Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
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Just going to jump right into recipes this week!
 - Debbie

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Green Beans with pan-browned fennel and onion
I made this up last week when I was staying over at the farm with the interns... very simple to prepare, and it came out awesome!

1 large or 2-3 small fennel bulbs, sliced thinly
1 large or 2-3 small onions, peeled and sliced thinly
bag of farm green beans
olive oil, salt and pepper

In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, brown-fry (i.e. cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned) sliced fennel and onion in a generous amount of olive oil. Wash and trim green beans, cutting to desired length (or leaving whole). When onions/fennel brown-frying is almost done, steam or boil green beans until just al-dente (3 to 5 minutes, depending on amount of beans), then drain and add to pan with onions/fennel mixture. Stir and cook a few minutes more to mingle flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Using that fresh dill
There is just nothing like fresh dill! One way to keep it fresh is to trim the bottom of the stems at an angle -- like you would for a cut flower arrangement -- and place them in a jar with a few inches of fresh water. If it is not too hot, they should be okay on your kitchen counter this way. Alternatively, you can loosely cover jar and fronds with a plastic bag and place in the fridge.

Try you dill...
· on steamed, buttered potatoes
· on steamed, buttered carrots
· mixed with yogurt and tossed with diced or sliced cucumber
· simply scatter dill frond bits across lamb chops, steaks or any other cooked meat just before serving
· minced into a dip made from sour cream (or yogurt), mayonnaise, and optionally some finely minced fresh parsley

Drying dill
Don't think you'll get to using it while it is fresh? It is very easy to dry! Spread some cheesecloth or a thin cotton flour-sack towel (or paper towels, I suppose, would work too) over a metal rack which is sitting on a cookie sheet. Pinch or cut fronds from thicker stems and spread fronds out on cloth as evenly as possible. If you have an old gas oven like I do with a pilot, you can just put this into the oven (prop the door ajar an inch or two) and leave for overnight or even up to 24 hrs or so... depends on how much dill you're drying. Check on it occasionally, and when it is dry, crumble it into a jar, close the lid and keep in your spice cabinet! If you don't have an oven with a pilot, preheat it to the lowest setting then turn off heat and place pan in oven. I've also read that you can dehydrate herbs in a microwave, but haven't tried this myself.

Kale Chips
The Lacinato kale is excellent for making kale chips, otherwise known as Crispy Kale. Here is my 'recipe' for making them:

Crispy Kale
If you haven't tried this yet, I recommend you do! They're a terrific snack or appetizer. Kids will love these too if they love crispy, salty chips (potato chips, corn chips etc). I originally learned about this (via a member) from Michael Pollan's book, 'The Omnivore's Dilemma', but added my own technique. In the original recipe, it says to spray the kale leaves with a misto-type olive oil sprayer. Well, I don't have one of those, but what I came up with works really well: pour a little olive oil into the palm of your hand (wash hands first of course) then rub your hands together, then massage the leaves with your oily hands. This gives them a nice light coating of oil. Then spread them out on an ungreased baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 9 minutes (as the original recipe states 'being watchful so they don't char). Note: this 'being watchful' part is important - they're thin, and can burn quickly! Another thing I do is cut out the thick stem (before cooking), and use just the leaves. Try to get the leaves in more-or-less a single layer on the baking sheet; you can crowd them a little, that's fine, but don't layer them on top of one another.

Stack the crisped leaves on a plate (cut them in pieces if you like with a kitchen scissors) and watch them disappear. Once you start noshing on them it is really hard to stop!


I almost forgot the sugar-snap peas! How about this fun recipe I found in my clippings file for:

Caesar Potato Salad with Sugar Snap Peas
from an un-dated Bon Appetit clipping
serves 6 to 8

1 1/2 lbs unpeeled assorted fingerling potatoes or baby potatoes, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
8 oz [or thereabouts] trimmed sugar snap peas
1 bunch radishes, trimmed and sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 C olive oil
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Steam potatoes on steamer rack set in large pot over boiling water until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and steam until peas are crisp-tender and potatoes are just tender, about 1 minute longer. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Cool slightly. Add radishes and onion. Whisk next 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Whisk in Parmesan. Season dressing with salt and generous amount of pepper. Add dressing to potato mixture; toss to coat. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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