melt coconut oil over medium heat on the stovetop.
 
Add onions and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
 
Stir in garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and curry powder. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in coconut milk and bring mixture to a boil.
 
Reduce heat to a simmer and add the greens by the handful. Stir until slightly wilted and coated well with liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then cover and transfer to pot to the oven to braise for 1 hour.
 
Remove pot from the oven and finish with greens by stirring in the lime juice.
 
 

 
For the Pickled Chard Stems
 
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch of chard stems, thinly sliced on the bias
 
 
In a small pot, combine the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, black peppercorns and red pepper flakes – and bring to a boil.
 
Once sugar is dissolved, turn off heat and let mixture cool slightly.
 
Place chard stems in a shallow container or bowl, and pour pickling liquid over top – completely submerging the chard stems (can add a plate or weight on top to accomplish this if needed).
 
Let pickle in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.
 
Stored covered in the refrigerator, can be kept for up to 14 days.
 
 
To plate dish – Spoon grits into a large bowl. Top with braised greens, pulled chicken, and pickled chard stems.

Saag is one of my favorite dishes to make because it's so easy and adaptable and a great way to eat a lot of greens! I use a very basic approach. If you want a more refined version my sister-in-law (who is one of the best cooks I know) check out this link.

For my basic version, I chop onions or garlic or both. Have them ready, but separated. Start cooking the spices first, in a couple tablespoons of oil. Fresh ginger, ground turmeric, cumin, coriander. (I hear fenugreek is good too, but I actually haven't done that one yet. Maybe tonight!)

After about a minute, add onions. Cook about 5-10 minutes. If it looks like the spices are starting to burn, add just enough water that they don't burn.  Add garlic and greens at the same time. This is the best part. You can use ANY kinds of greens you want. At least two bunches, up to five. Be sure the greens are chopped very, very small. Salt to taste.

Cook 10-20 minutes.  Add chickpeas, potatoes, chicken, tofu or paneer (choose one). Serve over rice.

Here's another great meal to try Cajun Baked Tofu with Braised Collards and Grits:  

Gluten Free Chocolate Kale Muffins
Recipe by Mallory Froman
​
Ingredients:

• 1 C. Coconut Milk (canned/full fat)
• 2 C. Fresh Kale
• 1 Banana
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 C. Honey
• 1/4 C. Melted Coconut Oil
• 2 C. Oat Flour (you can make your own by blending GF oats in a food processor)
• 1/2 C. Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp. Soda
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/4 C. Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (optional)

Directions:

1. In a blender, blend banana, kale, and coconut milk until very smooth.  Poor into a bowl.
2. Add remaining wet ingredients and stir well (vanilla, eggs, honey, melted coconut oil).
3. Add all the dry ingredients and mix well (oat flour, cocoa powder, soda, and salt).
4. Line muffins tins with liners.  Scoop batter into muffin tins filling 3/4 of the way up.
5. Sprinkle the tops with mini chocolate chips.
6. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or cooked through (they’ll start to crack and little on the top).

​Harvests have been lush!  Even though it's been hot, the early fields of greens still look great, with broccoli and cauliflower on the way!
 
We've been planting a lot!  With the days still getting longer with the summer solstice just three weeks away, the rush is on to get as much as we can in the ground. In mid-May, we direct seeded carrots, arugula and turnips.  This week, we used the new vacuum seeder to plant sweet corn, okra, dry beans and sorghum.  (See photos below). That was about 1.5 acres total.   We also planted an acre of winter squash: butternut, spaghetti and delicata.   This last week was very hot and dry for us, so got the irrigation system up and running a little earlier than usual to water to get those seeds to germinate, especially the ones planted in mid-May.  So the unexpected rain on Sunday was perfect timing for the vegetable fields!  

It was really fun to use the vacuum seeder and think of all the people who contributed to helping us get that this year. It made that work so much quicker, and will be such a boon come weeding time! It also is wonderful to be doing this work for such a supportive community.  Thank you!

On Sunday, we also had our annual "3 sisters" planting of corn, beans and squash.  We plant heirloom seeds that have been shared among friends and passed down from generations past.  The corn is rainbow colored... white, red and purple kernels to grind into cornmeal to make cornbread. We plant this as a community patch, where folks from Sustainable Agriculture Louisville come out to work together for the planting. We plant by hand, the old-fashioned way. The "3 sisters" work together in a symbiotic relationship.  The corn grows tall, the beans climb up it, and the squash covers the ground with a ground cover to shade out the weeds. There are one or two weeding days before the winter squash leaves cover the ground, but once they are established, we don't have to do much else to it until harvest time in October or November.  On harvest day, we share the bounty with who is there. What is harvested from this patch is never for sale, it's only meant to be shared. It's a special tradition we've been doing for eight or nine years now. On Sunday, we were finishing the very last row when the rains started. It felt like such a blessing on our little community, and the work we had just completed together.

​My CSA Farm Share bag is full of greens! What do I do?!!
Lacinato kale, red Russian kale, Swiss chard, collards... oh my!  How do I go through all these greens in a week? (or two).

Here are some ideas!

Kale salad!
De-stem kale, chop small. Massage dressing (vinegar, oil and a little sweetener) into kale. Add accents.
Dressing idea: balsamic vinegar, olive oil, a little maple syrup or honey. Shake in a jar to combine, then pour over raw kale.  After you massage the dressing into the kale, let sit for about an hour before serving. This helps begin to break down the kale making it easier to digest.
Accents: I really like dried cherries and sliced almonds.  Other options include: sliced strawberries, pine nuts, feta cheese, green onion or garlic scapes, raisins ... you can get creative

Big Pot O Greens
Destem all the kale and collards in your box (or you can do two separate pots). Throw it in a giant pot. Add one to two inches of water. Cook about ten to twenty minutes. Serve over beans and rice.  Each person can season to their tastes. Options include: vinegars, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, coconut aminos.
Leftover greens from your pot? Form into balls, freeze on a cookie sheet for 1-2 hours. Then put into storage bags for insta-greens in the winter.

Greens sauté
Use onions and garlic scapes as a base. Sauté in olive or avocado oil. Add chard stems (chopped small). Cook about 5 minutes. Add de-stemmed, chopped greens. Kale first. Cook 1-2 minutes. Then chard. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Season to taste.

Quinoa salad
This is a good basic cold salad. Base is quinoa and a legume, like chickpeas. From there, you really can do anything. This time if year, I would cook the chard stems with the garlic scapes and base of the green onion. let cool and add. Cut chard into ribbons and add raw. Or cut collards into ribbons, cook and add. In a week or two, add roasted broccoli, cauliflower, carrots or beets. Add chopped green onions. Add feta. Toss with some good vinegar. Voila. Lunches for the week.

Soup
Start with good, homemade bone broth. Add any veggies you want. Dinner is served.

Now is the time to prep your kitchen to make cooking with your CSA easier! Here are the things I use most often:

-- Knife and cutting board. (okay, duh, but be sure those knives are sharp!)
-- Good pans, including cast iron skillet. (optional on the cast iron, but I use mine every day. It's my go-to pan.)
-- Salad spinner. While you can make do without, I use mine a lot because we love salads. Ours is one that you can also store the dried lettuce in the fridge to keep it fresh, so that's why it's an "essential" for me. We prep the lettuce as soon as we get it and eat on the salad all week long, or as long as it'll last.
-- Food processor. This one is a pricey investment, but I use it ALL the time. I use the shredder attachment to shred carrots, beets, zucchini and more. I make a carrot or carrot-beet salad of raw shredded carrots with either plain yogurt or mayo with a little cinnamon and raisins. It's a great salad if you're out of lettuce!
-- Crock pot or Instant Pot. These are great for when you need to throw something together in the morning and have dinner ready when you walk in the door. Soups are great this way, or a beef or pork roast. Here's a good Cuban-style marinade for steaks or to cook roasts. (When you cook a roast, it's good to have an acid in there to help break down the meat).

These are probably my top five. Some other suggestions include:
A sharp peeler is a good tool, and some people tell me a peeler-spiralizer is great, but I don't have that yet. I think there are other kinds of spiralizers, too.
An immersion blender is something I use a lot too, for making creamy soups or morning smoothies with veggies thrown in.
I use my dutch oven (a heavey ceramic coated pan) a lot for roasts, like roasting a whole chicken, or slow cooks in the oven, but you can also just use a baking dish or even a cookie sheet with a good lip.

If you want to get fancy and go to the next level of food preservation, you could look into a dehydrator and fermenting crocks. And some people tell me they love their mandoline, microplane grater and Julienne peeler, but so far, I've been able to live without those.

So tell me: what are your kitchen essentials? Did I miss anything? If you've been in the CSA awhile, and have some cooking tips for new members, please share, and I'll pass it along! Do you meal plan? Food prep the day you get your veggies? How do you make the CSA work for you?

Produce Manager Job Description:
The Produce Manager makes sure that we supply our customers with the best and freshest produce in the proper amounts. The Produce Manager at Barr Farms will oversee the “Pack Shed” operations, including post-harvest handling and order fulfillment logistics of all farm products. The ideal candidate will be reliable, have a positive attitude, strong communication and organizational skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment. The Produce Manager will manage incoming freshly harvested vegetables and outgoing products. Daily tasks include receiving, washing, packing, storage, and distribution of harvested crops. 


See Full Job Description HERE.