ITEMS
Lacinato Kale
Red Radishes
Westland Apples
Rainbow Eggs
Champan de Salsa
Purple Barley GF sub Black Chickpeas
PRODUCERS
Amaltheia Organic Dairy - Belgrade
Chance Farm - Four Corners
Gallatin Valley Botanical - Bozeman
Black Dog Farm - Livingston
Farmented Foods - Bozeman
Timeless Natural Food - Conrad
"CSA" Kale Salad with Apple
This recipe came from our old CSA years ago. It could also be made as a coleslaw: slice the kale into thin strips, and shred all the hard veggies (apple, radish, carrot), using about 1 cup of each. Toss with your favorite coleslaw dressing. For the salad...
What you'll need:
1 bunch kale, washed, de-stemmed, and chopped into ~1 inch pieces, or sliced thin
2-3 radishes, sliced thin
1 apple, cored and sliced thin (use 2 if they're small)
1-2 carrots, sliced thin
~2 Tbs thinly sliced scallions or other onion
1 tbs fresh parsley - or cilantro, basil, mint, etc.
You could also add chopped nuts or seeds, goat cheese, shredded parmesan, etc.
Dressing:
2 Tbs olive oil (plus more for massaging kale)
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce or tamari
1 1/2 tsp agave syrup, maple syrup, or honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar. You might need to warm the honey a little first, if using. Put the chopped kale in a large bowl and drizzle with ~1 Tbs olive oil. You can use a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice as well, if you want. Massage the oil into the kale with your hands until all the leaves are well-coated and softening. Add the sliced veggies, scallions, and herbs to the bowl. Drizzle some dressing over the top and toss, taste and add more dressing if desired.
Purple Barley
Barley is a nutty, chewy grain related to wheat and farro. It's also the primary grain in most beer: once it's been roasted and malted it provides the sugars that allow beer to ferment. Montana is the 2nd largest producer of barley in the country, and much of that becomes livestock feed or is malted for domestic beer production. But it is a nutritious and versatile human food, too!
This purple strain of barley is high in protein, fiber, and antioxidants. It's been partially pearled, which means it's polished to remove some (but not all) of the bran, allowing it to be cooked faster than hulled barley. It can be used in soups and stews, added to salads, used as a rice alternative (risotto, fried rice, rice pudding, etc.), or ground into flour and use as substitute for a portion of regular flour. I have no doubt you will find some delicious barley recipes if you don't have any already. Below are 2 basic ways you can prepare it, but those can just be a starting point.
Bake it:
Preheat oven to 375. Use 1 C barley, 2 C water, 1 Tbs unsalted butter, and 1 tsp salt (or 1 Tbs salted butter and just a pinch of salt). Place everything into a glass or ceramic baking dish with a lid. Mix well to combine, cover the pot with foil, and then place the lid over the foil. Bake for 1 hour. You can serve it as a simple side, like rice, or use it for any number of other dishes.
Simmer it:
Add 2/3 C of barley and 4 C water to a pot, and 1/4 tsp salt if you want. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover with a lid, and simmer until cooked, about an hour. Drain well. For a reduced cook time you can cover the barley with water and soak it overnight (or all day), then bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. [NOTE: you don't need that much water to cook the barley - I think the package suggests 2 1/2 C water to 1 C barley. This method is simply more like cooking pasta than rice]
Black Chickpeas
Our gluten-free subscriptions got Black Chickpeas, also from Timeless Natural Food. I can't say enough good things about these: they are so delicious. We've used them in Indian curry and replaced some of the lentils in a lentil vegetable soup. As with most dried beans, it takes a little forethought to cook them, but once cooked they're easy to add to many different recipes, or tossed into a salad for a little extra texture and protein. I like to cook more than I need so I have extra for other dishes.
The Timeless Natural Food website also has a database of recipes, if you ever want more ideas for their grains and legumes: www.timelessfood.com/recipes