Monthly Archives: June 2011

June 28, 2011 · 11:03 am

Week 5

Well, I finally found my camera. Unfortunately, I found it outside on a table after it got watered in with about 4 inches a rain! So, no pictures this week. Hopefully I will find a good replacement camera soon, but until then, I hope you enjoy the text.

 

Expect the following produce in your shares this week:

Lettuce

1 cabbage

1 bunch beets

1 bunch arugula

1 bunch sweet salad turnips

1 bunch baby fennel

snap peas or shelling peas

baby bok choy

1 bunch dill

1 bunch cilantro

 

RECIPES

 

Sweet Salad Turnips

 

Can I let you in on a little secret? I don’t like turnips. I know, sacrilege, right? The one vegetable I don’t really like. (I mean, I will eat them, so my dislike can’t be that bad. And, I do like turnip greens.) So, it was much to my surprise when I ate a raw sweet Japanese turnip and LOVED IT.  They are like radishes but not as spicey, and perhaps more airy and earthy. I am officially obsessed with the these sweet salad turnips! The fact that they are magenta is just a bonus.

 

The following salad incorporates several of the items in this week’s share together with a miso dressing. Miso, the fermented rice-based paste, has become a staple around our household. We use it soups, sauces and dressings, like the one here. If you are new to the miso scene, and need a source for miso, I am thrilled to report that you can actually purchase locally made miso at Lagusta’s Luscious, a new chocolate shop in New Paltz that was just opened by Second Wind CSA member Lagusta.

 

Sweet Salad with Miso Dressing

 

1-2 heads lettuce

4-5 sweet salad turnips

¼  pound sugar snap peas

¼ cup chopped chives

 

For Dressing:

(makes 1 cup)

 

2 TBS toasted sesame oil

5 TBS grapeseed oil

1 TBS maple syrup or other sweetener

2 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS rice vinegar

1-2 TBS sweet miso

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

 

1. Wash and prepare the vegetables. I prefer the snap peas sliced into three sections, and the turnips washed, but not peeled, and sliced very thin.

2. To make dressing, whisk oils, maple syrup and miso together until smooth, followed by the lemon juice, vinegar and ginger.

3. Dress salad with desired amount of dressing and serve. Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

Fancy Cabbage Slaw

 

1 cabbage, cored, quartered, washed and sliced thinly

¼ cup chopped chives

¼ cup chopped dill

 

For Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup white wine vinegar

2 TBS maple syrup

1 TBS Dijon mustard

½ tea salt

black pepper

 

  1. Toss sliced cabbage with dill and chives.
  2. To make dressing, whisk all ingredients together well.
  3. Dress cabbage with desired amount of dressing. Eat immediately, or let stand in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours to let the flavors meld.

 

Check out the Beet and Fennel Salad recipe from this post last year.

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June 21, 2011 · 12:26 am

Week Four

My oh my, the season is changing! Expect the following produce this week:

Lettuce

1 bunch chard

1 bunch baby beets with greens

1 bunch mustard greens

baby bok choy

snap peas OR shelling peas

1 bunch cilantro

…and possibly more delicious surprises!

I have no idea what happened to the last week! It was filled to the brim and therefore flew by. This morning I forgot my camera at home, as a result of not thinking that today really was the start of a new week, and thus have no photos to share! Hopefully, I will take some nice photos during the harvests this week and upload them.

Unfortunately I have been cooking the most uninspired meals for dinner these days (with the most amazing produce, to be sure) so I haven’t had much time to experiment in the kitchen with the produce in the shares. I think this might change by this weekend. I am craving a good day (or even partial day) off spent cooking good food and photographing it, so, soon, soon, dear reader I will be back in the culinary groove. For now though, I really am just cooking everything and putting it over pasta. Really. And eating lots of salad, which I hope all shareholders are doing these days too!

As for the new items in this weeks share, here are some tips for preparing them.

Baby Beets with Greens: Tender and sweet tiny beets with luscious tops do quite well when cooked together. The beets can be chopped and added to the saute pan first with some garlic, then the greens added at the end and allowed to wilt. Some good flavor pairings include: sesame oil and ginger; garlic and red pepper; citrus and dill; coriander and cilantro. Beet greens are very similar to chard,so you can use them in the same way, if you decide to use the beets separately from the tops.

Mustard Greens: These assertive greens are among my favorite. My absolute favorite preparation of them is chopped, sauteed with garlic, hot chili flakes and salt and eaten at room temperature. I find mustard greens similar to broccoli raab, so if you have a preparation for broccoli raab you enjoy, try it with mustard!

Baby Bok Choy: New this year! We are growing baby bok choy, and I think you are going to love it! Bok choy is mild and sweet. It is usually prepared by sauteeing the entire plant, either whole or quartered. It pairs well with noodles and grains with a sweet/garlicky/spicey/soy saucey sauce.

Snap Peas or Shelling Peas: Each week you will choose between these two types of peas.  Snap peas can be eaten whole, either cooked or raw.  They make a great healthy treat when eaten raw…if you start snacking in the car, they might not make it home.  Shelling peas are also fantastic, but must be shelled.  These are like the green peas you normally find in the freezer section at the store, only better.  Try them fresh in salad or in any recipe that calls for peas.  Please make sure you only take one of the two types of peas.  They will be available for the next couple of weeks so you can always try the other variety next time.

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June 14, 2011 · 10:44 am

Week Three

Expect the following in this week’s share:

lettuce

1 bunch arugula

1 small Napa cabbage (see note)

spring greens mix

1 bunch kale

1 bunch radishes

1 bunch basil

garlic scapes

Small Napa Cabbages We have to harvest Napa cabbages this week that aren’t quite ready to harvest. I spent time yesterday pulling most our crop out of the ground because they had all put up seed stalks. I fear that the few remaining cabbages are on the verge of putting up seed stalks as well, so they shall be harvested. These cabbages haven’t formed a tight cabbage head yet, but I didn’t want them to go to waste, so I brought one home to taste test it to make sure it would be suitable for this week’s distribution. I made a quite yummy salad, which I am sharing with you here.

Napa Cabbage Salad

serves 2

1 small head, washed and shredded

1 small bunch chives, chopped

5 basil leaves

handful peanuts, chopped

for dressing:

1 TBS sugar

1/4 tea salt

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2-3 TBS neutral oil, such as grapeseed or organic canola

Dissolve sugar and salt in the vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk the oil in.

Place shredded cabbage in a medium bowl, cover with dressing and toss well. Top with chopped chives, chopped basil and peanuts. Serve immediately or let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Garlic Scapes

These beauties are the flower buds of the hardneck garlic. If allowed to remain on the plant, the plant would put all its energy into making a flower and that energy would be taken away from forming a nice, fat bulb of garlic below the ground. So, we chop them of as soon as we see them and eat them!

Garlic scapes are very garlicky, but, because of their texture, have limited uses. One time last year I fried garlic scapes in a lot of oil over low heat for a really long time, until they were soft, yet slightly browned and crisp on the outside. Boy, were those good! You can also mince them and saute them like you would cloves of garlic. I have found my favorite use for them is pesto, and fortunately, we’ve got some gorgeous basil this week that makes it all possible.

Garlic scapes are relatively good keepers, and will probably last into next week if kept sealed up and dry in the fridge.

1-2 scapes = 1 large clove garlic

Garlic Infused Vinegar

For my garlic scape pesto, I only used the tops because they are the most tender. The stems are quite garlicky too, and I didn’t want them to go to waste. I remembered a conversation I had with member and chef Lagusta last year about making garlic infused vinegar out of the scapes. Lagusta recommended using a lot of scapes, apple cider vinegar and a pinch of brown sugar, and letting the mixture infuse for 6 months. What a treat to open that up in December!

After making my pesto, I simply chopped the stems and added them to white wine vinegar. You could also try adding other flavorings such as chilies or herbs.

All infusions are best after 6-8 weeks, so putting a date on the jar is wise. Place the infusion in a cool, dark spot, such as a pantry or cupboard. As often as you think of it (but not more than once a day), give the jar a little shake to help release the flavor into the vinegar.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Makes 1-1/4 cups

5-8 scape tops

1 bunch basil, leaves torn off stems

1/2 cup nuts, I use walnuts or, on special occasions, pine nuts

1/2 cup plus 1 TBS good quality olive oil

1/4 tea salt (or more to taste)

Place the tops of the scapes in a food processor and process until well chopped.

Add the nuts and process into small pieces.

Remove scape/nut mixture from the food processor bowl into a small bowl. Place basil and salt into food processor bowl and process until finely chopped. Stop and scrape down sides if necessary.

Now, either add all ingredients into the food processor bowl–garlic/nut mixture and oil–and pulse 2-3 times, or, mix all ingredients by hand in the small bowl. Store pesto in the fridge in an airtight container or freeze in single servings.

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June 6, 2011 · 11:38 am

Week Two

The selection this week is a result of of the cool spring we were having a few weeks ago. Last week when I mentioned the cool spring setting us back, we had a few nice alliums to round out the share. This week we do not have those items, so greens it is. I know for a fact that some of you will love having the stellar selection of greens this week, but for those of you who need some guidance on how to use them all this week, please scroll down for more details.

The good news is that everything looks great at the farm. Sam and I are setting drip irrigation up all over our plots and watering everything in. (We went from deluge to dry in no time!) We are 90% caught up on all the plantings, only the second succession of crops need to be planted. We have had some nasty bug and critter issues, more than usual this year, but reacted fast and are seeing good results. I will post pictures later in the week of the pretty cucumber and summer squash plants–saved in a pinch from the cucumber beetle!

But for now, here is the produce list for the week:

2 heads lettuce

1 bunch arugula

1 bunch raab

1 bunch chard

mixed spring braising greens

herbs

Storing Greens

If you wrap your greens well, they should last several days in the fridge, with the exception of the arugula and perhaps the lettuce. Shake excess water off the leaves before doing so to prevent spoilage. You can use plastic, or a reusable bag made for this purpose. All greens are cooled in a cold water bath at the farm to lengthen the shelf life, but they are not washed. Before eating, they should all be rinsed thoroughly and spun dry.

Lettuce and Arugula: Make a salad

To use up the lettuce and arugula this week, I would make a salad (or two). Mix the arugula with the lettuce, and make a nice, slightly sweet dressing. Add chives and some crusty bread and its lunch! Use the arugula towards the beginning of the week–it notoriously does not keep. If your arugula gets a bit wilty in the fridge, fret not! Simply saute it.

Easy Dressing

1-2 TBS maple syrup

1/4 cup good olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Place all ingredients in a jar with plenty of salt and pepper, put lid and jar, shake it up and dress salad.

Spring Raab

This one is a member favorite. I have gotten so many responses from folks ranging from, “Its my kid’s favorite,” to “It’s my new favorite,” to, “Yay raab!” Here are the meals ideas members tell me about:

-Spring Raab with garlic, sausage and pasta

-Spring Raab with garlic, olive oil and pasta

-Spring Raab with tomato sauce and pasta

So, I guess the moral is, eat raab with pasta!

Chard

Chard is in the same family as spinach, and that is exactly how I use it. This time of year, the stems are much less prominent, but as the season progresses and the plants grow, the stems can become massive. They are completely edible and delicious. I chop them up and start sauteing them before I put the greens in the soften them. The French use the stem as a separate vegetable, braising it or grilling it are two good ways to use it up. My favorite chard recipe is a chard and onion filled filo tart. As I mentioned last week, chard is also a great burrito filling. It goes great with chili and cumin.

Braising Greens

These greens are a mix of kale, Asian greens and mustard. They are sweet and tender this time of year. The stems are small enough to eat, so prepping them is quite simple. A good, quick idea for greens as a side dish is to cook them with plenty of garlic and them serve them with whatever main dish you are serving along with crusty bread or even polenta triangles. You can also serve cooked garlicky greens on top of olive oil slathered toast, like a bruschetta.

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