Share Notes April 28th, 2022

Share Notes April 28th, 2022

CSA Share Notes:

Big announcement! We’ve got the summer season open for you to join before we announce it to the public.  We expect it to fill up, so we like to give you, our current members, an early chance to snatch your spot. Head here to register for the summer season: https://csa.farmigo.com/join/redmoonfarm/summer2022 (harvests start at the end of June or early July and run till mid-August, most years.)

Here’s this week’s vegetable line up.

  • Head Lettuce—It’s Salad Season!!  Romaines, oak leafs, summer crisps, these are just the beginning of our many, many gorgeous lettuces we will be sending you over the next month.  We try to get in the habit of eating a fresh salad every night alongside our meal.  Take advantage of this abundance of leafy greens, because the greens do not last. As soon as it gets hot, they’ll be done until late October, and you’ll be missing them!
  • Hakurei Turnips— For large and regular shares. These are a Japanese, fresh-eating salad turnip. You’ll eat these raw, either sliced, or just crunch right in. They’re more like a mild, delicious, creamy radish, and they’re super yummy.  The greens are edible too! Take advantage of enjoying our turnip greens while we’ve got them before the bugs take them!
  • Scarlet Queen Turnip— For the mini shares. These red beauties are NOT BEETS! They’re peppery and loaded with minerals. They’re fantastic roasted and slathered with butter.
  • Kale/Collard—Lacinato for the Regular shares,  Red Russian kale for the Mini shares. and Collard for the Large shares.  These crops can be used interchangeably.  Red Russian is often the most tender, though the Lacinato has been soft enough to use raw lately, too.
  • Spinach—Large and Regular shares received a small bag of tender spinach.
  • Carrots—Everyone received another nice bunch of our lovely rainbow carrots.  Our over-wintered planting has blown us away! We hope you’ve been enjoying it.  We should begin to harvest our next round of carrots in about 2 or 3 weeks.
  • Radishes— Easter Egg for everyone. These are a wonderful, beautiful variety. We like to slice them thin on sandwiches or salads, or dip into hummus, but our favorite is to just snack on them sliced thin with sea salt and lemon juice.  FYI, radish tops are edible! You can cook them like kale or turnip greens. They tiny hairs come right off when cooked.
  • Swiss Chard— This pretty crop is one of my most favorite spring crops, it’s so lovely.  We enjoy it raw early in the season when it’s still super tender. It’s also excellent tossed into the last few minutes of a crockpot sunday roast.  Also excellent roasted or sautéed and topped with parmesan and pine nuts.

Veggie Storage tips:

Most everything will keep longest stored in the fridge sealed up in produce bags.  All root crops should be severed from their tops to keep the roots from getting rubbery, and the greens stored separately, sealed up to stay fresh. Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them to prevent spoilage.

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

 

Regular Share

Regular Share top left to right: Spinach, two lettuce, (bottom row) collards, carrots, chard, Hakurei Turnips over Easter Egg Radishes.

Large Share

Large Share top left to right: top row: three head lettuces, lower half of image: Swiss Chard, carrots, Easter Egg Radishes over bagged spinach, Hakurei Turnips, and Lacinato Kale.

Mini Share

Mini share: one head lettuce, Swiss chard, (bottom row): Red Russian Kale, Easter Egg Radishes, Scarlett Queen Turnips, and carrots.