CSA Share 2012: week 4

What a week we have had!  The constant threat of thunderstorms, that never amounted to anything, followed by high heat and humidity! Whew! But it was great weather if you were hanging by the pool, ocean, or lake!  The eggplants are loving this heat wave too!  Sadly, the strawberries despise this heat and humidity.  The berries are limping along so you CSA members can come U-pick on Saturday.

Even though the strawberries are out of the picture
Here are 4 reasons why I am SUPER DUPER EXCITED about this weeks share.

#1 Broccoli and Cauliflower--   We planted broccoli in the csa field 2 years ago, and got nothing, nada, zilch.  This spring I got the urge to try growing these cruciferous veggies again.  I tried to be optimistic, but I really was anticipating another flop.  Just look at those beauties! Yummy, yummy!

#2 Spinach-- Spinach is another on of those things that we have been trying to grow with little success for the past few years.  Last years spinach I got from a neighbor.  This year I am proud to announce that this was grown on our farm right next to the turnips. We leads me to #3

#3 Turnips--  I love that part of the whole CSA experience is trying new things.  Turnips fall in the "new things" category for many of our members.  I have this Turnip souffle recipe that will knock your socks off.  Sidenote*** You can eat the turnip greens too! These are the most beautiful turnip greens I have seen in a while!

#4 Pickle Cucs--  I love pickles I eat them right out of the field and so does Auggie Dog

Oh yeah, the asparagus and kholrabi is pretty cool too!

Alien Invasion!

Kholrabi 
Excuse me, what did you say?

Kholrabi.

Huh? What is this alien looking stuff?

Kholrabi. German Cabbage.  Basically it tastes like broccoli stems.   

So WHAT do I do with it?

First rinse the kholrabi to get any sand off.  Then cut the bottom end off.

Then cut off all the little "alien" arms.

Then slice in half.

Kholrabi has a bright white flesh.  Now this kholrabi that I brought in was on the smaller size, so the skin isn't very thick or woody.  But if you end up with a bigger one you will notice more of a thick, greener skin.

Now peel your kholrabi. 
There are many ways to get this done, just do it however you feel comfortable.  I laid the rab flat and worked my way around peeling it with my big knife.

Now you need to choose how to slice.  You could grate the kholrabi to throw onto your fresh salad, or into your coleslaw.

You could cut into cut little matchstick size to eat raw or on top of your salad.  

Or you could cut into bigger sticks to dip into a nice veggie dip 

-or-

If it's 6:30 on a Friday night and you just finished cleaning up CSA, and you're starving, then you could just grab the peanut butter jar and start dipping.  Yum!

Here are some links to some kholrabi recipes:
Kohlrabi Ham Bake from Simply Recipes (I have made this one, and it is very good!)
Kohlrabi & Apple Slaw from A Veggie Venture
Roasted Kohlrabi from A Veggie Venture

Enjoy the Kholrabi in your CSA share this week!

I fear Swiss Chard!

Did anyone else out there NOT grow up eating greens?  I did not and it has been a slow come around to get the greens going in my kitchen.  But so worth the effort to learn to cook them.  Greens are so nutritious and delicious!

***When I was a child, my mom was an excellent cook and made us healthy well-balanced meals.  I learned so much from her about meal planning and grocery shopping.    I think we had salad 4 out of 7 nights a week and we ate lots of asparagus, carrots, green beans, lima beans, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, squash, and eggplant.  But Swiss chard, kale, or collard greens never crossed our table.***

So if your nervous about Swiss chard, its okay.  I was too.  But believe me it is worth it!

The secret to Swiss chard is understanding that it is really two vegetables in one.  The sturdy stems that come in all kinds of colors which take a little time to cook and soften, and the leaves which wilt very quickly.  

In my mind I equate Swiss chard very closely to spinach. You can exchange chard leaves in just about any recipe that calls for spinach. And it will turn out wonderfully.  I put Swiss chard in my Minestrone Soup. . . YUM-O!

If you have a deep love (as I do) for all things creamy try a Creamed Swiss Chard like Martha Stewart's Recipe.  I cut this recipe in half. 

What to do with radishes?

We are picking some beautiful Easter Egg Radishes at the farm.  I just love the colors!

Until recently, my uses for radishes have been:
1. Add a little to a salad
2. Add some to a veggie tray

3. Spread with a little butter and dip in a little salt. YUMMM!

But the world of radishes have so much more to offer.  
May I present. . . Pickled Radishes

First lets prep the radishes.  They are grown in dirt and when you bring them into the kitchen they bring dirt along with them.  I rinse them well under running water.

 Then trim the roots and tops off.  

Aren't they just too cute!

 Thinly slice and put into a pint sized container.

Now to make the brine:

In a medium saucepan add 1 cup water

 1 cup distilled white vinegar.

 2 teaspoons salt

  And 2 teaspoons of sugar.  Stir and bring to a boil. Just enough to dissolve the salt and sugar.

 Take the brine off the heat and add a few peppercorns, and a clove of garlic.

 Then add the brine to the jar with the sliced radishes.  A funnel makes this a lot easier!

Let this sit on the counter to cool off, then keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.  They really are delicious.  I think they would make a great addition to tuna salad, tacos, or just to snack on.

Pickled Radish
1 lb radish, thinly sliced
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tespoons 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.

 If pickling isn't your thang how about :

Radish Cucumber Salad

This salad is crisp and refreshing and taste likes summer!

Thinly slice radish and cucumber.  Then add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of sour cream (depending on how much radish/cuc you slice), and 1 tsp of dill weed.  It would be fantastic to use fresh dill, but I just used dried.  Season with salt and pepper.

 Enjoy!

Video from Farmer E

Farmer E loves to make contraptions that make things a little easier around the farm.

Here is his newest device.

CSA week #2

We got .85 inches of rain this morning. After a lot of rain our produce is SANDY. 

**The greens just might need a triple rinse to get all the sand off.**

This weeks share: Bok Choy, Strawberries, Asparagus, Romaine, Swiss Chard

While it was raining this morning, we worked in the High Tunnel, tying up the tomatoes.  The heirloom tomatoes are looking good.  5-6 more weeks until expected harvest date.

I got a quick peek in the field when it stopped raining this afternoon:

Kholrabi (German Cabbage) is sizing and will be ready for harvest soon.

 

We planted a lot more onions this year, because we liked them so much last year!  YAY!

Romaine to come for a few more weeks.  You can see in this picture the nice job Pop-Pop did cultivating to get the weeds between the rows.  It is good to do that when it is dry and it should stay dry for a day after you cultivate so all the weeds that have been uprooted die completely instead of re-rooting.  Today would not be a good day for cultivating.

CSA week #1

Here is some important information to keep your produce nice if you can't use it right away.

Strawberries. . .well I truly doubt that you will have strawberries hanging around your house very long.  The disappear very quickly in my home, but should be stored in the refrigerator if you want to keep them more than a couple of days. They might last four or five days in the fridge.

Asparagus. . .when you bring asparagus home and you know you are not going to use it that day you should store it in your refrigerator in a bowl or mug with some water in the bottom.  The asparagus will slowly drink up the water.  Before cooking your asparagus it needs to be rinsed, the best way I have  found is to fill up a pitcher of water and put the asparagus in with the tips down. This way all the sand will sink to the bottom.

Romaine and Bok Choy and any other greens that come from the CSA are SANDY!  They need to be thoroughly washed.  To wash I fill up a clean sink or big bowl with cold water and put the leaves in and gently swish.  Then pat the leaves dry or dry them in your handy dandy salad spinner.  Next, wrap the lettuce leaves in some paper towel and store in a gallon size ziploc bag or other large container.  If you carefully wash, dry, and store your greens they will easily last the whole week, but if you just throw the whole head in the fridge crisper the lettuce will wilt and not be crisp.

So tonight we had Bok Choy and it was delicious!

This is not an exact recipe, sorry to my peeps who like specific instructions.

To prep the bok choy cut the stalks from the leaves.  (The stalks take longer to cook).  Chop the stalks into large bite sized pieces.  Then chop the leaves into 1 inch pieces.  I also added some sliced red onion, but you could use sweet onion or green onions too.

Heat olive oil in saute pan on high.  Make sure it is good and hot then add the stalks and onion and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Then add in the leaves.  Like spinach, the leaves will wilt.  Then I added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, a couple drops of toasted sesame oil and a few splashes of soy sauce.  Stir and cook just until greens have wilted.  It will only take1-2 more minutes.  YUM!

Eric, Gram and I wolfed this down.  We didn't share with the kids.

Word to the wise: I overdid it a little on the soy sauce,  that stuff is so potent, it only takes a little.

What did you cook up this week with your Buzby produce?