In Defense of Okra

From our farmer Pippa and nutritionist in-training...

What did okra ever do to you? Besides being an itchy plant when it grows, it is harmless. But, throughout so much of the country it has gotten a reputation for being slimy, unappetizing or only good for frying. I am here to stand up for okra and tell you why you should give it a second chance. I first came across okra on a trip to India in 2007. In India they call okra “lady’s fingers”. The traditional dish is called bhindi masala where the okra is chopped up and mixed with onions, garlic, chilis, tomatoes and a variety of fragrant and mouth watering Indian spices. Serve me that and some warm roti (Indian whole-wheat bread) and I am in heaven. I fell in love with okra immediately. Upon my return to the states I began to seek it out. And it was then that I realized that we are a nation of okra-haters. Slowly but surely I had to make my case one dish at a time. I made jambalayas, I added it to stir-frys, I roasted it and I, of course, made a lot of bhindi masala. As a future dietitian I appreciate the fact that okra is low calorie (50 calories per cup) and high in fiber (3g per cup). But my favorite thing about cooking with okra is that it is a natural thickener. Instead of added flour or roux to a recipe, okra becomes a natural, low calorie – zero fat way of providing thickness and texture to dishes. So, the next time you see okra at the farmer’s market don’t run away. Pick out the smaller pods (they are the most tender) and go home and try this recipe for bhindi masala and tell me you haven’t come over to my side!  

RECIPE: Punjabi Bhindi Masala (Okra sautéed with Onions and Tomatoes)

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Nigella (kalonji) Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Green Chilies - 2 (chopped)
• Garlic - 2 cloves (chopped)
• Ginger - 1 inch piece (chopped)
• Red Onions - 2 medium (sliced)
• Plum Tomatoes - 3 (sliced)
• Okra - 1-1.5 lbs (wash, dry, trim ends, slice)
• salt to taste
• Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
• Mango (Amchoor) Powder - 1 tsp (optional)
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Fresh Cilantro Leaves - 1/2 handful (chopped)

Click HERE for the recipe instructions.

Intern's Corner: A Small Space Experiment - Planting The Three Sisters

Alison Siggelko, one of our departing interns spent a full spring with us getting things in the ground and helping us immensely at the farmer's market.  We bid her a fond adieu as she heads to California for graduate school in Transpersonal Psychology.  Good luck Alison!  You will be missed!

The Three Sisters growing technique is a Native American way of companion planting with squash, corn and pole beans.  Typically you need at least a 10' x 10' space but we had a lot less to work with.  This is our experiement:

The first ear of corn. Not the cornsilk which you can make a tea from helpful in bladder infectionsA few weeks ago, the interns were asked to plant a Three Sisters garden. With free reign to designate planting mounds and seed spacing, we were initially nervous. Between a combination of how-to planting guides and the ancient myth of Three Sisters, we figured out how to lay four soil mounds and plant our first crop of corn.

    I personally remember the legend of the Three Sisters from elementary school. Corn, beans and squash were the first crops to become domesticated by Mesoamericans and were viewed with great reverence as gifts from the Great Spirit. (The legend of the Three Sisters can be found here.) What was left out of my brief education of the Three Sisters was the sustainable science of this growing method.

    Once our corn began to sprout, we planted pole beans around each corn plant. The corn stalk will provide a trellis for the beans to climb, and the bean's presence will not only stabilize the tall corn, but will also fix the nitrogen in the soil for the corn of following years. Squash* was planted around the corn/bean mounds providing soil cover and eventually crop residue beneficial for soil structure.
    Nutritionally the combination of the three plants is also well balanced. Corn provides carbs, beans give us protein and a balance to the amino acid found in corn, and squash fruit is chock full of vitamins.
     Of course, ancient Americans didn't understand the chemistry behind this system. In all probability, they discovered Three Sisters because these crops could be successfully cultivated while maintaining balance and health for people. It is a beautiful example of common-sense sustainability and a reminder of the importance of maintaining indigenous traditions.

Corn providing the trellis for the climbing beans and watermelon as groundcover to suppress the weedsThough none of the interns follow Native traditions, I think it’s safe to say we all felt a shimmer of the ceremonial as we built our soil mounds and planted corn seeds. In keeping with indigenous tradition we decided that there should be four mounds and that they should each represent one of the four directions (N,S,E,W). Though we giggled at our unexpected reverence for tradition, I for one felt a surprising satisfaction at combining the practicalities of farming with a respect and admiration of nature.


Alison

* Instead of squash, petite watermelon were planted since vine borers had been a problem in the previous year in the same location.

 Our first trial at watermelon. Everytime I see this guy it makes me happy.

The Intern's Corner: Garlic Scapes, Fava Bean Tops and Micro Carrots

Garlic ScapesWe begin this spring's harvest a little later than usual due to the long cold wet weather a few months ago (though we had a long lettuce harvest!).  Finally chard, kale, edible flowers and various herbs are in abundance.  The smaller jewels of the harvest are the thinnings from overcrowded crops.  When you seed carrots, you do so closely but at some point you need to sacrifice and pull them to make room for larger carrots to grow.  These are the products, like tiny micro carrots, you'll never see for sale at the farmer's markets, usually only at higher end restaurants.  Garlic scapes fall in that category though they can now be found for sale for a fleeting time at the markets.  Here is Pippa's experience using scapes, fava tops and micro carrots in a recipe.  If you are ever invited to taste Pippa's cooking, don't pass up the opportunity!

We are just beginning to get our first taste of what our work on the farm will yield. Rissa and I harvested garlic scapes and thinned the yellow and purple carrots. Garlic scapes are the stem that grows up from the bulb and will eventually flower. They are removed not only for eating, but also to ensure that the plant puts all of its energy into developing the bulb, rather than the flower.  We went home with an abundance of scapes, a few baby carrots and some tops of the fava bean plants (Click HERE for why one might clip the tops of fava beans) Immediately I began concocting the best way to utilize my precious crops. Pam mentioned that fava tops are often used in pasta dishes and Rissa had just recently made a garlic scape pesto. So, inspired by both I decided to make a pesto-like sauce for pasta and add the fava tops and a few other greens left over from various farmers markets and create flavorful garlic-scapey green pasta! I started by grilling the scapes to impart a nice smoky flavor. 

I added them to the food processor with a half cup of a mix of walnuts and pistachios (because that’s what I had – any nuts will do), 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, a Serrano chili (this is optional..we just happen to love heat in our food!), and half a red onion.

While the food processor is going, stream in a few tablespoons of olive oil. I then added the scape mixture to a hot pan and added 1/3 of a cup of white wine and a few ladles of starchy pasta water.

I let that cook down and the wine to reduce and then added the cooked pasta to the sauce (we used whole wheat spaghetti – but really any string pasta would work) and then folded in all the lovely greens.

I served it topped with a sprinkle of parmesan and some of the reserved fava tops. Add salt and pepper to taste. I also grilled those gorgeous baby carrots at the same time that I grilled the scapes. The end product was delicious! It tasted very fresh and the flavor of the greens and scapes really shone! The greens I used were a combo of red Russian kale, purslane, callaloo and fava tops- basically it’s a great way to use whatever left over greens you end up with!…I still have some scapes and fava tops left. Any suggestions? Happy cooking!   ~Pippa

The Intern's Corner: Can You Eat Radish Greens?

Photo by RissaIn my quest for "nose to tail" eating of vegetables, I was hoping one of my interns could find a way to utilize the radish greens I typically discard.  Rissa Landman (pronouced like Lisa but with an "R" and not to be confused with rapper RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan) is currently at Hunter College studying nutrition education, is also interning at Slow Food USA and is the mother to two gangsta French Bulldogs Spanky and Gus.  Here she writes about radish greens, which by the way, contain more vitamin C and calcium than the roots that we usually eat.

We stood around looking at each other and shrugging our shoulders. Are radish greens edible? Are they good? Pam had just thinned a bed of watermelon radishes and while the radishes themselves were still babies, they were topped off with large and beautiful green leaves. It would have been a shame to just discard them.

I did a little investigating and found out that they are indeed edible and quite versatile. I came across suggestions ranging from simply sautéed with garlic and olive oil to one using radish greens in a potato soup. The next night, we were making mussels with green coconut curry so I opted for a quick Vietnamese style pickling of both the greens and their baby radish companions.

They made a great side! The greens have a peppery taste – think very intense arugula – and a soft texture similar to spinach. They took well to the pickling – sweet, tart, and peppery - and the baby radishes added a nice crunchy texture. I have learned my lesson: the next time I find myself with a bunch of beautiful radishes, I won’t forget to utilize the greens. I would be a crime not to.

RECIPE: PICKLED RADISH GREENS

1 small bunch of radishes and their greens
1/4 cup rice vinegar 
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar 
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put vinegar, sugar and salt into a large bowl and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add sliced radishes and chopped radish greens and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to several hours before serving.

Serves 2.

Photo by Rissa

Here are some other ideas from Chowhound for radish greens.

The Intern's Corner: Permaculture Basics

Mycelia in soilForget Pippa Middleton...Pippa Purdy, one of our 4 bright and hardworking farm interns, also a graduate student at Teachers College at Columbia in the Nutrition Education program, reflects on her experiences starting our permaculture edible forest garden a few weeks ago.

What better way to spend Earth day a few weeks ago than immersed in planting trees, digging holes, playing with worms and getting to know some plants? The four of us interns arrived at the micro-farm at 10am ready to go! We started by prepping the plants and digging some holes (and becoming well acquainted as to why Rockland County is called Rockland County!) None of us had heard of or knew much about Permaculture prior to meeting Pam and Charlie. Even after our first experience, it is hard to put into words exactly what it is. The biggest impression I came away from this first experience with was that it is an entire ritual of planting that involves much more than nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, sun and water.  Not only is it a brilliant system that utilizes the symbiosis of nature, it is a reminder to step back and consider plants and what they provide as well as the complexities and beauty of nature. An example of the complexities was illustrated through learning about plants that act as dynamic accumulators. We planted comfrey and yarrow, as well as several other types of plants, at the base of the fruit trees.  The plants’ purposes are to act as nitrogen fixers and enhance the ability of the roots to take up nutrients from the soil. Yarrow:Botanical PrintThey increase the nutrients in the soil and enhance the formation of mycelia which in turn allow the plant to absorb more nutrients. We actually saw the mycelia, which appear as white, tiny thread like branches, in the woodchip mulch that we used. It was pretty cool.  Yarrow is also beneficial because it attracts particular pollinators, like ladybugs and bees. Another tidbit – if you are out in the forest and get a cut, yarrow can help to heal your wound!

We also had an opening and a closing circle in which we had a chance to say what we are grateful for and what we learned throughout the day. It was so inspiring to hear everyone’s thoughts and experiences at the end of all the hard work. It was the perfect way to sum up a great day of learning, digging, and working hard to create this amazing new system that will grow and evolve for decades to come! As we learn more about permaculture in the months to come we welcome your questions and look forward to sharing this experience.

Pippa

Alison, Pippa and Charlie at the Palisade's Farmer's Market. Come and see us next Saturday!