April 26th Newsletter
Bardstown Road Farmers’ Market Newsletter
Sarah’s Corner
From our friend Sarah Frtischner
Philadelphia restaurateur Judy Wicks, visited Louisville Monday, bringing with her a strong message of “Local Living Economies.” Simply put, she made a case for promoting local business and strengthening local communities in order to keep wealth and opportunity here. Louisville does a pretty good job, with its “Keep Louisville Weird” businesses, its nationally-respected independent restaurant community and, of course, its increasing farmers market network.
At her restaurant, White Dog Café, Wicks holds regular “table talks” evenings, where patrons can buy a 3-course dinner and here a speaker talk about strengthening the local economy. Subjects for these talks include the wisdom of casino development, a discussion of adequate school funding, spirituality and social change in the community, the decline of the middle class and so on.
Her café uses local food products, heats its water with solar energy, uses 100%-post consumer recycled paper products (including take-out containers) and recycles all glass, plastic, metal and paper.
When we eat eating locally grown food, she says, we:
- Build community wealth
- Build community relationships
- Build regional self-reliance and reduce our dependency on long-distance supply chains easily disrupted by climate change and the rising cost of oil
- Reduce carbon emissions created during transport
- Strengthen family farms and farm economy
- Increase access to better tasting food that is often more nutritious
- Increase our knowledge of waste production, and become more mindful about our decisions
Chard is one of many hardy greens for which harvesting starts in spring and continues through the summer. Early leaves are tender and mild; those that get lots of sun and heat will have a more aggressive flavor. You’ll find chard now among other early greens at the Bardstown Road farmers market.
Chard is a member the beet family, and therefore has a distinct flavor that’s worlds different from other greens. People love it for that flavor, and for the jewel tones it comes in – there are many varieties of ruby chard that have gorgeous red stems, and yellow and orange varieties too (along with white).
You’ll notice many recipes for chard call for cooking stem and leaf separately. In France, stems and leaves are sometimes treated as different vegetables. Stems are firm and can be cooked to keep their crunch, while leaves are steamed, braised and so on. Some recipes cook the two separately, combining them before serving.
Don’t be intimidated by the choices! They merely demonstrate chard’s flexibility. If you’d rather just chop all the leaves and stems and cook them together, that’s fine too.
Sara’s lentil soup with Swiss chard
Cooking can be frustrating sometimes because the idea of “1 bunch” of chard could be different for everyone. How do you know what’s right.
Well, you don’t, exactly, but with soup, you don’t have to. We’ve given you a rough guide here, but don’t be too obsessive with measurements. It’ll taste good if you have 6 cups or 15 cups.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 rib celery, minced
2 carrots, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced, about 1 teaspoon
1/3 cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon Greek seasoning
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced Italian seasoned tomatoes
2 ½ quarts (10 cups) chicken broth
2 cups lentils, rinsed and picked clean
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves and stems separated, about 10 cups chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh basil, optional but delicious
Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Heat olive oil in large heavy pot set over medium high heat. As you chop them, add onion, celery, carrots and garlic. After all are added, cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add white wine and stir.
Add Greek seasoning and Italian tomatoes and stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add chicken broth, lentils, dried basil, oregano and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Cook for 40 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
Add Swiss chard stems and cook for another 10 minutes. Stir in chard leaves and fresh basil, if using, and cook for 5 minutes.
Serve, garnished with Parmesan cheese. Makes 8 large servings. This soup freezes well.
Korean marinade for flank steak
A bison or beef flank steak makes a great choice for dinner. They are super-lean but full of flavor, and cook quickly. Don’t make the mistake of overcooking – medium is about as far as you should go. Otherwise, this all-muscle cut will turn tough as shoe leather. The “grain” of the meat is the long striations of muscle. To serve, slice the meat at a 90-degree angle across those long fibers, thus tenderizing the meat.
Contrary to popular belief, marinade doesn’t tenderize tough meat; it doesn’t penetrate far enough into the muscle to tenderize. But it adds lots of flavor.
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
Combine the ingredients in a zipper-style plastic storage bag and squish the ingredients around to dissolve sugar. Add 1- to 2-pound beef or bison flank steak and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator as long as overnight or at room temperature for up to 1 hour.
Let the meat drain (save the marinade), and pat it dry with a paper towel (so the meat will brown faster). Cook over hot coals (or 4 inches under a flame or broiler element) about 4 minutes per side, or until done to desired taste. Cut across the grain about ¼-inch thick.
If you like, bring the reserved marinade to a boil and drizzle a teaspoon or two over the meat before serving. A 1-pound steak will serve 4 people.