Week 4

Howdy folks,

This week we have red russian kale, purple and lemon basil, curly parsley, green onions, shiitake and broccoli sprouts.

Kale is a hearty green that is great in soups or stir fries. Make sure to keep it in the plastic bag in your crisper.

Link to quick, easy oven-roasted kale recipe: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1274

The purple basil can be used like any other sweet basil. It's flavor is a little bit more mellow than the genovese from last week. The basil goes great in tomato sauces, on pizza, sauted with veggies, etc. Its probably best to keep the basil out of the crisper or any other particularly cold part of your refrigerator as it will turn brown if its too cold. You can dry your basil and use it later if you're not sure what to do with it just yet.

Drying fresh basil. Rinse and thoroughly dry fresh whole basil leaves, about 2 cups. Place a paper towel on a microwavable plate. Lay whole basil leaves in a single layer on paper towel. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Turn plate and microwave at 30 second intervals until basil is dry. Store leaves in an airtight container until ready to use, then crumble into recipe.

Lemon basil can be substituted in any recipe that calls for lemons. You'll easily be able to identify it by the smell.

Curly parsley is pretty self explanatory.

You can use all parts of the green onions. Store in a plastic bag in the crisper.

Lately we've been sauteing the shiitake with butter, garlic, red wine and french tarragon. It is most excellent.

The broccoli sprouts are great on salads, sandwiches and any sort of asian dish.

We're hoping to have zucchini, swiss chard, and beans next week! If you have any questions about the boxes just shoot us an email at info@herbalturtlefarms.com or direct queries to Facebook. We still have t-shirts if you are interested and we are getting in kids sizes this week. Also, the Land Stewardship Project Hog Roast is going to be held out at the Crigler Family Farm on Sunday, August 15 from 12-4. There will be a potluck, hog roast and farm tours with a bunch of great folks. We'd love to see you out there!

Cheers!