The Big Brassica Share

From SHF 2011

Lots of brassicas in the share today, the last of this year's winter share. Most of the share is greens, but there are two other little additions: turnips and popcorn! Yes, that's right, I said popcorn. Japanese Hulless popcorn to be specific, a small, delicate variety. More on that in a minute. First a little explanation of the rest of the contents. The turnips have their greens, which are actually the main reason we're giving them out, as the roots are on the small (but usable) side. There is also Rainbow Lacinato kale, and a bit of the raab (flower buds) from the kale as well. This will keep better than anything except for the popcorn and turnip roots. The one non-brassica green is chicory. We scavenged a variety of different chicories, ranging from radicchios and castlefranco to small sugarloafs. You'll have to look in your bag to see what you got but these will be good in salad, especially if you slice the leaves up and soak them in cold water first. On top of all of these greens we have a number of smaller leaves which will not keep well and should be eaten in a salad, or cooked, soon.

From SHF 2011

The different leaf types are pictured above and from right to left they are: Mizuna, Arugula, Gold Frill, and Spring Raab. The arugula is a little spicy, the others are all very mild.

From SHF 2011

Back to the popcorn, there's just enough for a little snack. If you haven't made popcorn before you'll need a pot with a lid. Turn the burner to high and heat enough oil in the bottom of the pan to coat it generously. I toss in popcorn to make single layer that covers about 3/4 of the bottom of the pan and put the lid on. When I hear the first kernels pop I start shaking the pan back and forth on the burner to keep the kernels moving. Popping frequency should increase, and then decrease. When the popping sounds start to spread out to more than 5 or 10 seconds between them I pour the contents into a bowl immediately and then top with whatever I feel like. This popcorn is good enough, in my opinion, to not need anything extra.