Produce Subscription (Week 23)

Welcome to the first distribution for seasonal CSA subscribers! We are proud to be handing off 9# of sassy greens, crunchy roots and loads of spinach this first week of June.

What an odd spring it has been; I was cruising thru the website of our local farming colleagues and laughed out loud as each one came on the screen. We ALL had the EXACT same comments about the weather and growing and hoping for some help from Mother Nature. Everyone got the same cards this year.

We know that vegetables that are willing to grow in the Great White North in the spring are not common fare for everyone. But they do have a lot to offer— tons of vitamins (one is even named Vitamin Green), flavor complexity, and accommodating functionality in cooking. From simple braising in a hot skillet to chopped and stewed in a wonderful lentil soup, greens of various denominations can ease into your culinary repertoire fairly easily. So don’t be put off!

And don’t be put off by the “lacey” presentation of the various salad greens, mustards and boc choi’s. I’ll divide blame relatively equally between the weather and the pests. The spring storms we have had brought whopping winds thru the fields and took down the row covers faster then we could put them back up, and thus, the flea beetles were blessed with the feast of the Cole Crops. Integrated pest management (not pesticides) will get us to the non-lacey varieties in time; we promise.

Green Power! In your boxes this week you’ll find the following:

Radish Add some crunch to those salads; or sprinkle a little sea salt and munch!

Green onion Provided a pretty big handful, but they store well and get us an early onion for cooking.

Chives Stick them in a small vase, and the flowers might open for you.

Boc Choi (2x mei qing choi) I’ve grown baby boc choi, but never have had them HAVE babies; Mei Qing wanted to be harvested 2 wks ago!

Boc Choi (black summer) Don’t like the name, but pretty little thing.

Braising greens triplets Southern giant curled mustard, Vitamin Green, Red Splendor mizuna

Salad mix WLIG original

Spinach, loose leaf Or, spinach on steroids!

Rhubarb Sorry, stems were all too long for the boxes so had to do some chopping to fit.

Recipes for your consideration

My all time favorite way to eat various greens (boc choi, mustard/mizuna, spinach, in order of preference) is the following:

In a skillet, simmer the protein of your choice (mine is Wildwood extra firm tofu, sliced in to ½ inch slabs) in the barbeque sauce of your choice (mine is a recipe I canned in 2011 and can probably never repeat!) for 10-15min. If you are using a meat product, cook it sufficiently.

Rough chop a pile of greens, wash and let drip dry a bit (don’t spin dry).
Heat a large skillet to medium, add toasted sesame oil and toss in the greens (sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt if you like.) Cover with lid. Set timer to 1-2 minutes; don’t overcook. (Overcooked greens are blah.) You want them to maintain a bright green color and not dissolve into a pile of mush.

Use the greens as a base (a pile in the middle of your plate) for your main, like you would a starch like rice or mashed potatoes. Spoon the barbeque sauce and protein over the greens. Enjoy!

Also check out the Spicy Grits and Greens recipe on the website. Great combo!

And to manage the radishes, try a Simple Radish Salad recipe.

If you are new to working with rhubarb, head on over to The Rhubarb Compendium and see if you can find something to your liking. I am working on a couple of muffin recipes using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free products, so I’ll pass those on via the website when I have thoroughly tested them.

For Your Reading Pleasure

This is a repeater from last year, but I really have to plug this book again. I really think it was one of those pivotal influences for me. Barbara Kingsolver is a wonderful writer, if you haven’t read some of her things. This book takes you thru a year in the life of her family eating locally and seasonally. Her husband joins the book with chapters on the politics of food and her daughter adds flavor with tasty seasonal recipes from their daily bounty. Have a read, worth your time.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle — Barbara Kingsolver

Farm News

Ok, so we are off! Just about one planting of every vegetable/fruit has been started in the basement or planted in the field; more successions are obviously in the future. But, everything is ticking along. The cold nights are a challenge to the little melon starts and pickling cukes (40F Sunday 2am); we hope the high tunnel will be giving an edge to the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers started inside there; next week we hang the trellis strings/reels. Pumpkins (yes, new this year) are plugging along and waves of lettuce mix are sprouting all over field #2. Potatoes are ALL in the ground; we even have a planting of early/new potatoes that started in the high tunnel when it was in position #1. We hope to surprise you with those earlier than typical.

Rog had fun picking 30 pounds of spinach this week; not sure I can talk him into spinach next week. (i.e. it is a tedious harvest to say the least.) Make your bribes to him early.

But I had The Machine working the green onion harvest, so that’s why you have a bundle of those this week. (I didn’t want to stop The Machine!)

The Machine!

Next week we’ll look to open the market with a few things. Greens for sure, cuz ya’ll love them so much. Hanging flower baskets, a few plant starts (leeks, peppers, cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers). We’ll see how things shape up!

Everyone be careful now with the boxes! Open gently; return for pickup next week. Labels are fussy; we’ll get that solved. And for newbies, go here for Dropsite Location Details.

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara