2015 week 4

It's June! Boo-yah!

Returning from previous weeks:
Romaine! Let's enjoy this, since it will be the last lettuce we see for awhile.
Kale
Hakurei Turnips
Strawberries in pints, not quarts. Just barely squeaking these out for you. We hope......

New this week:
Kirby pickles//you can use these just like cucumbers, but they are especially great for pickling. Here is a link to a great refrigerator pickle.

Garlic Scapes// We are so excited to have garlic scapes in the share this week from our friends and neighbors Obis One.   Garlic scapes are the tender stem found on a garlic plant. Use your garlic scapes raw in salads and they will have a hot peppery flavor. Cooked garlic scapes will have a mellow, sweeter flavor.  Here is a link to a garlic scape salad dressing

Kohlrabi// I know this is a weird one.  But trust me, it is good and easy to use. 
--Here is a link to make the famous Kohlrabi Ham Bake
--Here is a link to a post I wrote on Kohlrabi

***Special Announcement*** The Spring Open House is this Saturday June 6th 2pm-7pm 
-Enjoy a wagon ride farm tour with our farmers, Andy and Eric, where you will get to know them, here a little of our farm history, and learn all about how your food is grown!

-You-pick strawberries.  Once a year we open the strawberry patch for CSA members only.

-Light refreshments will be available. Strawberry shortcake and lemonade.

2015 week 3

We are so thankful for the rain showers we got early last week.  We ended up getting about an inch of rain between several showers.  Many local farms didn't get that rain and are still struggling with dry conditions.  

Returning from previous weeks--

Collard Greens

Strawberries

Asparagus

and Romaine

New this week!

Hakurei Turnips- are sweet and mild.  Sometimes called salad turnips these are delicious raw, and take on a whole new flavor and texture when cooked.  Turnip leaves are also edible and taste similar to mustard greens, and make delicious stir-fries and sautés.  Turnip root is high in Vitamin C, and the leaves are high in good source of vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and calcium.

To store turnips remove greens and store separately in a plastic bag.  The roots will last several weeks stored in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.

Hakurei turnips are delicious eaten raw and roasted.  Here is a link to a Turnip Kale frittata.

Lacinato Kale also known as Dinosaur Kale is extremely nutritious.  I enjoy kale in my morning green smoothie.  Click here for a link to a salad recipe that is in my menu plan for the week.

Collard Greens and Orzo

Need an easy any day of the week recipe? This one is perfect and so delicious. Like really delicious.

Collard Greens and Orzo

1lb Italian sausage links, casings removed (mild or hot)
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collard greens, thinly sliced into ribbons
6-7 sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chicken stock
juice from half a lemon
Tbs. butter
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 cup orzo pasta
pinch of salt

Pinch little pieces of the sausage and roll them into 1-inch balls. Brown them in a skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through. Take sausage meatballs out of skillet and set aside.

To the skillet, add the oil, garlic, collard ribbons and sundried tomato slivers. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and let it bubble for just a second. Add the sausage and lemon juice. Toss until well combined.

In the meantime, boil the orzo in a pot of salted water until al dente.  Transfer the drained pasta into the skillet. Off the heat, add the butter and cheese. Toss it all together until melted and coated and AMAZING.

Bok Choy Lettuce Wraps

A delightful recipe from a childhood friend of mine and faithful CSA member, Erica McMullen.  Thank you!

This excellent recipe uses bok choy, romaine, AND radishes! SCORE!

Bok Choy Lettuce Wraps
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 lb. ground chicken breast
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 whole share of bok choy, chopped
1" piece of fresh ginger, grated  (you can use ground ginger if you don't have fresh on hand)
1/4 c soy sauce
2-3 T brown sugar
Romaine leaves

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and start to brown. When chicken is nearly done, add pepper, onion and garlic. When chicken is fully cooked and veggies start to soften add bok choy. Once nearly wilted add soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger. Let flavors combine and adjust to your liking with soy sauce, sugar and ginger. Serve on lettuce leaves like tacos and with a side of pickled radishes. I also served brown rice along side for my rice loving kiddos.  

Pickled Radish

1 bunch radish, thinly sliced
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
few peppercorns
garlic

Pack the radishes into a pint sized jar.  In a saucepan bring the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar to a boil.  Just long enough to dissolve the salt and sugar.  Remove from the heat and add in the peppercorns and garlic.  Pour into the jar with radishes.   And seal with tight fitting lid. Let it cool to room temperature.  You can store in the fridge for up to one month.

2015 Week 2

Thank you for all your warm greetings and happy smiles at pick up last week.  Ya'll are such an encouragement to me.  Also, a big-five to anyone who shared with me what they cooked with their produce!  You rock! I so love hearing how you enjoy your veggies.  

News from the farm

1- It is dry. Really dry.  So thankful for our irrigation system, but we are getting tired of moving sprinkler pipe around everyday.  It takes hours! But we will do it as long as we have to. 

2- College is letting out for summer and that means a big part of our work force is returning to the farm and providing some much needed reinforcements.  About half of our staff in the summer are high school and college-aged kids.

3- The honey bees arrived this week.  The kirby pickles and early cantaloupes are flowering and the bees are ready and willing to do some pollination. We rent 32 hives from Harvey's Honey near Woodstown.

Returning from last week:

Easter Egg Radish

Bok Choy

Romaine

New this week:

Escarole -  I normally think of it as a soup green . . . My absolute favorite soup with escarole. Escarole Meatball Soup

Collard Greens- your body will love you for eating these healthy greens.  I really enjoy using collards as a wrap--stuff it with sandwich fixins and roll it up. Yum!  Here is a link for a more traditional way to eat your collards.

And last but certainly not least ---- the long awaited strawberries!

Strawberries are very perishable.   This is not a problem in my home,  they disappear very quickly.   If you want to keep them more than a couple of days they should be kept in the refrigerator. 

2015 Week 1

It's Opening Week of the 2015 CSA season and we are rockin' and rollin'. Woohoo! The weather is warm and things are growing! After a long, cold winter, greens are looking so good. While we were all hoping the strawberries would be ready for week 1, alas they are not. Soooo close! We are hoping for a good 2-3 weeks of harvest coming up.

***The most important thing when bringing fresh greens home from the farm is to take time to clean and store them well.  Here is a link to specific instructions on how to prep your greens (romaine, bok choy, spinach)
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So each week here on the blog I try to introduce the new veggies and some of my favorite ways to prepare them.  Since it is week 1 and every thing is new, its a long blog post.

Romaine- I am so excited for some fresh romaine.  Salads-BLTs-Lettuce Wraps!

Baby Bok Choy -  This is still my absolute favorite way to serve Bok Choy.  But I also pinned some new recipes to try. Check them out here.

Hot House Tomato- Aren't they beauties! While we have grown these gems for a few years now, we've never given them out as part of the CSA. This is because one of the joys of CSA is eating what's in season and becoming more in-tune with the real seasons of produce. May is simply not tomato season. July, August and September are the tomato months and, believe me, we will have plenty of tomatoes to share when the time comes. So why are they in your share this week? Consider it a consolation prize for not getting strawberries! (we know, not a direct replacement for berries)

Easter Egg Radish - Click here for some ideas of what to do with radishes.

Broccoli Rabe is a bitter green, very similar to mustard greens.  I love broccoli rabe cooked with lots of garlic!  I recommend blanching the rabe in boiling water to take the edge off the bitterness first then sautéing with olive oil and garlic.  Here is a recipe "Broccoli Rabe with Pasta and Sun Dried Tomatoes"

Asparagus - If you are not going to use it that day, you should store asparagus in your refrigerator in a bowl or mug with some water in the bottom.  The asparagus will slowly drink up the water and you may need to replenish.  Asparagus is delicious roasted or grilled! This asparagus was grown by John Catalano, just down the road from us!

Spinach- This spinach was grown by Michael Catalano in Mannington Township. They always have the most beautiful spinach fields. Most of their crop is harvested by machines and sent off to be packed and frozen. We were able to hand harvest this from the edges of the field where the harvesters won't be able to get. Throw it in your morning smoothie, or eggs, saute it for dinner or add it to your soup.