Since the herb Purslane is so nutrient packed, we’ve played around with different ways to serve it and here’s a farm favorite. Similar to how broccoli is often served with a dipping sauce, arrange your Purslane branches around a dip of your choice and serve chilled. Easy and fun enough for kids and veggie-haters alike to enjoy! As soon as the nights get a little cooler, we won’t have anymore in the gardens…Purslane is definitely a summer herb.
Ingredients:
2 avocados
2 cup of steamed rice, chilled.
Juice of one lime
1 cup of baby spinach leaves
Sea salt to taste
Purslane sprigs
Halve two avocados and set aside.
Dice spinach leaves into one inch squares, combine with broken bits of Purslane, set aside.
Combine all other ingredients and then gently blend with the leafy green mix above.
Scoop the finished rice mix into your avocado halves and serve immediately.
Purslane and avocados just beg to be combined! The rich creaminess of our Haas avocado is the perfect compliment to the crunchiness of Purslane.
Ingredients:
Purslane
Mashed Avocado
Sea Salt
Garlic
Mustard/horseradish mix (no yellow dye!)
Rye bread
This little bite appetizer uses Purslane in place of a lettuce or sprout filler.
Combine crushed garlic, avocado, sea salt and mash with a potato masher. Don’t use a Cuisinart because it will become too smooth. Coat each piece of bread with the mustard/horseradish mix. Spatula bread with avocado mixture, and top with fresh Purslane. Cut into fours and hold in place with a decorative tooth pick.
We’re enjoying perfect purslane weather here in North San Diego and our CSA boxes reflect the bounty.
Ingredients:
Purslane
Flour
Ground bread crumbs
Beaten eggs
Salt
Cold pressed coconut or olive oil
Combine a half cup of flour with a teaspoon of sea salt.
Rinse your Purslane to remove any sand and then roll them in your flour/salt mixture.
Now dip in the beaten eggs.
Cover each stalk piece with bread crumbs
Fry or sauté each stalk until golden brown, and serve with a simple dipping sauce:
Ingredients:
16 oz. of unflavored yogurt
3 cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon of salt
dash of tabasco
cup of chopped cilantro
Combine cilantro, salt, tabasco, and crushed garlic in a Cuisinart and pulse until smooth. Add yogurt and pulse until combined. Refrigerate until serving.
Nothing new here under the sun, but I’m just so over Carl eating my stuff. I don’t know what it is about money and Carl, but he seems to have an other worldly sense for when there’s money in an unattended envelope. Yeah, I know I shouldn’t have turned my back on Carl with an envelope of 20’s on the golf cart, but the level of vigilance that is required to never, ever get your stuff eaten by Carl has proven to be beyond me. Think about how many speeding tickets you’d have by now, if you never, ever, ever, got away with speeding. Not once, not ever. As in, every time you exceeded the limit by even one nanosecond of a mile, bamm, you get a ticket. Some times the ticket isn’t too costly, sometimes it bowls you over, as in… you just can’t believe the wreckage of what was formerly known as your living room. That’s what it’s like caring for Carl. There is no elbow room, no margin for error. It’s never like, high five that, I’m so lucky Carl didn’t notice that, eat that, get that. If it’s unattended, even for a moment, if the door is left unbolted, even for a blink, if you aren’t 100% present, on top of your game, and situationally aware, you’re Carl Toast: Yep, Carl has eaten whatever it is you formerly held to be most definitely yours. I’m lucky all he got was $40, as I turned back from a discussion with my son in the driveway to behold a bouquet of 20’s stuffed into Carl’s mouth. “Nooooooooo.” I saved the rest, 40 of it will be going to some very pricey goat manure compost.
That paper towel will suck the moisture out of the leafy green, wilting it quickly, and the paper bag is too porous, and will compound the problem. I often use simple tupperware type containers, or zip locks, although the best method is to use the Green Storage bags that you see advertised here and there.
Also, don’t jam your leafies into anything, give them some space to breathe. And don’t wash leaves before storage.
To answer questions about organically grown shelf life (vs. conventional)….if a produce item stays “fresh” beyond its normal shelf life, it’s because it’s been sprayed with a chemical to make it so. There are fungicides that will keep fruit looking fresh, but the trade off isn’t worth it. Heck, that’s why our subscribers are choosing to purchase organic produce from us.
Just the soup to enjoy to celebrate the beginning of the warm months!
