Baby kale is just one of the crops Scott Reaver of Reaver Harvests is bringing to the Marietta Square Farmers Market this February. Red and green leaf lettuce, arugula, beet greens, turnips, mustard greens – he’s growing an array of cold weather crops under row covers and in cold frames.
Reaver farms in West Cobb is less than 10 miles from the Marietta Square. Besides his booth at the Saturday Marietta market, he sells at Smyrna’s Farmer’s Atlanta Road Market from May through October. His mom is at the Marietta market, too, selling handmade herbal soaps from her booth, “The Herb Garden.”
Reaver is growing Siberian kale, a crop he remembers picking in the snow when he was growing up on a Kentucky farm. He has kale available in every season except summer when kale simply doesn’t do well in our climate.
He generally sells his kale as baby leaves and finds many of his customers like it for juicing. “It’s the most nutritious of all green leafy vegetables,” said Reaver. He notes that several customers favor a combination of kale and pear for juicing.
His favorite way to eat kale? Raw in a salad, maybe mixed with lettuce and garnished with nuts.
Kale is a member of the cabbage family. Farmers sell a wide range of kale varieties, some with smooth leaves, some with curly leaves, some with toothed leaves. Kale grows in a variety of colors including purple, green, black or white. That ornamental “cabbage” you see planted in flower beds this time of year? It’s kale.
To store kale, wrap it in a plastic bag or damp tea towel and refrigerate in your crisper drawer for up to a week. Some people say the flavor becomes stronger the longer the kale is stored, so for the sweetest salad or braised kale, buy it from your local farmer and cook it right away.
At local farmers markets
Many local farmers markets have closed for the season. However, the Marietta Square, Decatur and Morningside farmers markets continue all year round.
For sale
Vegetables and nuts: arugula, Asian greens, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, collards, dandelion, endive, frisee, green garlic, herbs, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, onions, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, sweet potatoes, turnips, winter squash
From local reports
The Drafting Table’s Braised Kale
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Makes: 8 cups
If there’s one recipe that will convert the person who says “I don’t like greens,” this is it. The secret to this dish is the long simmering of the sauce. The kale itself is only lightly cooked. This recipe comes from The Drafting Table in the Pencil Factory Lofts just east of downtown Atlanta.
4 Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1/2 stalk celery, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
2 bunches kale cleaned, tough stems removed, coarsely chopped (about 2 pounds)
Salt
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add tomatoes. Boil for 30 seconds, then remove and place in a bowl of ice water. When tomatoes have cooled, slip off the skins and dice the tomatoes. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add stock, wine, white vinegar, tomato paste, thyme and sherry vinegar. Reduce heat to simmer and cook sauce for 1 hour. Add peanuts and cook 30 minutes more. Add kale and reserved diced tomatoes. Cook until kale has wilted and turned bright green, about 5 minutes. Season to taste. Serve immediately. Can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 3 days.
Per 1/2-cup serving: 96 calories (percent of calories from fat, 35), 4 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 4 grams fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 89 milligrams sodium.
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