Share Notes 5-5-16

Share Notes 5-5-16

CSA Share Notes:

Welcome to the Red Moon Farm spring CSA. This is a big week of lush, healthy vegetables, so enjoy!

  • Easter Egg Radish—Crisp and bright. excellent raw with a little lemon or lime. Have you tried sautéing radish tops yet? They’re so delicious. We pickled these for our big farm dinner this Saturday.
  • Arugula—spicy and aromatic, this crop is excellent in a salad of snow peas, berries, and strong cheese.  This crop will be featured at the farm dinner this Saturday
  • Kale or Collard—Large shares received collard greens, and the small shares received Red Russian kale. These two are very closely related genetically and in flavor, and can often work interchangeably in recipes.  obviously this crop is great with bacon and onion, or you could try one of our many kale recipes in the kitchen blog. You’ll see this crop at the dinner this Saturday, as well.
  • Swiss Chard—Large shares received gorgeous leaves of this rainbow swiss chard variety. The leaves are very similar in flavor and texture to mature spinach and beet greens, are great raw or braised or sauteed. This will also be part of Saturday’s farm dinner.
  • Pac Choi—a delicious Asian cabbage that’s a great addition to stir fries, curries, or turned into kim chee. In this harvest, we were able to give you plenty for the week. We have a great noodle dish we make from Pac Choi
  • Lettuce—Large shares received a romaine and a red butter lettuce. Small shares received a red butter lettuce and a New Red Fire lettuce.
  • Snow Peas—Small shares received a pint of sweet, crunchy snow peas. Next week we hope to switch and offer this delectable item to the large shares.
  • Asian Spring Mix—A wide variety of Asian greens like scarlet frills mustard, mizuna, tatsoi, and more.  The bright spice of these mustardy greens pairs best with an animal fat like lard, butter, or bacon fat.
  • Spring onions—These onions began to flower, which means they won’t put any more energy into their root, so it was time to pull them up.  The main crop of onions needs several more weeks, but these early onions are pretty sweet and delicious. The bulb, greens, and even flower top are edible- any part that isn’t tough.

Veggie Storage tips:

The many leafy greens will all last longest stored in the refrigerator, sealed up in a bag or container to retain their moisture. The radish roots should be severed from their tops to keep them firm and crisp, and 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-organic Large Share:  Spring onions, romaine and red butter lettuce, collard, pac choi, Asian spring mix, arugula, radishes, and Swiss chard.

Small Share

small-csa-share-organic

Small share: Kale, pac choi, arugula, Asian spring mix, spring onions, radishes, snow peas, and lettuce.