Organics

We received our first shipment from Eden's Organics on Saturday. We signed up to have a bin of organic fruits and vegetables delivered to our house weekly. Eden's Organics is a local Seattle company that delivers fresh, organic produce weekly or bi-weekly to the area. Eden's tries to use as much local produce as possible, but they also partner with organic farms as far away as California and Mexico. Most of the organic farms are family owned and less than 100 acres.

This week our bin had broccoli, carrots, romaine, tomatoes, garlic, pears, apples, blood oranges, cabbage raab, bananas, kiwis, and strawberries.

I had heard of cabbage raab (or cabbage rabe), but had never cooked it or eaten it. Apparently all parts of it are edible and tasty (stem, roots, flowers, leaves, and seeds). It's the sprouted tops of the cabbage plant after it has gone to seed and sprouted over the winter. Nutrient-rich is how I've seen it described. Many people (myself included, until now) don't realize that once it's flowered it's not only still edible, but also highly nutritious and tasty. I decided to make it for dinner with grilled shrimp and creamy portobello mushroom risotto.

After I marinated the shrimp and set it aside, I cleaned the raab thoroughly, dried it, and chopped it into bite sized pieces. I began making the risotto, as it takes the most time. When it was about half way done, I began sauteing some chopped onions and diced garlic in olive oil. I then dumped the raab into the skillet and turned it until it was wilted, then put the lid on to let it steam/saute for a bit. (I wanted to get the full taste of the raab, so I didn't use bacon or lard, but I probably will next time - just to kick it up one more notch.)

I put the shrimp skewers on the grill and continued with the risotto.

When the raab was tender, the shrimp cooked and the risotto finished off with melted Havarti cheese we were ready for dinner. Delish!



The raab was really good. Very similar to wild greens (mustard or collard) but not as bitter. Stacie thought the stems were a bit too fibrous for her taste, but I loved them. I might par-boil just the stems for a bit before sauteing next time to soften them.

Can't wait to see what's in this week's shipment.

KJT - Seattle (2010)