Down on the microfarm, a superfood boosts the High Country’s well-being and good taste!
The Tinier the Leaf the Healthier to Eat
Photos by Tom Bagley
35 Shades of Micro Green: By Gail Greco
T
he grab-and-add simplicity of flavor-enhancing microgreens speeds cooking prep in my High Country kitchen. No bigger than a pinky, they’re micro in size, macro in benefits, with experts touting them as the most nutritious veggies on the planet. And they’re uniquely available from a local grower, Sunshine Cove Farm in Valle Crucis (www.sunshinecovefarm.com). A handful served raw satisfies a veggie course that’s easy-peasy healthy in a snap—no cutting board or paring knife in sight. You can stop right there, or with only a tad more effort, be foodalicious: fennel greens and microbasil whirled into my pesto… mustard greens whipped tangy into my white-bean dip for soft-pretzels and a beer chaser… beetroot and cress greens egged on in a skillet for breakfast. Tonight, it’s a rainbow of micro veggies (that kids won’t detect) tucked into a bacon-ranch macand-cheese... for dessert, nutty/sweet sunflower greens baked in a strawberry bread. And why not? “They go with anything, and pack markedly more nutrients than their full-grown vegetables,” answers Larson Smith, Sunshine Cove (SCF) owner since 2017. He operates the smallfootprint farm, or microgreenery, with
108 — Spring 2021 CAROLINA MOUNTAIN LIFE
partner Michelle Dineen, growing up to 35 varieties all year long. “Pea tendrils are just springing up,” reports Smith. Hmmm… swirl them into my creamy baked potato soup? Drop them into a carrot-mushroom stirfry? Varying flavors inspire new dishes and refresh faves. Microgreens boast familiar names, such as spinach and cauliflower, as well as heirlooms, including mizuna (Aztec) red amaranth. That’s because technically they are those vegetables at seedling stage, with leaves unfurling cheerfully— lacy and fluffy, floppy tender—mostly in shades of green. Popping up in trays of enriched soil, they stretch across a giant greenhouse like a magic carpet of life. Sunlight blasts the greens with detoxifying phytonutrients, which in humans can foil viral infections, douse inflammation, improve brain function, reduce blood pressure, balance hormones, and offer vitamins/minerals for everyday well-being. According to a University of Maryland College of Agriculture study, microgreens have four to 40 times more nutrients than their mature veggie counterparts. A kapow of healthy compounds are found in other SCF small-sized crops, as well: palm-size eggplants, peppers, and one-inch eggs from a perky flock
of quail. But it’s as much as 30 pounds weekly of microgreens that keep the farm busiest—a huge yield since each green is lighter than a feather! The farm touts its carefully crafted culinary mixes as “unlimited meal expanders.” For example, kohlrabi and purple radish greens in Purple Haze change up the flavor in, say, salmon or crab cakes. Blowing Rock’s Dawn Sullivan is convinced that SCF’s Pico de Gallo Mix (microherb cilantro, tangerine gem, onion greens) “is why everyone devours my smoked brisket tacos. The leaves, plopped on top of the filling, give the tacos a delightful and unexpected citrusy tang, balancing the woodsy meat and spicy sauce. As a great convenience food that goes a long way, it’s this kind of simplicity that makes you a better cook!” Sullivan is a regular shopper at the Watauga County Farmers’ Market, and is currently working on her own cookbook for family and friends, who are eager to know her secrets. The Pico mix will surely be one of them! SCF veggies can be purchased at Be Natural Market, the High Country Food Hub, local farmers’ markets, and familiar restaurants, including Vidalia, Joy Bistro, Wild Craft, Rowlands, Booneshine, and Lost Province. Vidalia chef owner Sam
