Spring Vegetables with Tecolote Farms I: Green Garlic

Spring is here and even better – So are spring veggies!

If you can’t grow them in your own garden, then there is no better way to enjoy them than through a local farm CSA. We are lucky enough to have several of those to choose from here in Austin. However, if you want to go with the oldest running CSA in Texas, then there is only one choice: Tecolote Farms, owned and managed by Katie and David Pitre.

Now is the time to sign up and reserve your spring CSA with Tecolote and subscriptions are limited so don’t miss out. Deliveries will begin in late March, weather dependent. Subscribing to a CSA not only supports and sustains our local farms but it also supports and sustains your commitment to a Plant Based Diet.

I was lucky enough to be introduced to the goodness of Tecolote veggies my very first year in Austin, at a time I was mourning the loss of the markets in Germany. That year a brave bunch of us from Travis Heights began a cooking group and prepared a week of gluten-free vegan meals for our four families one afternoon a week. The group survived an entire year with many stories to tell and while we chose not to continue, we have all remained loyal to Tecolote farms over the years.

In this first post of a new series that celebrates soon be harvested spring bounty at Tecolate I will feature one of the first spring veggies: green garlic. This is garlic in its immature, sweet, fragrant stage. No need to separate or peel as the entire bulb and stem can be chopped then sauteed or used raw.

Ready to have some fun in the kitchen adding in a little green garlic? Then test drive these plant based beauties!

Mini Potato Pancakes (Korean gamjajeon) with Green Garlic and Chives

Ingredients for 24 (2-inch) Pancakes

1 1/2 pounds potatoes
3 tablespoons chopped green garlic (white and light green parts only)
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil for frying
24 flat-leaf parsley leaves

Dipping sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce (replace with gluten free tamari or coconut aminos)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar (I use honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar)

Full Instructions Here

Baby Greens Salad with Green Garlic Dressing

Ingredients

1/4 cup amaranth grain (or other whole grain)
3/4 cups stock or water
1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed to bite-size (or green beans, sliced summer squash, etc.)
1 tablespoon nut oil (or olive oil)
Sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup currants
1/2 medium purple onion, finely chopped
Tender greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula, baby kale, chard, beet greens, etc.) to fill a medium-sized salad bowl
Handful sprouts
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup edible flower petals

For the dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 stalk green garlic
Pinch cayenne
1 finger-pinch sea salt

Full Instructions Here