Bonus Beet Greens
Exciting news! Do you remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that Mama Robin was building a nest? Well, this morning, I see that three baby robins have hatched. She is diligently feeding them. I don’t know how long before they leave the nest, but I’m keeping my eye on them. This spot on the pergola in the shade of a non-blooming wisteria has proven to be a safe choice for many robin families well in years past.
On my last trip to Costco, I made an impulse buy. A new cookbook called Eating Local by Janet Fletcher. The book is filled with creative recipes for ordinary and unusual vegetables (and fruits) you might find at the farmers market. One recipe that caught my eye was Beet Greens and Stems with Whipped Feta.
I’ve probably mentioned how I enjoy the bonus of making something to eat from the scraps of the main event. Beet greens are one of those bonus ingredients. You get them for free with every bunch of beets. I’m sure many people discard them. I do when they look tired. However, when I bought beets last week at the Lexington Farmers Market, they were about as fresh as you can get. I cut off the greens and stored them in a large plastic container, sandwiched between damp paper towels, one on the bottom and one on the top. A week later, they still look great.
For this recipe, the greens and stems are separately boiled and then sautéed with garlic. They are served together with the whipped feta. I loved the whipped feta. I’m thinking of all the other things I can eat it with. For starters, I plan to spread some on the bun when I have a leftover lamb burger for lunch tomorrow.
I think this recipe would be equally good with Swiss chard. The stems on chard are much sturdier, so I think I would cut the stems into ¼-inch slices, instead of the 1-inch that I cut the skinny beet stems.
Beet Greens and Stems with Whipped Feta
Adapted from Eating Local by Janet Fletcher
Serves 2-3
¾ lb beet greens (use beets for something else)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
Separate the beet leaves from the stems. Slice the stems into 1-inch pieces.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the beet leaves and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove leaves from the pot and place in a colander. Run cold water over the leaves to stop the cooking. (Leave the water boiling, we’re going to use it again.) Squeeze the greens dry and coarsely chop.
Let the pot of water return to a boil. Add the beet stems, and cook until tender about 5 minutes. Drain into a colander and again run cold water over them to stop the cooking. (This time you can just pour everything into the colander; we’re done with the water.) Pat the stems dry with paper towels (they will stain a dish towel, which is what I would normally use.)
In a skillet, preferably non-stick, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add half of the garlic and heat for 1 minute, until fragrant, but not brown. Add the beet leaves, and sauté until they are warmed. Toss with 1 tsp lemon juice. Season to taste. Remove to a serving plate.
In the same skillet, heat another 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add remaining garlic and heat for 1 minute, until fragrant, but not brown. Add the beet stems, and sauté until they are warmed. Toss with 1 tsp lemon juice. Season to taste. Remove to the same serving plate.
Serve with the whipped feta.
Whipped Feta
½ lb feta cheese, slightly crumbled
1 small clove garlic, minced
Dash of Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes)
1 tsp freshly chopped mint
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Combine all the ingredients in the food processor and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
The Fruits of Our Labor
I love when it’s time for strawberry picking. We were in Maine this weekend, where strawberries came in season two and a half weeks early this year.
Saturday was a beautiful sunny day. We went to our favorite local picking fields at Chipman Farm in Poland, Maine. It was Day 8 of their season. The berries were gorgeous. It was so easy to pick perfect berries. We went wild! We picked 23 pounds (two large trays).
We made jam with about half of our harvest. Several years ago, we met an older woman while picking raspberries. She introduced me to concept of making the no-cook version of jam on the pectin box insert. On the downside, the jam isn’t shelf stable and needs to be stored in the freezer. However, there are enough benefits to make it worthwhile to clear out the needed freezer space.
First, after all the blazing hot summer afternoons or evenings I’ve spent standing over a pot of boiling water to sterilize the jars and process the final product, the no-cook recipe lets you “put up” the fruit without any sweat. Secondly, and most important, is the superior taste. The berries aren’t actually cooked, so even in the dead of winter, they will taste just like summer.
First, you mash the berries in a bowl. Then, you combine the sugar and pectin with some water and bring it a rolling boil for one minute. Off heat, you stir in the fruit for one minute. Ta-da! It’s ready to pour into those little Ziploc or Glad (or supermarket brand) plastic containers.
I’ve had excellent luck with the low sugar version, which does require the Low Sugar pectin, not regular. The one thing I noticed is that, once you move the jam from the freezer to the refrigerator, you need to use the jam within a week or two, or it starts to get moldy. With the regular sugar recipe, it lasts in the fridge much longer. However, the low sugar recipe uses 3 cups of sugar to 4 cups of mashed berries per batch where the regular sugar version uses 4 cups of sugar to 2 cups of mashed berries. Because it’s the fruit I want to taste, I’d rather reduce the sugar.
In the end, we made 3 batches of strawberry jam, about 19 containers. We set aside enough strawberries to enjoy fresh for the rest of the week. The remaining berries go into the freezer, where they will be enjoyed in frozen drinks, like daiquiris and margaritas, over the summer.
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Makes 6 cups of jam
4 cups crushed strawberries (start with about 2 quarts ripe strawberries)
3 cups sugar
1 box Sure Jell Pectin For Less or No Sugar Needed
1 cup water
I store my jam in 1-cup sized plastic containers. If you buy them new, be sure to wash them and dry them first.
In a bowl, crush the strawberries, about 1 cup at a time. I use an old-fashioned potato masher, the kind that looks like a grid. I find this works best. You will need exactly 4 cups of crushed berries.
In a large pot, mix the sugar and pectin. Stir in the water. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it boils, keep stirring for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Add the berries and stir for 1 minute. The mixture should be well blended.
Immediately fill the containers to within ½ inch of the top. Wipe off the top edges of the containers and cover immediately. Let the jam stand at room temperature for about 24 hours. You can eat it right away, or freeze for up to one year. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator before using. The jam can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
A Plateful of Happiness 