Share Notes June 4 & 6, 2020
CSA Share Notes:
The Spring garden is really starting to near its end, and the shares are a bit smaller this week that they were at peak season a few weeks back. Remember, this is normal! The season ebbs and flows and so your harvest box does too. We may have another harvest from the spring garden next week, or we may find on our weekly rounds on Monday that the Spring garden has called it quits. We’ll keep you updated and make sure you’re in the loop.
Here’s this week’s vegetable line up:
- Cauliflower—For Regular and Large shares. We’re so grateful this crop has given us another week of harvest! It’s not as beautiful as last week, but this crop is so difficult to grow, we’re still grateful for it. We like a nice coconut milk curry for our cauliflower with chick peas and red curry paste. Cauliflower does not store for long, so use it quickly, and handle it as little as possible. The white florets turn brown very quickly if any bacteria is introduced, so we take care to only touch the greens/stems when harvesting and packaging for you.
- Broccoli—For Mini shares. We suggest roasting or even grilling. It’s delicious.
- Cabbage—Some for everyone this week! Mini shares received a smooth cabbage, Regular shares received a savoy leaved cabbage, and Large shares received both a smooth and a savoy leaved cabbage. Give a batch of lacto-fermented kraut a try, or make up a yummy batch of sweet slaw.
- Carrots—Another small bunch of carrots for everyone! This time from our rainbow planting, so you may have a few red, yellow, or purple carrots mixed in there. Let us know what you think! We hope to have one more good carrot harvest, but we’ll see.
- Kale—Large shares received Winterbor curly kale, Regular shares received Red Russian. Our kitchen blog has about a half dozen great kale recipes if you’re needing some inspiration!
- Basil—Regular shares received our big, leafy Genovese basil. Here’s the most important thing to remember about basil: It does not want to be below 50 degrees. Storing it in the fridge will ruin your basil! Quickly get it out of your box and into a glass of water. Just trim the stems and place it in a glass of water on the counter in a cooler area of your kitchen, and not in any direct sunlight. Just change out the water and trim the stems whenever it needs freshening up and it’ll last you a week or more.
- Swiss Chard—For the large shares only. I like it in a massaged greens salad (where you rub the leaves with oil and kosher salt until they’re silky smooth and the cellulose is broken down) with toasted pine nuts, dried cranberries, parmesan, and a good citrus vinaigrette.
- Garlic Scapes—Regular and Mini shares received this crop. They’re tasty and garlicky, and excellent roasted, sprinkled with parmesan or bacon wrapped, or just minced fine and put into your morning eggs. And they’re also proof that our garlic needs to get harvested really soon. We’ll be pulling the garlic bulbs out of the ground next week! Check our facebook page for a call for volunteers so we can get the job done all in one day (fingers crossed!)
- Onions—Only Mini shares received this crop, but there’re lots more coming! These are our sweet yellow onions. Enjoy them on a burger this weekend, or used in any number of dishes you will cook this week. We also hope to harvest this crop in another week or so. If you’re interested in a volunteer day at the farm (only adults, no kiddoes!) Let us know. We’d love the help!
- Turnips—Only the Large shares received turnips this week. You may have gotten Purple Top or Hakurei turnips, and enough to make a nice batch of mashed and buttered turnips, which is our favorite way to eat them- prepare just like mashed potatoes, but add less milk as turnips contain more water content than potatoes.
Veggie Storage tips:
Everything (but the basil) 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, as they continue to send moisture and nutrients up to the leaves after harvested. Chop those greens off and discard (carrots). The cauliflower does not like to be over handled, and it does not keep long, so use it up quickly. Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them to prevent spoilage.
We may have one more harvest out there for you, but we’ll see in a few days and keep you updated. 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
