"Pretty-Much-Anything" Pesto, by Melinda

I've discovered over my years as an RHF member that sometimes you can't get through all our wonderful greens while they're still crispy fresh, especially if you're also growing greens at home or you don't have a large family.  So to use the greens while they still have all their nutritive value, I discovered that lots of them--and I mean HUGE quantities--actually can be processed down to much smaller amounts by using them as the basis for pesto. This also allows you to keep them (in  compact, frozen form) into the depths of winter--it's so great to crack out a truly summery pesto sauce for dinner while the winds and snow are howling outside!

Dino (or Lacinato) kale

Here's one I made in the food processor last week, using all of the kale (removing only the toughest stems), the spinach, and the garlic scapes--everything left in its raw state.

• 1 large bunch of kale, stems removed if desired
• 1 bunch of spinach
• several cloves of garlic, or to taste
• 8 to 10 garlic scapes
• a sufficient amount of olive oil to get the food processor to do its work
• about 1/4 to 1/2 cup pecorino romano or parmesan cheese (vegans can use a vegan parmesan substitute or just leave out the cheese altogether)
• about 1/2 to 3/4 cup nuts (walnuts are good for their hearty flavor, but almonds, cashews, pine nuts, etc., work just as well)
• several tbsp dried chopped basil OR a handful of fresh basil (or to taste)
• about 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

Add all your greens to the food processor bowl (do in several batches if necessary) and add enough oil to get it to start chopping down the greens. You'll be astounded at how "small" all those huge greens become!  Gradually add the other ingredients to your processor bowl, each time incorporating them with what's already in there, scraping down the sides of the bowl and adding a bit more oil as necessary.  Process until it's as smooth as you like. It's ready, then, to use or freeze.

Other veggies or greens that can be incorporated into your pesto include beet greens, radish greens, turnip greens, scallions, dandelion greens, foraged greens like purslane, lightly steamed chopped kohlrabi or carrots (their nutrients are more available if lightly cooked), and so forth. Be imaginative! Be creative!

Followup from Share Week #1, by Angela

The rainwater tanks are officially full! Torrential waterfalls spewed from the overflow spouts this past Friday during the persistent rainfall (notably, there was no waterfall in the entryway due to our new gutters, though still much flooding from the sheer quantity of liquid dropping from the sky).

Washed clean from a long winter, the rain has opened a new season on the farm in much the same way the spring-greens-filled shares may nourish your bodies with a transitioning shift. Green foods, as a whole, are purifying and promote renewal. Through the many explanations of nutrition and science that I don't fully understand, humans thrive on the consumption of chlorophyll ("the blood and green-coloring principle of plant life").

Week #1's beautiful share of garlic scapes, Tokyo bekana,
kale, romaine lettuce (huge!), & spinach!

As your body applauds the kales, lettuces, Asian greens, etcetera; may you be renewed with your return to the farm, just as the farm leaps with delight in the presence of community within the fence line. Membership is still available for your friends or family to join us this season. Please email redhillfarm@osfphila.org or call (610) 558-6799 for a registration form or more information about membership. (New membership registrations will be prorated for pickup dates that have already passed.)