DRIFTLESS TERROIR:
Connecting Food, People, and Place
June 16, 2015

 
Featured Produce

Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable and is often used as a fruit in desserts and jams. Only the stalks can be eaten being that the leaves are poisonous if ingested. It is composed of 95% water, is a good source of potassium, and is low in sodium. Rhubarb is also rich in vitamin C, dietary fibers, and calcium!
Cilantro
Cilantro is a herb with a pungent flavor. All parts of the plant are edible but the leaves and dried seeds are most often used for cooking. The leaves are rich in vitamins A, C, and K. The seeds contain significant amounts of dietary fiber, calcium, and iron!
 
Look below for recipes! 





This Week in Edible Landscapes:
There are two Edible Landscapes on the Luther campus, one behind Ylvisaker Hall, and the other next to the Valders Hall of Science. Both are open and available for harvesting.
 
Fresh & Abundant this Week:
  • Basil --  There is plenty of basil waiting to be harvested. Pinch off a small piece of the stem or simply pinch off a few leaves! 
  • Calendula -- There is an abundance of calendula that is waiting to be picked! Simply pop the flower heads off and remove the leaves. As an edible flower, calendula adds nice "pop" to salads.
  • Rosemary -- There is a great deal of rosemary ready to be harvested! Simply remove the leaves, which look like short pine needles, from the stem or cut off part of the stem.
UPCOMING EVENTS, JUNE 17- JUNE 26
Slow and Low: African Peanut StewWednesday, June 17, 12-1, Valders 379
Patchwork Green Farm Tour and Potluck: Thursday, June 18, Tour at 5:30pm with potluck to follow, 3031 Middle Hesper Rd, Decorah, IA 52101
Strawberry Picking at Wolds: Friday, June 19, 4:45-7pm, 22988 Berry Dr, Mabel, MN 55954
Sweet and Savory Crepes: Monday, June 22, 12-1, Valders 379
How to Build a Low-Cost Hoophouse: Thursday, June 25, 12-1, Luther College Farm
Be a Green (Smoothie) God: Friday, June 26, 12-1, Valders 379

 

Register for these classes and more online.

LUTHER COLLEGE STUDENT FARM STAND
 
The Luther Garden Student Gardeners have recently begun selling fresh produce to Dining services so that it can be sold in a little "farm stand" in Oneota Market. All produce is grown by students at the college farm about a mile from campus. Stop by weekly to see what new crops they have harvested! We will try to keep you posted on availability in this e-newsletter. It doesn't get much more local than this!


Asparagus, lacinato kale, red russian kale, collard greens, mixed greens, radishes, and cucumbers are all items for sale this week at the Luther College farm stand in Oneota.
 FEATURED RECIPES
Roasted Rhubarb 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound trimmed rhubarb
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon or 1/2 orange
  • Honey, optional, for serving

 

Directions

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. 

2. Cut the rhubarb into pieces about 2 inches long and place them into a baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar and zest over the rhubarb and stir everything around until the rhubarb is covered with sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes or just long enough for a little syrup to start to form. 

3. Cover the baking dish with foil and roast the rhubarb for 15 minutes. Take a peek and if the sugar is not almost completely melted, stir the rhubarb, re-cover the pan with the foil and roast a few minutes more. Now remove the foil and let the rhubarb roast for another 5 minutes, until the syrup is bubbling. 

4. Remove the pan from the oven and let the rhubarb cool to just warm or to room temperature; chill. Well packed, the rhubarb can stay in the fridge for 3 days. 

5. If the rhubarb is not sweet enough, drizzle a little honey over the fruit before serving. 

6. Spoon over ice cream, rice pudding, or yogurt. 

 

Recipe and photo courtesy of Dorie Greenspan 

Cilantro and Ginger Hummus

 

Ingredients

  • 1 can ( 15 ounces) chickpeas (can use dry and cook your own too)
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • 1/4 cup water (or reserve the chickpea cooking water if you use dry beans)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

 

Directions

Peel off the chickpea skins. In a food processor blend the chickpeas until they are a coarse grain. Add the tahini, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, cilantro, and salt. Blend for a full minute or two. With the processor still running, drizzle in the oil and then the water. For a smoother and thinner consistency add more water. 

 

Recipe and photo courtesy of A Beautiful Mess

ADDITIONAL RECIPE LINKS
Rhubarb

Cilantro
SUSTAINABLE FOODS TIP

Grow something! Start a garden. It can be as small and simple as an indoor container garden or as large as an outdoor plot. Start simple with herbs, lettuce, or radishes and then move on to something larger! 


Driftless - used to describe the region that is free from glacial drifts in parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois

Terroir (terˈwär) - Food of the land; the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to food by the environment in which it is grown 

  

Maren Beard 

Sustainable Foods Educator

563-387-1722 

[email protected]

http://www.luther.edu/sustainability/food/