Rootstock!! Updated!!

LAST UPDATE (I hope.)  BRING YOUR KNIVES! 

UPDATE:  Eleu will NOT be with us tomorrow because of some filming of his project.  He will drop off a garden salad, but if we want more than that, we are on our own.  If a lot of us bring something, we'll have something to eat, if not, hope you can get along on salad only!  There might be rain - dress warm and dress to stay dry.  We can do a lot of our work in the classroom as we are not too many people, but I would much rather we fling dirt and stuff out in the rest of the shade house.  

A phone call this morning confirms that Raintree Nursery is shipping out our rootstock (MM111) today. We will have them for the March 12th meeting - on that day, please bring your knives and any sharpening device you prefer and be prepared to make new trees - those with budwood will want to make certain to have it at this class.

This Sunday, my friend and colleague, Katerina Erickson, will wow you and zow you with all kinds of interesting other worldly plants and their special requirements for growing them.  Kat was a long time gardener and propagation expert at the Huntington Library (I always think of it as the Huntington Gardens which also happens to have a library). 

We will start both weeks at 1:00 PM 

david 

Kale Salad Recipe

A few greens never hurt anyone, especially a little KALE. Don't tell anyone you really want to impress that it's good for you. Just kidding.
Kale is a great source of calcium, potassium, beta-carotene & other anti-oxidants.

This recipe is easy to make but requires a little prep time, meaning washing and taking the leaves off the stem. Removing the stem is key to how well the salad is received...it can be quite fibrous if not removed.

I like to mix the varieties that are available, i.e., purple, Tuscan "dinosaur" & Russian kales, but staying with one variety is just as delicious.

Kale Salad
(4 single serve or 8 small side servings )

1/4 cup Liquid Aminos*
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 - 2 Lemons juiced; start with 1 and adjust to taste
1/2 medium Red onion, thinly sliced
2 bunches of Kale, cleaned, stemmed, ripped into bite-size pieces
Black pepper to taste

*Braggs Liquid Aminos, is probably the easiest to find @ a health food store, Whole Foods or your local co-op.

Mix liquid aminos, olive oil & lemon juice together in a bowl. Add sliced onions, let sit while prepping kale. This will take some of the bitterness out of the onions and soften them. Wash kale like you would spinach; dirt is well hidden so check front and back. Drying kale: I recommend getting a few drying kitchen towels, a baking sheet, lying each leaf flat next to one another in a row, making stackable layers as you wash individually. Pat leaves dry, slide stem off and rip into bite size pieces; place into large bowl.

Pour 1/2 of dressing with onions over kale. Toss gently with your hands! (you can use utensils but this way you get to feel the texture of the leaves and put some extra love into your dish.) Add more dressing until well coated.

NOTE: The liquid aminos will help release water in your kale so you will have extra liquid at the bottom of your bowl once your salad sits. Depending on how crunchy-raw you like your greens, you can serve right away or let sit for 20 minutes before serving. I like to make it in the morning, put it in the refrigerator and throughout the day I have something already prepared. The salad keeps well up to 3-days. You can play with levels of texture and taste with this salad, so make it your own.

Optional add-ins.
This is the basic recipe for this salad but you can add the following to layer it:

1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms with the onions.
1 Tbspn maple syrup or agave nectar, if to salty or sour for you taste.

Items to add when tossing the salad - last minute:

1 cup julienne, (thin slices), red or yellow peppers or both
1 ripe avocado, cubed
Handful fresh sprouts (whatever kind you like)
1 apple, thinly sliced
1 tsp sesame seeds

I'm sure there are more items out there to add to this salad, but most of all have fun while creating and sharing this wonderful healthy green from your garden!

Bon Appetite!
Pam