Spring CSA #2 2013

Spring CSA #2

Hi everybody!
Thanks for your timely pick-up and figuring out the pick up system. Sorry, i guess i should have told all new members how that part worked but you all figured it out! Bring some bags and empty your bin.
Hope you enjoyed your last basket, this week is some of the same and some new.
Someone asked if they needed to wash their stuff, i say all our stuff is farm washed so it's a good idea to give it one more rinse.  We wash everything with a double or even a triple rinse in our big stainless sink and it's still possible to miss something but it's pretty clean- one last wash from you and it should be perfect!

In your basket today you will find:
1 bag Spring mix Lettuce
1 bag of mixed Mustard Greens mild and spicy
1 bag of microgreens
1 bunch of Hakurei Turnips
1 bag of Stir Fry mix
1 Endive
1 bunch of Chives

This weeks harvest was such a pleasure, the greens are all so beautiful and perfect! The pest haven't really started yet even though i have seem them around.  I was just so grateful to see how nice everything looked.

Some of the lettuce in your Spring lettuce mix
Other items you will find in there are Asian greens, Mache, Baby Spinach, Arugula, Parsley, Kale , Swiss Chard and very baby Hakurei Turnips!

Salad Mix being washed, notice the tiny turnip.

Our mixes evolve over the season as different things become available and some can no longer grow because of the heat or too many pest.  In our Stir Fry Mix this week you will find. Kale, Swiss Chard, Hakurei Turnips, Asian Greens, Mild Mustard, Sorrel and some Chive Buds. Every part in that mix is edible. 

Chive Buds are delicious! So are the open flowers! 

Sorrel has a sharp lemon flavor 

Hakurei Turnips yummy cooked, raw and every part is edible!

All I could think when i harvested Swiss Chard this week was yummy! I could feel how tender the leaves were, cream of the crop!

Kale in Stir fry mix

Weighing out some Stir Fry Mix

Curly Endive. It's the first time we grow this, I think I may have picked them too small but they are delicious. Notice that the heart is pale compared to the outer leaves. This is accomplished by blanching them - they grow with an elastic around them so the light doesn't get to the center.  This can be eaten raw in a salad , lightly cooked or in a soup like we did this week for the following Italian Meatball soup.   I was so happy to get some greens in my son who isn't usually a huge fan.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/italian-wedding-soup-recipe/index.html

Micro Greens on their third rinse. Microgreens are baby greens like Kales and Asian greens. Use them to top a salad, meal or sandwich.

I can't believe how much production is coming out of this small area of garden basically grown for spring CSA!

You will find Mustard Greens in your basket again this week. The mild are mixed with the spicy.  Just a reminder for those who might not be used to the stronger taste these greens may have, if you boil them first- starting with the thicker stems and then adding in the greens it will remove most if not all the strong taste.  So in a pan or a pot boil until tender, then lightly saute.  My daughter is not a huge fan of strong tasting greens but if i do this she eats it just like it's Spinach.

Here's a quick supper we had, leftover potatoes with previously boiled mustard greens and an egg on top!

Today i look forward to starting my squash, zucchini seeds and finally finishing potting up my tomato seedlings! Till next time!

Shirley and Rick

Chez Nous Farms