Produce Subscription (Week 25)

It was a beautiful, perfect harvest day today, with slight breeze, 70 degree temps and on-off clouds and sun; wish you were here (for the spinach!) Ok, enough about the spinach. Wait, another deer story, and it relates to spinach. I was bent over harvesting spinach—-

Razz’ view of the spinach

(just so you know, every little bitty leaf is individually harvested with tender loving care; well by pound number 30 I don’t know about the “love part”)—-ok, back to the deer story, yes another one—- I am quietly harvesting spinach (not a loud job in general) when I happen to look up and there is a yearling deer 2 beds (that’s 72 inches to you and me) over from me eating, yes EATING, our/your lettuce!!!!! I stood up straight. He looked at me, chewing. I said, “What do you think you are doing?” He didn’t answer, just bent and took another bite. Another bite! I hopped one bed and that got his attention— a little tail flick. I hopped another bed and just about slapped him on the rump before he turned and sauntered, SAUNTERED mind you, 10ft away. I did a minor Razz deer dance (I figured I needed to stretch a little anyway from the spinach harvesting for the past 2hrs) but there he stood. So, off I went, walking him out of the production fields. I tell ya, these young men.

Spinach, spinach everywhere.
How To Freeze your Spinach:
Start a very large pot of water to boil.
Fill a very large bowl with ½ water and ½ ice cubes.
Place a metal colander atop and cover with lid.
When boiling rapidly, fill colander with washed spinach leaves and cover.
Set timer for 90 seconds…don’t walk away or you’ll have spinach mush.
When time’s up, remove lid and plunge colander into ice water for 60 seconds.
Remove and drip dry for a few minutes.
Remove in handfuls and squeeze well.
Place in a pile on cutting board.
Chop as fine as you like.
Place in freezer bags in portions that are logical to your intended use. (Think spinach dip that calls for one of those blocks of frozen spinach.)
Freeze well. And enjoy spinach year-round!

Spinach IS top billing this week; along with a pound of that green superfood, you’ll find in your boxes this week the following:

Radish A little cherry bomb, called “Cherriette”.

Lettuce, romaine More salad and sandwich crunch!

Broccoli (mini or head) Ok, so the heads are small too. A persnickety little veggie to grow!

Boc Choi (black summer) Is boc choi the new “kale joke” for this CSA?

Baby braising greens Quicker and easier into the hot pan.

Pea shoots The Tea House introduced us to these wonders…see what you think.

Spinach, loose leaf If you are overflowing, consider prepping for spinach dip come 4th of July (see above)

Dill This little sprig is early dill; Razz’ favorite herb (showing Scandinavian heritage!)

Oregano Another early herb, perennial this time…made it thru the snow and cold. Visit Italy this week.

Recipes for your consideration

Everyone feel free to add your favorite recipes to the *website. The more the merrier; it should be pretty self-explanatory to enter them. KAH had an addition she shared with the group , and I put it on the website for ya’ll.

Pea shoots come but once a year. I never knew they existed until one evening I was introduced to them by MP while eating take out from The Tea House in St. Paul (great restaurant, by the way). They were simply done. And the taste— well it’s first the texture of greens and then “pea flavor” comes thru. Very odd. Very delicious.

Sauteed Pea Shoots
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
¼# washed, rough chopped pea shoots
1 Tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed/minced

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add pea shoots, soy sauce and garlic. Cover and cook for 3-5 min, until pea shoots are well wilted but still retain a bright green color. Serve immediately.

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Dill in salad; perfect combo. This dressing recipe packs it all.

Dill-Dijon Dressing
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp tamari soy sauce
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp fresh dill

Combine all ingredients in small bowl; whisk together until well emulsified.

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Here’s a wonderful way to use up those herbs in combination. And fresh bread! Whew, nothing better. (a little tedious, but if you have a bread machine, toss it all in on “dough” setting and then just pat out your dough, let it rise and bake that impressive aroma right into your home.) Next time you see Roger, ask him what he calls this bread.

Herbed Focaccia
1 package (1 Tbsp) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus additional for the loaves
2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
Cornmeal
Course sea salt

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast, 1/2 cup of the warm water, and 1 cup of the flour. Sprinkle the remaining flour on top of the mixture and do not stir. Allow the yeast mixture to rise until it rises up through the flour, 30 to 60 minutes.

Add the remaining warm water, olive oil, salt, and the herbs, stirring to combine. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. It should be very soft and a little bit sticky. Shape into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, coating the dough well with additional olive oil. Allow to rise until double in volume.

Punch the dough down and divide into two equal pieces. Shape into balls and place on heavily floured surface at least 6 inches apart. Brush the tops with olive oil and allow to rise until doubled in volume.

Stretch and shape each ball into a 10-inch disk and place on a heavy baking sheet that has been dusted with cornmeal. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Sprinkle with course sea salt. Bake in a preheated 450F oven for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Makes two 10-inch loaves, to serve 6 to 8.

For Your Reading Pleasure

Riverwalking: Reflections on Moving Water by Kathleen Dean Moore

This is a collection of short essays with the central theme of the title, but generally nature writing very well done. It is a book I pick up and read every now and again. The stories are simple, real and a pleasure to engage. An escape from the hectic nature of everyday life— into just plain nature. Enjoy.

Farm News

What a happy sight; our gold is in those fields!

It’s late on a Tuesday night; another full day of harvesting is packed and chilling in the cooler. Growing is going fairly well. Planting is (somewhat) on schedule; melons and winter squash hardening off outside the greenhouse and another round of salad mix is seeded in. More lettuce and broccoli is being started in the basement. Weeds are out of control and low on the priority list. Gotta move them up a bit before they consume us!

We are happy to be growing some good food.

Everyone be careful now with the boxes! Open gently; return for pickup next week.

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

Roger and Lara