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Eat More Local Sweet, Rich Greens
March 5, 2008
Eat more local sweet, rich greens
DENISE MILLER
For the Journal
EDITOR'S NOTE: Between growing seasons, Denise Miller of the New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association spotlights local growers and their products. Her column appears the first Wednesday of the month.
In the culinary world of fresh, local food, it's time to go green. Asian greens may be the original fast food -- and a wonderful way to go green. They are healthy, quick and easy to prepare, versatile and delicious.
While many Americans have a vague idea that greens are healthy, if we compare ourselves to the Chinese, who each typically eat one pound of greens a day--one-half of which are from the crucifer family--we still have a long way to go.
Luckily, this is the time of year when a wide variety of greens show up at local growers' markets, as they will throughout the early growing season and then again in fall.
The cool weather is good for greens that enjoy a touch of frost to bring out their sugar content and reduce sulfur compounds, resulting
in rich, sweet flavors .
To year-round shoppers at the Santa Fe Farmers' Market, Camino de Paz Farm & School with its brightly colored canvas backdrop is known for a wide range of excellent produce and eggs, but it is during the sleepy winter when Camino de Paz distinguishes itself with a steady supply of fresh greens.
The 10-acre, biodynamic farm and school is located in Santa Cruz, about 25 miles north of Santa Fe between Española and Chimayó.
Farm director Greg Nussbaum, and his wife, Patricia Pantano, who directs the school, started the farm in 1999 and the school in 2000.
This year they have kept the greens coming with the help of 12 middle and high school students in the Montessori curriculum. Next year they expect to have 25 students.
"I couldn't do the farm without the kids, and the school is the reason we started the farm," Nussbaum explained.
During the winter, food is grown in seven greenhouses, in about 5,000 square feet, where the only heat is for tables where the seeds started.
Belgian draft horses, rather than tractors, are used for the heavy work, and animals such as poultry, goats and sheep help keep the farm's ecosystem in balance.
During winter, the farm must be particularly attentive to the economics of indoor growing. Nussbaum watches the "turn per square foot," or how long it takes for each crop to turn over its space.
For that reason, market shoppers find mostly fresh mixed lettuce greens, which have a shorter growing cycle.
But now that the plants can start to move outside, the selection of greens grows immensely. Added are Asian greens such as tatsoi, bok choy and mizuna, along with kale and beet greens like lutz green leaf and red ace.
Tatsoi, a relative of bok choy, has small, roundish, emerald-green leaves and pale green stems. It is a tasty, sweet, mild green.
Bok choy, one of the oldest Asian greens, is often described as Chinese cabbage. It has large green leaves, ivory stems and a bulbous bottom. You may also see baby bok choy at market, which is smaller and more tender than its big brother.
Mizuna is beautiful and feathery, deep green, and has a very mild mustard flavor .
All of the Asian greens are delicate and crisp, and are great served fresh in salads, stir-fried or braised. They are best when not overcooked or over-seasoned.
Nussbaum enjoys all the Asian greens, and usually prefers simple vinaigrette dressing when eating them in salad.
If you're wondering why spinach is not part of the Camino de Paz lineup of greens, Nussbaum says, "People need to adjust their palate to eat locally," he said, "and spinach takes more nutrients out of the soil and requires more soil amendments than other healthy, delicious greens."
So Nussbaum doesn't grow it. Spinach in New Mexico often has yellowish leaves.
Nussbaum also would like to see more customers eating local food so that farms like his can increase production and broaden produce choices.
All Camino de Paz produce is certifi ed naturally grown. This grass-roots label used by about 1,000 farms across the country -- an alternative to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's certifi ed organic label. Nussbaum says the label has all the same organic stipulations and more.
Featured Growers
WHO: Greg Nussbaum, Patricia Pantano and students, Camino de Paz Farm & School
FEATURED CROP: Asian greens: tatsoi, mizuna, bok choy. Part of the crucifer family, Asian greens provide lots of vitamins A and C, potassium, calcium, folic acid, beta-carotene, zinc, manganese, and magnesium. They are also low in calories and high in fiber.
SEASON: Through spring (or until it gets too hot) and again in fall
WHERE TO FIND THE GROWERS: Santa Fe Farmers' Market
