what's cookin at Wheatberry (and birthday recap)

Starting this week, we have fresh kale chips to serve with our sandwiches at Wheatberry.  I thought I'd share the recipe.  To begin, take one toddler out to the garden fresh with some much-needed rain

Pick tender young kale leaves (or get some from your local farmer - preferably the smaller young leaves).  Spread on a baking sheet, and coat lightly with oil (about a tablespoon oil for a cup of kale) and sprinkle generously with salt (1 tsp).  Use a silpat on your baking sheet if you have one.

Bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes, checking often.  They will continue to crisp after you take them out, so just be careful not to burn them!

And voila.  Eat them up for a snack, or as a delicious (and ridiculously healthy) addition to any meal.  I made these at 8 in the morning and couldn't stop eating them. 

Also at Wheatberry these days, we are now making our own cream cheese!  Yay!  If you're wondering what the difference might be, imagine the difference between an apple pie bought at the grocery store, and one made at home.  Unless you've made it yourself, you've never tasted handmade cream cheese before (the kind at the store isn't cultured, it's thickened with guar gum and other weird industrial by-products).  So come on down and taste some real food!  We're using an adapted version of the cream cheese in Ricki Carroll's wonderful Home Cheesemaking.

In wheat news, we've just gotten word from White Oak Farm that our first harvest is only four weeks away!  So exciting!!  We're working hard to get a grain dryer and seed cleaners in place, to make sure this harvest gets done right.  Also on a grain note, we've heard from some CSA members that they would like some grain cooking classes, to prepare for their shares.  We would love to hear from more of you - do you want classes starting this summer, or would you rather wait until you have your shares?  Which grains do you most want to learn about?  You can leave comments for us right here on the blog, and then you'll get to see what your fellow CSA members are interested in, also!

And finally, the birthday recap.  I got almost all my crafting done in time.  Here's Ella's birthday banner in progress . . .

and the finished project with our new two year old!

Hope everyone had a great week, and don't forget to share your thoughts about grain cooking classes with us!  (Or any other thoughts, for that matter.)

Comments

[Seth]

Cooking classes are a great idea! How about ones that focus on the more unusual ways to prepare our share? Maybe Leslie Cerier would be a good resource.

[Heather]

I would love to get some information about the grains before the share distribution. Mainly, I’d like to know what form each of the grains will be in. For example, will we get the wheat in the form of wheat berries? Will the oats be rolled? Is the corn dried or cracked? Are the sunflower seeds with the hull or already dehulled? Same question for the rye, barley, and flax. I would also appreciate getting any storage tips before the share pickup. For me, this type of information would be the most helpful.

Beyond that, I certainly wouldn’t turn down the opportunity for cooking classes, but basic cooking tips and simple recipes would be welcome.

[Adrie]

Great questions Heather!
More info about what you'll get can be found here: http://localgrain.org/csa
(New improved website is almost ready!)

And we're planning to distribute basic recipes and cooking instructions with the share. The basic answer to your question is that all the grains and seeds will be delivered whole, for best storage (this is designed to be a year's worth). We will have a mill available at Wheatberry. Storage should be in a cool, dry place for the most part.

[Heather]

Do you have any suggestions for books that might be helpful to read in preparation -- either for information re: processing and storage or for recipes?