ITEMS
Head Lettuce
Green Garlic
Asparagus
Kombucha
Dozen Eggs
Baguette GF Sub: GF Dinner Rolls
PRODUCERS
Three Hearts Farm or Harlequin Produce - Bozeman or Arlee
Chance Farm - Bozeman
Lowdown Farm - Moiese
Dean's Zesty Booch - Bozeman
Willow Bend Produce - Livingston
Wild Crumb - Bozeman GF Sub: Sister's Gluten Free Bakery - Belgrade
Green Garlic
Similar to a green onion, green garlic is a young garlic plant pulled before it's cloves begin to fully form and harden. You can eat both the white and green parts. It can be used in countless applications, replacing regular garlic and/or green onion. It's a good addition to salad dressings (like this green garlic vinaigrette), egg dishes, a sauté or stir-fry, soups, pesto... you name it.
Asparagus!
We're excited to finally get our hands on some local asparagus to share with you. Asparagus is a perennial plant that isn't harvested until its 2nd year of growth. It also has a relatively short growing season. All of which means it's not widely cultivated in Montana, though it can also be found in the wild. This is a real seasonal treat!
Preparing Asparagus
Eat It Raw: It's delicious raw, but should be cut very thin to make it easier to eat. The easiest way to do this is to peel thin strips with a vegetable peeler. Alternatively, cut spears on the diagonal into thin slices. Raw asparagus can be added to salads, or eaten on its own tossed with a simple vinaigrette. Peas, mint or other spring herbs, lemon, garlic, and parmesan are all good flavor pairings with asparagus.
Eat It Cooked: you'll likely want to trim or snap the tough ends off. Alternatively, peel the outside layer off of lower portion of the spears with a vegetable peeler, which sacrifices less of the spear. You can cook it many ways, but I suggest sauteing in a hot pan, roasting in the oven, or charring on the grill. Browning concentrates and sweetens the flavor of asparagus. Olive oil, salt, and pepper are all that's needed to season it. Cook until the spears are just tender and skin has shriveled somewhat and browned in spots. Or, to make a small bunch go farther, add it risotto, pasta, or a frittata.
Roasted Asparagus with Green Garlic and Grated Parmesan
1 bunch asparagus, rinsed and tough ends trimmed or peeled
~1 Tbs olive oil
2-3 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 stalk green garlic, sliced thin crosswise or on the diagonal
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425 F and get out a cookie sheet or roasting pan. Place asparagus spears on the pan and drizzle with ~1 Tbs olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, 2 Tbs grated parmesan, and sliced green garlic. Gently toss everything to coat, spread out in an even layer, and sprinkle with another tablespoon of grated parmesan on top. Roast for about 8 minutes (less if they're very thin spears), or until asparagus starts to brown.
Spring Veggie Lettuce Wraps
Lettuce wraps are a great appetizer, or can be a fun, hands-on meal. If you want to eat them with rice, cook the rice first and start cooking the veggies with about 10 minutes left.
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 stalk green garlic, minced and separated into white/light green and dark green
1 Tbs fresh ginger, minced (sub 1 tsp ground)
2 C asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 C other veggies: mushrooms, broccoli, carrot, peas, etc. I'd use at least 2 kinds! Fresh or frozen both work.
1/4 C sliced water chestnuts (optional)
1/4 C hoisin sauce
Soy or tamari sauce to taste (optional)
Head lettuce, leaves separated, rinsed, and dried
Garnish with chopped cashews or peanuts, sesame seeds, and/or cilantro, basil, or mint.
Heat both oils together in a skillet over medium heat. Add the asparagus and other veggies and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until asparagus is crisp-tender. Add white/light green part of green garlic and ginger and cook ~1 minute, stirring frequently. Add darker green part of green garlic, hoisin sauce, and water chestnuts if using and stir, cooking about 1 minute more. Taste and add a little soy sauce if desired.
Self-serve by spooning veggie mixture into lettuce leaves and top with garnishes. I like to have hot chili sauce like sriracha and soy sauce handy for serving, too. Or if the veggie mixture seems dry you can mix up a little sauce to spoon on top with more hoisin and a little sesame oil, soy sauce, and chili paste or hot chili sauce.
This grain salad with green garlic is an easy, flexible side dish
We sent out this Asian Beef Lettuce Wrap recipe (with a vegetarian lentil adaptation) in our first-ever delivery, and it's still one of our favorites.
Eggs, asparagus and green garlic has FRITTATA written all over it.
Here's a raw asparagus salad recipe that looks worth trying
I absolutely will be trying out this Spaghetti with Green Garlic recipe