Share Notes 4-27-17

Share Notes 4-27-17

CSA Share Notes:

Welcome to the Red Moon Farm spring CSA! This weather has been absolutely incredible for spring crops, with light weekly rains and a bit of cooler temperatures the past two weeks. The crops are loving it, and we hope you love what the garden has provided for you.

Here’s this week’s vegetable line-up:

  • Radish—small shares received Easter Egg radishes, a fun mix of several colors. Large shares received watermelon radishes. These beauties are whitish-green on the outside but lovely bright pink on the inside. We love both varieties sliced thin with lemon juice and salt as a fresh afternoon snack. Did you know that radish tops are edible? These are super good.
  • Kale—This large shares received curly winterbor kale, the standard variety you’re probably more used to working with from the grocery store. Small shares received the lovely lacinato kale, often called dinosaur kale.  Cook your kale southern style with a little bacon and onion, or try the Massaged Kale Salad.
  • Mei Qing Pac Choi—With this slightly cooler weather we’ve been craving yellow curry with onion, potato, and pac choi. Give it a try! Or go for one of our favorites from our website: Sesame noodles with bok choy (pac choi and bok choy are the same plant, just two slightly different translations from Chinese)
  • Lettuce—A large healthy head of Romaine for everyone, and a head of Waldmann’s Green for the large shares. You know what to do with this crop!
  • Turnips—small shares received Hakurei turnips, a mild, almost sweet Japanese salad turnip, great for fresh eating, and the large shares received scarlet queen turnips. These red beauties are more like traditional purple top turnips and should be treated the same. Chop up the roots, and slice up the leaves, some onion, garlic, maybe a bit of bacon, and sauté it all together, throwing the leaves in nearest to the end to soften up.
  • Spinach— Another lovely, tender bag of this delectable green.
  • Kohlrabi—small shares received one large kohlrabi, large shares received a handful of green and purple kohlrabi. This vegetable may be a newcomer to your kitchen. Don’t be intimidated! With kohlrabi, think: broccoli stems.  Just peel off the tough outer skin and slice or chop. It’s crunchy and juicy like an apple, and a little bit sweeter than broccoli stems. Try with lemon juice and salt, or it goes wonderfully into a salad, but it is also fantastic roasted. Similar to roasting cauliflower, it takes on any herbs and spices you’d like to throw on it beautifully.
  • Wild Blackberries—Large shares received just shy of a pint of perfect tiny black jewels! Lucky y’all. Please enjoy. These were a surprise addition when we saw we had enough time to go out and pick. We hope to share them with the small shares sometime in the next few weeks.

Veggie Storage tips:

The many leafy greens will all last longest stored in the refrigerator, sealed up in bags or containers to retain their moisture. A suggestion: buy some “PEAK fresh USA” bags from Natural Grocer. They’re roomy and re-usable and help keep your produce fresher, longer. The root crops should be severed from their tops to keep the roots nice and firm and crisp. The tops can be stored like the other greens. Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them. As a general rule, wait to wash any veggies until you’re ready to use them to help retain nutrients and prevent spoilage from excess moisture.

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Send us a note or post a comment of how you’ve used your CSA share.

Your farmers,

Jess & Justin

Large Share

Large-Spring-CSA-share-Red-Moon-FarmLarge Share:  (top row) Waldmann’s green lettuce, Winterbor kale, Mei Qing pac choi. (center row) Romaine, spinach, wild blackberries, kohlrabi (bottom row) scarlet queen turnips, and watermelon radishes.

Small Sharesmall-Spring-CSA-share-Red-Moon-FarmSmall share: (top row) Mei Qing Pac Choi, Easter Egg radishes, Hakurei turnips. (bottom row) Romaine, Lacinato kale, spinach, and kohlrabi (green or purple).