Wow, what a crazy growing season. This recent chilly weather continues to set the season back. It was 49 degrees last Thursday morning. The cool weather crops like this weather but the tomatoes and peppers just don’t know what to do. On the good side this keeps some insects at bay, but the plants are just not growing with the vigor they should have for mid-July. With such slow growth patterns we are still scrambling to have consistent harvest patterns for the Monday/Wednesday distribution. By now we should have enough produce to have each days CSA box look the same. So some things listed may not appear in your box; some things in your box may not be listed.
In the boxes this week:
Leaf Lettuce: Green and or Red. We are coming close to the end of the lettuce season.See dressing recipe below
Braising Mix: This is a mix of Turnip greens, kale ans Swiss Chard. See recipe below
Radish: They love this cool weather.
Garlic: The first of the season. BUT we just harvested it today so you must let it cure before using it. Leave it on a windowsill for a couple of weeks for the skin to dry out. Otherwise you will peel the flesh of the garlic off with the skin.
Onions: Really tasty summer onions. Probably just for Monday??
Swiss Chard: Remember use like spinach.
Monday boxes will have popcorn and popcorn topping.(Wednesday boxes had this two weeks ago.) You can use the popcorn topping on potatoes, fish and chicken also.It is our secret recipe.
Richard’s Potato and Greens
5-6 potatoes. Red or white work well
1 large onion
2 minced garlic cloves
3T olive oil
1 bag mixed cooking greeens/ braising greens. About 6oz
Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add minced garlic (don’t let burn. It will taste bitter and bring you bad luck) chopped onion and let wilt. About 5 minutes. Add partially cooked potatoes. (you can either par-boil them or microwave them until they are a little over half way cooked.) Slice potatoes into pleasant size pieces. Cook until potatoes are almost done and all is well blended. Add cleaned, chopped greens on top of potatoes. Cover with lid and cook slowly until greens are wilted down. Serve with a generous topping of fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
A CSAersuggested a great way to use your radishes. She chopped them thinly and added them to her sandwich along with a delicious piece of fresh lettuce. It added a great zip to her weekly lunch.
Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette Dressing
1T Mayonnaise
1/4c (1once) grated Parmesan Cheese
3T fresh lemon juice
2T Balsamic vinegar
1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Place mayonnaise, cheese, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar in a blender or food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream until the dressing is well blended and thickens. Yummy new dressing for all your CSA salads.
Thanks everyone for you patience while we wait for this season to kick in…………Enjoy! Pooh