Grilled Lettuce (Wait... What?)

We're at the Great Falls Farmer's Market again this season after a few years off. We did the market our first two years, but then kids arrived and we took a little break, focusing on selling our food through our farm shares (CSA) and wholesale to our favorite places (Mountain Front Market in Choteau, 2J's Fresh Market in Great Falls, Daisy's Deli in Great Falls and soon, Wines by Wednesday in Great Falls.)

While all that (CSA and wholesale) continues to grow, we still decided to do the market this year, mostly in an effort to support the food community in Great Falls and meet more people who might be interested in what we do and grow.

So, far, it's been slow, though. I'm trying not to feel desperate about it. My hope is that it picks up as people get to know us again. It's still early. We have a nice display (if I do say so myself), and we're trying to put all sorts of tips we've heard and found to use. So, it will pick up. I know it will.

But for now, I'm bringing home a fair bit of produce after each market. This week, I brought home more lettuce than I would like to.

We won't sell that lettuce wholesale after it's been in cooler for four hours and we won't give our CSA members anything but the freshest picked produce either.

So, that leaves it up to us to eat everything we bring home.

Kale and chard and other veggies I can freeze for winter. Or, make smoothies or make kale chips (which is how we powered through 6 bunches of kale in one day this week) or soups for the freezer.

But lettuce. You can only eat so many salads, you know?

So, I've been doing a riduculous amount of research on non-salad uses of lettuce. As it turns out, there's lots of things you can do with lettuce that don't involve chopping it up and slathering it with ranch dressing. (Who knew? Certainly not me.)

This one, so far has been my favorite.

Grilled Lettuce

Most recipes on the web call for only romaine hearts, but we thought grilled Black Seeded Simpson lettuce was DELICIOUS. The thing about the lettuce we grow is that it actually tastes good. It actually has flavor and texture -- not that lifeless stuff that's been on a truck for the last week. The charring just makes our lettuce even better, bringing out those unique flavors and characteristics.

Here's what you'll need:

1 huge head of Black Seeded Simpson (or romaine) lettuce
1 Tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper

Here's what you'll do:

1. Preheat your grill to medium high heat.
2. Trim off most of the leafy part of the lettuce head and throw that in a salad spinner to wash up and use later for a salad (dang! there's still a salad involved!) or sandwhiches or wraps or whatever.
3. Cut the head down the center of the stalk. (Here's where this gets awesome. Normally, we don't use the stalk -- especially as the season progresses and that stalk gets thicker and longer. Why don't we use it? Because it's thick and doesn't quite fit in a salad. But, grilled! Oh my!)
4. Submerge both sides into cold water for a few seconds to get it cleaned in all its crevasses.
5. Pat dry and let drain a little on a platter.
6. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a generous amount of course salt and pepper (a little minced garlic too if you're into that.)
7. Place on the hot grill and grill for 5 minutes or so a piece -- until the stalk is tender and the leaves are bit charred and crispy.
8. Top with Parmesan cheese or a creamy dressing and eat with a knife and fork, like a big beautiful green steak.

Other ideas for lettuce: 

Lettuce wraps, including tacos! (We love this awesome lentil taco filling with our black lentils.)
Lettuce soup
Lettuce smoothies

Happy Earth Day: Celebrate by Supporting Local Food in the Great Falls Area!

Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, we planted hundreds of trees today to build the shelterbelt along the South side of the vegetable garden.

And, today also kicks off a great promotion with 2J's Fresh Market in Great Falls in which the market is giving away farm shares from Prairie Heritage Farm and our friends at Groundworks Farm up the road. To enter, you need to "like" 2J's Facebook page and comment on the picture announcing the contest.

2J's has been a big supporter of what we do. In general, they do a lot to help promote local food in the Great(er) Falls area, but they also buy and sell quite a few of our veggies.

This year, we're planning to produce even more for the market. We will be at the store on Friday afternoon to sample a few of our favorite dishes and talk to people about local agriculture and Community Supported Agriculture farm shares. Come by and say hello if you're in the neighborhood.

And, now, in other news from the farm.

We have pigs. (Thanks to the pork operation over at Groundworks. Hoo boy. They raise some good pastured pork.)

And sheep.

 And sheep with baby lambs.

And  on the grains front, we've started working with this ahhh-maze-ing coffee shop in Great Falls, The Crooked Tree. They've been experimenting with some of our flour and will be using some of our veggies this season as well in their baked goods.

And we've been doing some experimenting on our own. Sonora Heritage Wheat makes super good whole-wheat tortillas. It's truly incredible how different something can taste when you use fresh, high-quality ingredients. (I detest flour tortillas normally.) We're thinking of calling these Willa's Tortillas. (See what I did there?)

The Time Between

This morning, the outside thermometer read 12 degrees.

But it was a balmy 61 degrees in the greenhouse, with these little shoots of hope looking happy and healthy in the morning sun. Reminders that these fields will be brimming with life. Soon. Sometime soon.

Fitting then that when I came back into the house, The Writer's Almanac on NPR was on and Garrison Keillor was reading "Here in the Time Between" by Jack Ridl.

Here's a snippet:

Here in the time between snow
and the bud of the rhododendron,
we watch the robins, look into

the gray, and narrow our view
to the patches of wild grasses
coming green. The pile of ashes

in the fireplace, haphazard sticks
on the paths and gardens, leaves
tangled in the ivy and periwinkle

lie in wait against our will. This
drawing near of renewal, of stems
and blossoms, the hesitant return

of the anarchy of mud and seed
says not yet to the blood's crawl...





If you're in Helena, Great Falls, Choteau, Dutton, Power or Fairfield, sign up today to get fresh, local veggies delivered every week with our Vegetable CSA Farm Share program. Deadline for signups is April 1.

Local Montana Farro: A Star Rising

Let's talk about farro for a moment.

Farro seed, still in the hull.

 Farro is a big, nutty wheat that's great for salads, soups, risottos and the like. It makes pretty great pasta too.


The stuff we grow and sell -- Prairie Farro -- is an ancient wheat from the Fertile Crescent that dates back to nearly 20,000 years ago. The grain has been discovered in archeological digs and in ancient tombs and is believed to have developed from crosses between wild grasses. It was likely harvested in the wild before people began to select the best plants for cultivation. Farro, known also as Emmer, is often sold pearled, so it has less bran on the kernel.We leave ours completely intact, so nothing has been removed from the kernel that would compromise any of the nutrients the grain has to offer. Its nutritional profile is similar to modern wheat except it is higher in protein, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and copper. It is a versatile grain that can be used in breads, crackers, and salads.

Farro's star is rising, let me tell you. Of all our grains, it's the one people spot on our market table, run over and say, "I've been looking for this!"

The New York Times loves it, Saveur.com loves it, Gourmet loves it, even everyday Rachael Ray loves it.

Our first farro crop, 2009.

Since we started growing and selling it four years ago (btw, not to brag or anything, but Prairie Heritage Farm is one of the only local producers of farro in Montana. We sell direct to customers through our grain CSA farm share, at farmers markets and by special order. We ship too! Email farmer@prairieheritagefarm.com), I've been mostly using farro in soups and cold salads (like this one) and the occasional risotto (or, farrotto), but in the lastT few months, I've started exploring warm farro salads, especially with greens (because it seems like there is no. end. to the greens piling up in our house right now.)

My favorites so far have been this recipe and this recipe.

But I combined them to make this winner:

Warm Prairie Farro Salad With Baby Beets, Blue Cheese and Greens

1 to 1 ½ cup farro (not pearled)

1 bunch mustard greens (or arugula would work here too), chopped (2-3 cups)

1 bunch baby beets with greens

½ wedge blue or cambozola cheese

½ cup walnuts

Dressing:

3 Tbs red wine, apple cider or balsamic vinegar

½ cup olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp maple syrup

1. Rinse farro well. Add farro to pan with 2 cups water (for one cup, 2 cups water. For 1 ½ cups, 3 cups water.) Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2. While the farro is simmering, separate the baby beets – cutting off the beet part, scrubbing and placing in a shallow pan (you're going to simmer them a little, just to soften.)
3. Chop the beet greens a long with the mustard greens. (We used Mizuna, btw, but I think you could sub chard or kale here too.)
4. Mix up the dressing and in a separate bowl, crumble the cheese and add in the walnuts. (You'll use the cheese/walnut mixture to top the salad at the very last minute.)
5. Once beets are simmered (about 5-7 minutes) to your liking, add to large bowl with greens.
6. Drain the cooked farro and add directly to the bowl of greens and beets. You want to just slightly wilt the greens with the heat of the farro. Stir quickly until the greens are soften as you like them.
7. Fold in the dressing.
8. Once the salad has cooled a little, top with the cheese/nut mixture and serve.

2012 Veggie CSA Pick Up Schedule

The CSA season is upon us. Here's the schedule for the 2012 veggie CSA. We're so excited to see you all!

Dutton/Power: Fridays 3:30-4:30 p.m., His and Her Hair Design in Dutton. First pick up: June 1

Great Falls Full Shareholders: Fridays 4:30-6:00 p.m., Gibson Park (in front of the bandshell). First pick up for full shares: June 1
  
*First pick up for Great Falls half shares: June 8. *

Helena: Every other Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Helena Farmers Market downtown. First pick up: June 2

Choteau/Augusta: Mondays, 3:30-4:00 p.m., Mountain Front Market. First pick up: June 4

Conrad: Tuesdays: 5-6 p.m., 504 S. Virginia Street. First pick up: June 5

   


What to Expect
With the Prairie Heritage Farm CSA you can expect:

-To eat in season. Your first few shares will be early-season crops like lettuce, greens (kale, chard, etc), radishes and the like. Your first share will be baby greens, salad mix and greens mix. We'll ramp up as the season progresses.

-You'll get a weekly newsletter via email with information on the week's share and recipes to give you some new ideas in the kitchen. (So make sure we have the right email address for you!)

-Everything you get in your share will either be harvested that morning or, at the very longest, the day before. There's nothing like fresh-picked homegrown produce.

-To know your farmers. There are many reasons it's good to know your farmers, but one big one is that you have a direct line of communication with us. So, we hope throughout the season you'll tell us what's working for you and what could be better. If you want more of one thing and/or less of another, please let us know. We keep our CSA numbers small so we can have a direct relationship with you and can make sure this isn't a one-size-fits-all program. We understand that different families have different needs and preferences. So, let us know if we can do anything to make the program work better for you and your family.

-Please bring your own bags to pick up your produce.

If You Can't Pick Up
If you are not able to pick up your share, it is your responsibility to make arrangements to have someone else pick up your share or you can choose to donate it back to the farm. Please be respectful of the time and energy it takes to harvest and put together your share and let us know -- with some advance -- if you'll need to skip a week. We cannot refund money or make up shares for missed pick ups. (That said, we can be flexible on where and when you pick up to make it work.)

Thank You
Thank you for your commitment to local food, local farmers and local economies. You are helping, one tomato and one bunch of chard at a time, revamp how we value food, how we support our farmers and how we build up our local economies.

We are so very excited to be growing for you and getting to know you this year.

Here's to a great season!

Your Farmers,
Courtney, Jacob and Willa Cowgill