Lettuce soup :)

It’s cold-seasoned crop time.  Lettuce, spinach, and greens flourish in the early spring.  I sometimes struggle to find ways to use all the greens.  This recipe provides a good use of lettuce and it’s good!

 Lettuce Soup

4 servings

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves, plus more for garnishing
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives, plus more for garnishing
• 2 teaspoons chopped tarragon leaves plus more for garnishing
• 2 heads Boston lettuce, leaves torn
• 3 cups chicken stock
• ½ cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a large saucepan.  When hot, add the onions and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the parsley, chives, tarragon, and lettuce.  Stir the lettuce until completely wilted, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken stock and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.  When ready to serve, process the soup in batches.  Be aware that the soup is hot.  Once processed, then return to a clean saucepan.  Stir in the heavy cream or evaporated milk and the salt and pepper.  Simmer for another 5 minutes or until heated through.  Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and serve immediately, garnished with fresh herbs and chive blossoms, if desired.

Enjoy!

Recipe obtained from Foodnetwork.com. Emeril’s Food of Love Productions. Emeril Lagasse. 2008.

Spring Is Here and summer is fast approaching

Spring is finally here and that means that the garden will soon be working at top speed again. Workdays are on Tuesdays from 5-7 pm and Fridays 4-6pm until the end of the semester. The summer schedule has yet to be determined, but keep your eyes peeled! Until then, here’s a cool, easy-to-make summer drink recipe to keep you nice and refreshed!

Pomegranate and Citrus juice

(this recipe will serve you and two of your friends)

ingredients:

• 2 small grapefruits
• 2 juice oranges
• 2 tangerines or mineola tangelos
• 1/2 lime
• 2 pomegranates

Directions: Use a citrus press or a juicer to juice the grapefruits, oranges, tangerines, and lime. Juice the pomegranates (2/3 cup juice) into a separate bowl. Divide citrus juice among 3 glasses. Top with pomegranate juice, which will settle to the bottom, and serve.

This recipe and others can be found here: http://www.wholeliving.com/135934/natural-drink-recipes/@center/136758/natural-pantry#131340 

A Taste of Hilltop Saturday April 13th!

ALERT TO all brave Garden Volunteers

Tomorrow, April 13th, is the Taste of Hilltop: A special event highlighting all of the exciting organizations, classes, and opportunities available at Hilltop Garden and Nature Center. So, of course, the IU Campus Garden is included!

Come, one and all are welcome to check out the garden and take advantage of this special opportunity to volunteer. The event lasts from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and we will be gardening all day long!

Hope to see you, there.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Zhou

New April Workday

We just want to thank the IU Women’s Rugby Club and all of our lovely volunteers who were able to join us for the first Friday work day of the semester. Now that April is bringing warmer days, stop by the Campus Garden each Friday between 4 and 6pm for some gardening, conversation, and all around pleasant company. 

Roasted Beets with Feta

Roasted Beets with Feta

4 servings   

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Peel four medium beets and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.  Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste on a baking sheet.  Roast at 450 degrees, stirring once or twice, until tender, 35 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl; toss with four chopped scallions and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.  Top with crumbled feta.

Tips:  When shopping for beets, choose small or medium size.  You also want the roots to be firm.  Do not wash beets before storing.   Store beets in a plastic bag and with the air squeezed out.  Can store up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.  The greens on the beets also be consumed.

Recipe obtained from Food Network Magazine, Cook Like a Star, Volume 4, Number 3, Hearst Magazines, April 2011.

Springtime in the Greenhouse

Winter winds and weather may be continuing on the streets of Bloomington. Campus may be blanketed in roughly 4 inches of snow (and counting). At Hilltop and within the small hoop houses inside the greenhouse, however, spring is well on its way.  With spring blooming here, there is all the more reason to come spend some quality time with the garden during our Tuesday workday from 5pm to 7pm.

When the weather warms up a bit,  these seedlings  will be transplanted into the ground. 

Here’s a sprout growing in the campus garden’s small hoop house in the greenhouse — a sure sign that spring is near!

Potato Soup with Sausage

Nothing like potato soup to keep you warm during these cold nights!

• 1 cup spicy Italian sausage links
• ¾ cup onions, diced
• 6 slices bacon
•   ½ tsp garlic minced
• 2 cups kale leaves, cut in half, then sliced
• 1 qt. chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
•   2 medium potatoes cut in half length-wise, and then cut into ¼ inch slices

• Preheat oven to 300˚F.
• Place sausage links onto a pan and bake for 25 minutes (or until done).
• Cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into ½ inch slices.
• Cook onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear.
• Remove bacon and crumble it.
• Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional minute.
• Add chicken stock, and potatoes; simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream.
• Simmer for 4 minutes and serve.
• Garnish with thyme.

• When purchasing potatoes for soups, choose a waxy variety such as yellow, blue, or red.  Potatoes shelf-life can be maintained best by storing in a cool, dark, dry place and in a brown paper, burlap or plastic bag with holes.

Recipe was obtained through Organic Recipies, A 2012 Calendar,

Calendar TF Publishing