Here's what we're doing and here's what we're eating!

Doing? Garlic Scapes 'R' Us! Read more about it on my dianadyer blog here.

Eating? Last year we were so disorganized with starting the farm and getting the house repaired, barn built, etc, etc, that we often 'asked' our market customers what time we should show up for dinner. :-) This year, now that we have moved to the farm and are leading far less hectic lives (still busy, just less frazzled), eating the great food we grow and that of our fellow farmers is our nightly pleasure!

However, sometimes we are eating so late in the day (we try to use every daylight hour outside at the farm) that a 'big meal' is just too big and there is not enough energy left to fix a multi-course meal anyway. So, by making sure we always have just a few simple ingredients on hand (and rice cooked up ahead of time), this easy, simple stir-fry supper is just right for us in addition to being beautiful and delicious.

(Photo: Baby bok choi, a mild and beautiful member of the Brassica family,  from Green Things Farm in Ann Arbor plus our garlic scapes)

Cooking and eating does not need to be complicated to be satisfying nor does the table need to be 'groaning' with too much to eat or appreciate. This was 'just right' for us that night!

Where kale plus baby bok choi are more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

A kitchen as green as kale

I love kale; I love the color green. Apparently the former owner of this house also loved the color green! However, the kitchen at the farm is TOO green! In spite of that green-overload, we love the work space in the kitchen and all the storage space. In our old kitchen, we had one functional drawer and cabinets in various places of the kitchen and mudroom (lots of walking to get stuff) where all of our kitchen things were stored.

So yesterday, after buying my first kale at Ann Arbor's brand-spanking new evening farmers' market, I came right home to fix it up for supper, having everything I needed to use within easy reach.

The kale came from Hand-Sown Farm, a brand new farm in Sharon Township, south-west of Ann Arbor. The land is beautiful out there. The lettuce in the photo came from Sunseed Farm, just outside of Ann Arbor. The beet greens in the strata came from Green Diva Farm in Belleville, MI and the eggs from Bridgewater Barns Farm in Bridgewater Township, MI. The asparagus is Michigan-grown and from our local grocery store.

This is kale in its simplest use, just torn up and tossed in a salad. It was delicious and tender, not tough or slightly bitter like what is often sold in the grocery stores. I did take a few of the larger stems and cut them up to cook with the asparagus, but they were tender enough to eat without doing that.

The salad dressing again was simple, just a toss with a little olive oil and also some of our 2010 chive blossom vinegar.

Run down to your local market to pick up your kale and other greens. Remember that radishes are also Brassicas and their greens can also be eaten!

(Photo: Kale home from the market; purchased from Hand-Sown Farm in Sharon Township, MI. Yes, you are looking at a green counter-top and a green wall. What is gone is the green plaid wall-paper!)

(Photo: Dinner - stir-fried Michigan asparagus with roasted garlic from the Dyer Family Farm, kale and lettuce salad with dried tomatoes, strata made with beet greens - yes the beet greens are in there, even if I just realized they cannot seen, yum, yum, yum!)

(Photo: supper close-up!)

Where kale continues to be more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD