Kale30-10-11
Hello everyone,
Here, little by little, the weather is cooling. Also little by little a few drops of rain fell to the ground from the sky in several areas. Accordingly, now joining the seasonal variety of vegetables are all of the leafy ones that we missed or maybe even forgot about. So, here is green refresher #1:
Kale: the cabbage's great great mother.
This is ours, pink Kale
but it comes in other shapes and colors
And this is Kale too- it is used because of it's hardiness for gardening. Recognize it?
When new English-speaking members ask regarding what we do, one of their first questions is "are you familiar with the vegetable Kale?" in israel, Kale is not so common and almost impossible to find in stores. Abroad, on the other hand, it is known as the queen of cultivated leaves - healthy and delicious. A winning ingredient in all combinations.
The Kale is an easy crop to grow and is resistant to the warmer weather, relative to the other green leaves. It's easy-to-grow nature has allowed it to be grown in different soil and weather conditions around the world. So much so that it became an important ingredient in the African-American slaves "soul food". Also during WWII in England they encouraged growing it as part of the rationing policy. The Romans grew it and took it with them everywhere. Until the Middle Ages it was probably the most grown vegetable in many parts of the world. To this day there are traditional recipes from different continents requiring only it.
It reminds me a bit of the vegetable I want to talk about later, which is also a healthy green which is sometimes taken for granted, her mother grows here wild and was a most important nutritional supplement during the siege of Jerusalem, the Silka. But wait soon...
The Kale is actually a primitive cabbage and full of nutritional fiber and lots and lots of vitamin K, C, beta carotene, calcium and iron.
As a member of the cruciferous family it is full of antioxidants and can be eaten fresh in salads, (veggie shake drinkers must have encountered it in many shake recipes) and is also excellent steamed or sautéed . in fact, you can do with it everything that you would with a cabbage or spinach or chard.
In Asia the Kale is sautéed with meat. in Holland Kale is an important component of a traditional dish called Boerenkool. In Ireland Kale is half the ingredients of Colcannon, which is a traditional dish of mashed potatoes and Kale. In Africa the Kale is boiled in coconut milk to make a kind of soup in which the Ogli is dipped - some kind of mashed something. In Brazil and Portugal there is a traditional dish called Caldo Verde, a green soup requiring Kale (recipe later).
The Kale is essentially the great great mama of the cabbage, a kind of primitive cabbage. It was cultivated for many years by keeping the seeds of the plants that produced the largest leaves, and that is how kale slowly developed from the wild Kale to the Kale we know.
Have a cool fun week
Maggie
Reciepes:
Ayib be Gomen - תבשיל קייל אתיופי
KALE WITH ANCHOVY AND CHILLI DRESSING
Our expectation list for this week follows. You may read about any of the listed vegetables by clicking its name on the list on the left side of the web page. If there are any changes (nature being nature), you may find out about them via this link on the day of delivery.With all of the new beginnings and endings, lets hope for only good changes - in the boxes also.
Regular boxes:
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Lettuce
Parsley
Mustard Greens
Daikon Radish
Eggp;ants
Pumpkin
Sweet Potatoes
Turnips
In the large ones also
New Ziland Spinach
colorabi
Bazil
Rokat
Fruit baskets
Oranges, Lemons and Apples