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The Taste of Treviso Italy via Mt. Vernon

We have been enjoying a few different soups that hail from the region of Tuscany, Italy. The White bean soup and Tuscan potato kale soup have quickly become staples here at the farm. Both easy to make and nutritious. And those two characteristics, easy to make + nutritious = health!

This week we are traveling 3 hours to the north and east from Tuscany to Treviso for a taste of Radicchio of the chicory family. Radicchio in Italy is tied to regions in a similar way wine is tied to regions. And this week’s Treviso Radicchio comes from the Treviso region of Italy. Ironically, Treviso in Italy is as big a deal as Romaine is here. You can find 3 packs of Treviso in Italy on the shelves of grocery stores just like we have 3 packs of romaine in the states. You will also find Romaine in your box of good this week, my thinly veiled attempt to highlight and contrast how we eat compared to other parts of the world.

Treviso radicchio hasn’t been cultivated in America very long, maybe 40 years, compared to 4+ centuries in Italy. Fortunately, in the PNW we have a similar climate to Treviso, Italy and grow excellent Radicchio. While the inspiration comes from Italy, the perspiration required to grow this crop comes from Mt. Vernon.

Ralph’s Greenhouse and its rich alluvial soils in the Skagit valley coupled with its cool maritime nights mimic the ideal growing conditions for this super nutritious vegetable. I am also pairing the Treviso with French shallots from Hedlin Farms in La Conner and I asked my neighbor, Vivian, to cut one sprig of sage for each of you (make sure you find it) to use in this week’s recipe.

Also, I am bringing over Spitzenburg apples from Okanagan. There is a small organic grower’s co-op over there that we (Klesick’s and you) support by buying their fruit. And Spitzenburg is an excellent apple that dates back to Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd president of the United States. It is reported that this was his favorite apple and I can see why.  This week you can use a Spitzenburg apple to balance the deep flavor of the Treviso Radicchio in the wilted salad recipe. The recipe uses a technique called braising, it works great with all types of greens. I would be tempted to, also, create a freshly made Valencia orange/balsamic vinaigrette with the Valencia oranges in your box and add it to a Romaine/Treviso salad. So many choices!

Health does come down to choices. Thank you for choosing Klesick’s as one of your partner’s in health!

Tristan

Your Farmer and Health Advocate

Recipe: Braised Treviso with Sage & Balsamic

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 5 (about 125g) French shallots, peeled, halved lengthways
  • 1 treviso lettuce, cut into 6 wedges
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) Massel chicken style liquid stock
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar (Optional)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook shallot, stirring, for 20 minutes or until soft. Add treviso. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add stock, vinegar, sugar and sage. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the treviso wilts. Season with salt and pepper.

Radicchio, Teviso:

A favorite of Italians, whom it is believed their cultivation originated with, Treviso radicchio look a bit like purple romaine hearts. Italians almost never use radicchios in a mixed salad, but savor them alone with the simplest of olive-oil dressings. Often, they cook radicchio, turning to varieties like Treviso, that are milder in flavor, since the bitterness of radicchio intensifies with cooking. The tonic bitterness, however, is a good contrast to rich or fatty flavors. Radicchio is good braised, grilled, or in a soup. Store: keep radicchio in a tightly sealed bag in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Radish, Daikon:

Daikon is a white root vegetable often seen in Japanese and Chinese cuisine that resembles a carrot. However, unlike a carrot’s sweetness, daikon is spicy and tart, similar to a radish. Its pungent and sharp flavor can be enjoyed raw, pickled, or cooked. The white pigment in daikon is called anthoxanthin, which is an antioxidant that may lower cholesterol and blood pressure. In Asian cuisine, daikon is often eaten alongside meaty dishes, and is said to aid in digestion and breakdown of oil, fatty animal protein, and dairy.

It can be eaten raw like you would a radish, sliced or grated into a salad, or baked, sautéed or grilled like any other root vegetable. Cooked daikon has a similar texture and flavor to turnips.

 

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Farming and Family!

Anyone else have summer chores that just didn’t get done?!!!! I have a few that are pressing, but I am content with what we did get done. And often what is left over or unfinished would have been nice to finish, but in reality, those projects could wait.

I also have noticed that as I get older, my energy or appetite to tackle as many big projects is waning. When I look back over the last 20 years, I think “we did that”. We resurrected a dilapidated farm house, rescued a farm from the chemical agriculture world, planted habitat for wildlife, planted a 200-tree orchard, built farm buildings, poured concrete, fenced and refenced 40 acres, and farmed with Belgian Draft horses. All the while having babies and raising children, seeing them grow to adulthood and find their spouses. It is overwhelming just recounting that and I am sure we were overwhelmed while we were doing that! For that season, Joelle and I had the energy of 30-year old’s!

But now that I am turning another year older and I look back I can only smile at all the memories, all the hard work and heartache, all the love and all the life. And because I am an eternal optimist, I can hardly wait for the next 20 years to unfold. What will this life bring, what changes are on the horizon?

For sure, life is not static, and I know that Joelle and I will continue to live rich meaningful lives surrounded by our family and grandkids! And those grandkids are running circles around us, it just seems like it was yesterday that our parents were playing ball or games with my children, and now it is Joelle and I that are playing ball with our grandkids. And they are quick, I mean way quicker than my children ever were!

John Maxwell tells a story about parenting. My paraphrase. John says, “you want to let your children live to adulthood, so you can get grandkids and that is the real prize for being parents! When you see your first grandchild, ‘you think to yourself, this is the smartest human being ever born.’” As the story goes, John was at a conference sharing this story and his son was in the audience. Well John proceeded to tell everyone that Intelligence skips a generation and that his grandkids were considerably smarter than his own children. Of course, the audience, which was primarily grandparents completely understood John’s sentiments. His son caught up with him behind stage and John said, “now son that stuff about you not being as smart as your children, is all fun and..” But his son stopped him and said, “Dad, I think you are onto something, Grandpa and I were just having the same conversation about you last week!”

If I have learned anything in the last 5 decades, it is that every season of life is meaningful and important and so is every generation!

Cheers to your health,