Micro greens!

There is a new vendor at the Collingswood Farmers’ Market.  Indogrow Farms.

Patrick Gigliotti and Louis Monte grow nutrient-dense micro greens in a vertical farm in their Cherry Hill NJ home.  Yes.  They grown tasty and extremely nutritious food in their home for local restaurants and local markets.

Their beautiful display was certainly inviting but I will be honest, when I saw the trays of greens I thought I was going to have to take the plants home and either tend to them or throw them away as I know I would ignore them to death.  When I spoke to the farmers they explained that they grew the greens,  harvested them, and made delicious mixes of the little guys in several carefully chosen combinations…that were in plastic bags.  Ready to take home.  Ready to eat.  Yay!

There were four varieties on offer.

THE ITALIAN.  A mix of buckwheat, endive, radicchio, red Russian kale, and Italian basil micro greens.

THE FUSION.  A mix of fenugreek, purple kohlrabi, wasabi, Thai lemon basil, and sweet pea shoots.

THE ROBUST.  A mix of Sunflower shoots, buckwheat, and sweet pea shoots.

THE ZESTY.  A mix of arugula, spicy brown mustard, wasabi, and sunflower shoots.

 

My daughters and I tried all four and used them in a variety of ways.

The first “recipe” I tried was to put them on a turkey sandwich.  Sourdough bread, turkey, mayonnaise, and a nice pinch of micro greens.  Absolutely delicious.  And much more nutritious than lettuce.  Did I mention delicious?  Very.

Next my husband and I grilled some bison rib eye steaks and had a big salad topped with a large handful of micro greens.  We even ate some on top of the steaks.  Delicious again. Crisp.  Fresh.  Easy!  (You don’t have to make a salad with anything more than the  micro greens dressed with a mild vinaigrette and enjoy).

 

Daughter One braised an Osso Buco cut of bison and served her greens over a side of grits.

Daughter Two made turkey wraps for lunch and turkey burgers for dinner.  All incorporating the micro greens.  Along side the turkey burgers she served sliced tomatoes and turnip oven fries.  (her fancy turkey burgers recipe is a the end of this post).

Microgreens on top of any burger…with a Jersey tomato would be nothing short of marvelous!

For breakfast the next day I made a simple scrambled country fresh egg topped with micro greens with a bread knot on the side.

You can even just open the bag and eat a handful!

And, if you have any leftover, you can take them to work for your packed lunch on top of leftover spaghetti!

Whenever my father wanted us kids to eat something good for us…or try a new food…he would do a little dance and he would sing a little rhyme….”Nutritious. Delicious.  Makes you feel ambitious”.  He would definitely be right about Indogrow Farms Micro Greens.

 

Fancy Turkey Burgers –
1 pound of ground turkey (white meat, dark meat, or mixed)
1 tbsp of Julie’s Herb Blend (from Our Yards Farm)
1 tsp of Julie’s Basil Salt (from Our Yards Farm)
1 egg (from Danlynn Organic Farm)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried onions
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic

4 rolls (from Amber Grains Bakery), optional
1 tomato (from A. T. Buzby)
1 ball of Villa Barone fresh mozzarella
1 bag of microgreens (from Indogrow Farms)

Directions:
Mix the first 7 ingredients.

Form into 4 wide, thin patties and bake on a foil-liked cookie sheet in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes (or desired doneness), flipping once.

While they’re cooking, slice the tomato and the mozzarella.

Take the patties out of the oven.

Place once slice of mozzarella on each, and put back in until the cheese is melted to your liking (I sometimes use the broiler for this).

Take the burgers out again, top with tomato and a big handful of microgreens, and eat either on a plate or a roll.

Eggs – Danlynn Organic
Rolls, bread – Amber Grains Bakery
Spices – Our Yards Farm
Micro greens – Indogrow Farms
Tomatoes – everywhere!  Our Yards Farm, Springdale Farms, Flaim Farm, Hymer Farm, Viereck Farm, Formisano Farm,  Savoie Organic Farm, DanLynn Organic Farm, Fruitwood Farm
Mozzarella Cheese – Villa Barone, Springdale Farm
Bison – Buck Wild Bison