Preserving the Harvest

My last day at Hawaii Island Retreat was Thursday and five of the beds I planted were ready to harvest! I was so excited to see that much food after only two and half months. Most of what was ready was lettuce and greens. I brought in three wagon-fulls of arugula, bok choy, chard, mustard greens, Asian savoy, radishes, basil and romaine lettuce. In the kitchen we got creative about preserving all of it for the resort guests and staff. The first thing we made was a huge batch of pesto with the arugula and basil. It was super spicy, just the way I like it. Here's a rough approximation of the recipe:

Arugula Pesto

• 10 big bunches of arugula
• 5 big bunches of basil
• 3 cups of nuts (I used mac nuts and pecans)
• 2 heads of garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup or sugar (to cut the bitterness of the greens)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice

Whirl the arugula and basil together with the olive oil in a food processor (you'll have to do batches with so many greens). Then process the nuts and mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl. You don't need to add the lemon juice, but you will have to freeze the pesto without it, otherwise it will turn brown in the fridge after a couple of days. The arugula definitely makes the pesto very spicy, so just use all basil if you prefer a sweeter dip.

We also had a ton of chard and Asian savoy and learned a great way to preserve them. Donna (a friend from Alaska) loaned her kale chip recipe, which I fell in love with. I ended up eating a whole tray of them, but we did manage to put some away for later.

Kale Chips

• 1 big bunch kale, spinach, chard or any other dark greens, chopped into chip sized pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chopped garlic (optional)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and chop the greens then toss in a big bowl with the other ingredients so that all the greens are evenly coated. Lay out in a thin layer on large baking sheet. Bake for about ten minutes, then take out and redistribute the chips on the baking sheet. Any clumps will not dry out properly. Bake until the chips are all crispy but not burnt (about 15 minutes).

The first batch of these didn't even have a chance to cool before we devoured them. Surprisingly they tasted really garlicy even without any seasoning, though you certainly could add any spices that you like. They reminded me a lot of nori and would be great with fish and rice.



The last way we preserved all that greenage was by making kimchi. I have to admit that I was a little confused by the whole process, but basically what you do is grate or chop all of your greens very fine, add in some radish, beets, apple, carrot and cabbage (or any combination of these), add a culture (a type of lactic acid bacteria) and allow the whole thing to ferment for a couple of days in a jar. The mixture will get really sour and tangy and then you add in your seasoning (citrus, peppers, garlic, etc.). I am not an expert, so I'll refer you to some of my favorite sites for more info:

• An entire website dedicated to Korean food with lots of recipes for kimchi
• Easy and great recipe from my favorite source, Epicurious
• Some great results from the awesome website Foodbuzz

It felt really satisfying to see the result of my time there, all neatly lined up in glass jars and ready to feed everyone while I'm away. The next morning I was off on a plane to Kauai for six weeks of a new adventure at a new garden!