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Newly harvested rootstock. These will be your Calif. endive (Say "On-deev") for the holidays...
The Endive Blog
Healthy Holiday Appetizers
Submitted by Molly Collins on Tue, 12/04/2012 - 08:24
‘Tis the season for family, friends, and most of all, food! The winter season brings about beautiful produce, such as apples, squash and winter greens, but typical holiday fare tends to favor a decadent, rather than light, preparation of these ingredients. Luckily, there are a few simple substitutes that can reduce your holiday season calorie intake without diminishing any of its deliciousness!
Because endive, unlike most other forms of lettuce, has a strength and rigidity to it, the leaves can be used to hold a variety of dips and salads. Switching out chips and crackers for leaves of endive not only reduces calorie consumption, but it boosts your nutritional intake as well! Take for example, a serving of crackers. An average serving contains 130 calories, 4.5 grams of fat and 21 grams of carbs (not to mention, who really eats only the 15 recommended crackers?). On the other hand, an entire head of endive contains only 15 calories, a multitude of vitamins and nearly as much potassium as a whole banana! These health benefits are simply an added plus to the refreshing crunch endive can contribute to a dish.
One recipe that will have even picky eaters exulting praises is our classic “Original Blue” Endive Boats. The ratio between effort and reward is definitely in your favor with this one—simply sprinkle blue cheese and walnuts in each endive leaf and top them with a drizzle of honey. Voila! An impressively delicious appetizer for your holiday gathering!
The Red Quinoa Salad in Endive Boats is another tasty and super nutritious option, not to mention the recipe can easily be prepared for a dinner party of six or sixty!
And if you’re feeling ambitious, try topping endive with the classic pairing of Herbed Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon. The little bit of extra effort is well worth the delicious bite you and your guests will experience!
So pick up some California-grown endive as you make your last minute grocery runs for the holidays, and when the holidays are over, don’t forget to continue to use endive as a chip and cracker substitute! An anonymous food blogger may even admit to plopping down on the couch with a head of endive in one hand and a tub of hummus in the other… a lazy snack that provides great taste and nutrition. Of course, you don’t have to settle for finger food—you can always get your daily dose of endive with a simple salad!
D.H. White Elementary Visits California Endive Farms
Submitted by Molly Collins on Wed, 11/21/2012 - 11:14
Over the years, we have had the good fortune to educate young and curious minds when students tour the endive farm here in Rio Vista. They most always arrive with a lot of questions and a lot of energy--both of which we greatly appreciate! We recently hosted the fourth and fifth grade classes from D.H. White Elementary School, which happens to be located just a few blocks from our facility.
*A "thank you" binder from a previous elementary school tour that Mr. Collins keeps in his office.
The classes from D.H. White had a little background on what we do here at California Endive Farms, but they seemed eager to learn more, asking questions such as…
“Why is endive considered a vegetable?”
“What makes it yellow?”
“How do you eat it?”
“How does it grow?”
“What do you do with the root?”
“What does it taste like?”
And one of our favorites…
“Why did you never give up?” (As someone who spent roughly a decade in the 1980s mastering the technique of growing endive, my dad, Rich Collins, loves the opportunity to teach children about the rewards of hard work and determination.)
After the tour, we sent each of the students home with a 3-pack of our endive and the students were thrilled! Who knew 9 and 10 year-olds could have so much enthusiasm for a relatively bitter vegetable? We love the idea of exposing such young taste buds to new flavors and experiences!
Sitting on my desk this morning, much to my delight, was a stack of “thank you” notes addressed to Mr. Collins from the students at D.H. White Elementary School. Here are a few of my favorites…
“Thank you for the endive. I loved my endive, it was delishish. I brought home my endive and the next day I went to my kitchen it was gone! My mom found out my brother did it. Thank you so much for the endive it’s so good!”
“Thank you so much for letting us visit your factory, and for letting us bring endives to our school. I didn’t really care for them very much even though we had ranch dressing. But I’m sure I’ll like it when I’m older. I also liked going into the freezer I hope I can visit your factory again soon!”
“Thank you for letting us to your endive factory. I liked the freezer. The reson I liked the freezer it was cold and snowe. The reason I like cold and snowe is cuse I love the snow and it is cold. I wish I lived in the snow.”
Last year Carolyn, the writer and recipe developer behind All Day I Dream About Food participated in our OnDiva Program. As a result, she created many delicious recipes using our Belgian endive. We love her recipe for Turkey Taco Endive Boats. If you want to test the taste buds of your own youngsters, try this kid-friendly dish!
If you are interested in experiencing your own tour of our endive farm, please contact us at info@endive.com, you may even walk away with some of our delicious, California-grown endive!
Niman Ranch Lunch
Submitted by Molly Collins on Wed, 11/14/2012 - 13:17
A few weeks ago, we got a call from the folks at Niman Ranch who asked if we would like to participate in a lunch for chefs from the Sacramento and Bay Area. The chefs were heading to our Delta neighborhood for a tour to learn about Niman Ranch’s lamb production, all of which is done humanely and sustainably. We could not resist the offer to serve our endive to a group of local chefs so, we happily agreed to bring our signature endive salad!
We arrived at the home of Ian and Margaret Anderson (lamb producers for Niman Ranch since the mid-1990s) ready to prepare lunch for about 100 chefs and guests! We could not have asked for a more gorgeous fall day, with perfect sunny skies and temperatures in the high seventies.
We made a traditional endive salad with Point Reyes blue cheese, roasted pecans, and pears- yum! Here is Mr. Endive himself in the early stages of salad prep…
Our endive salad was accompanied by grilled Niman Ranch lamb, a kale salad, and a potato salad. The chefs were a hungry bunch after their ranch tour - there were zero leftovers!
We had a fantastic time hanging out with the dedicated and passionate team at Niman Ranch. Anytime we get the chance to partner up with folks who are doing things with integrity, we are more than happy to lend our support. Next time you are picking up meat in the grocery store, keep Niman Ranch in mind. And of course, we recommend serving your meat with our delicious, California-grown endive. Here is the salad recipe we used at the lunch...enjoy!
Endive Salad
Ingredients
Dressing:
1 T unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ t salt
1 t dijon mustard
3 T sunflower or olive oil
1 T finely chopped parsley
1 head of fennel, finely sliced
Salad:
3 heads each red and white endives
1 rip D’Anjou or Bartlett pear
¼ C chopped roasted* pecans
¼ crumbled Point Reyes blue cheese
Instructions
- Place vinegar, salt and mustard in bowl and whisk together. Slowly add oil, whisking until fully combined. Add parsley. Season to taste with ground black pepper.
- Cut pear in quarters. Remove core and slice into ½ inch pieces. Add to dressing and gently mix.
- Trim ¼ inch from bottom of endives and remove whole leaves. Repeat as necessary to remove interior leaves. Discard small center core section. Place leaves, cheese and pecans in salad bowl. Dress and toss. Serves 4.
(*roast pecans at 280-300F for 12-15 minutes until golden brown)
For the printable version of this recipe visit us at http://endive.com/node/66.
Past Blog Posts
Submitted by Molly Collins on Sun, 11/11/2012 - 21:25
You can see our previous posts at http://endiveblog.wordpress.com/