...clearly I am not describing myself, unless of course women who are six feet tall are suddenly deemed 'tiny'. No, 'tiny but intense' best befits micro-greens. Let me tell you, I cannot get my fill of these petite doses of green. And, in this 'super-sized' world we live in, it is so incredibly refreshing to find something so wonderfully tasty in micro-size.
Hitting the last few indoor farmers markets, the biggest clue that we are nearing outdoor market season (
fyi...Green City kicks off the outdoor Chicago area farmers market season on May 12th. How excited am I?!?) is the presence of the micro-greens. Nothing complicated or exotic here, micro-greens are simply the seedlings that are harvested before developing into mature greens and/or herbs. Oh, but add a few micro-greens to a dish and turn on the instant 'wow' factor. Those you are feeding just might think they are being served something complex and exotic, when all you prepared was a simple omelet that suddenly looks fresher, prettier and most important, tastier.
I dare not call them 'cute'. No, nothing 'cute' could pack such a punch of flavor and nutrition. Think of them as a super concentrated form of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and a zing of flavor. A great way to sneak in more 'healthy' into any dish. And back to 'keep it simple' in the kitchen, what could be easier than adding some to a sandwich or wrap (
boy that trumps a flavorless leaf of iceberg), garnish a pizza, quesadilla, stir fry, or piece of grilled fish, add to sushi and maki rolls, salads, or forget the mature salad greens and make a salad using only micro greens. The other day I gave my favorite Spring dish of grilled asparagus topped with a fried egg the 'wow' factor with a topping of
Three Sisters Garden mixed mirco-greens. I did not think I could love this dish more.
Wow, I do love this dish more.
Some of my favorite sources for
la petite greens are
Three Sisters Garden mixed micros and petite pea greens,
Tiny Greens for, oh where do I begin, bronze fennel, radish, curly cress, arugula, amaranth, onion, sunflower, to name a handful, and
Heritage Prairie Farms for mixed micros. I recommend using your greens soon after getting them home, but if you are not ready to use right away, store in a closed container (
the plastic bag or container you brought them home in are perfectly fine) in the fridge for up to a week.
Micro-greens: proof that great things come in small packages (present company excluded from that statement of course ;)
See you at the markets!
Mo
moira@efete.net
Labels: Chicago Farmers Markets, Heritage Prairie Farms, micro greens, seasonal organic produce, Three Sister's Garden, Tiny Greens
For some of us with Irish ancestry, one of the things we look forward to on St. Patrick's Day is Irish soda bread and brown bread. And for others of said ancestry, Irish soda bread was just something you had everyday. How envious was I of my friend, Maura Kelly, whose mom baked soda bread EVERY morning. Maura would show up to school, with still warm slices of the raisin-speckled, unleavened heaven. And yes, of course there was butter to top those slices with.
And here I always thought that Mary Poppins and Maria Von Trapp were the best 'moms' (okay not really moms but in my child mind they were great stand-ins), but here comes Mrs Kelly, a real mom, who bakes bread every morning?!? Yeah, mother of the year for sure!* I stared so longingly at Maura's slices of steaming soda bread everyday that eventually her mom took pity on me and started sending along slices to share with 'the other Moira'.
To set the record straight Mrs. Kelly's, and most of the 'irish soda breads' we have all come to know, is actually Spotted Dog. A traditional 'soda bread' contains the following ingredients period, end of story: flour, baking soda, salt, and soured milk (buttermilk). Now this is more your 'brown' bread you take with every meal variety.
Irish Brown Bread. On every table in Ireland, at every meal: breakfast, lunch and tea. Seriously I cannot get enough of the stuff when I have been a visitin'. But try to re-create that grainy goodness stateside, and it just falls short without lots of adds-ins like oat bran, wheat bran, wheat germ, and trust me, I have been tinkering with this for a long time. Until now. I have finally discovered the PERFECT organic whole wheat flour to recreate the perfect brown bread. And to think it has been right under my nose at the
Green City Market the whole time.
Heritage Prairie Farms stone ground organic whole wheat flour.
Heritage Prairie Farms grinds whole wheat, grown by Ted's Organic Grains, to just the perfect point, leaving all the nutricious bran and germ in tact. And now once again a perfect brown bread. Slainte.
Mo's Irish Brown Bread
3 1/2 cups Heritage Prairie Farms Organic Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup sugar (I know, not a purist)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut in small pieces
2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dust baking sheet with cooking spray and flour.
In a large bowl mix together flour, oats, baking soda and sugar. Using fingers or pastry cutter work in butter until it resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in buttermilk until a dough is formed. Turned dough onto a floured work surface and knead for about one minute. Shape into a ball and place onto baking sheet. Flatten dough to about 1 1/2" high. Cut cross in the top, brush with buttermilk and sprinkle some oats on top. Bake approximately 35 minutes.
Mo
p.s. so are you hankering to get my secret recipe for Spotted Dog? email me at moira@efete.net
*seriously not fair to expect my mother of Ukrainian ancestry to bake Irish Soda Bread daily and god knows she made more than enough from scratch. I mean who bakes homemade hamburger buns?!?
Labels: Green City Market, Heritage Prairie Farms, Irish Brown Bread, seasonal organic produce, Three Sister's Garden
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