Hello CSA members,
Week one had us washing and packing a lot of fresh greens! This week will be very similar with plenty of greens still in season and the late spring/early summer crops not quite ready yet. We are patiently awaiting the first strawberries and they are sizing up slowly but surely. This last week we trimmed all the tomatoes and clipped them up for the first time this season. We also started hundreds of cantaloupe vines and watermelons. I’m gathering quotes trying to figure out how to construct a better wash and pack area and cooler and protection for tools and machinery. Material prices are so high its kind of scary how much they’ve gone up but the plan is to have a plan in place by fall so we can build it out before next spring.
Joi Choi– this asiatic cabbage family vegetable has rich dark green leaves and white stems. They are great sautéed, steamed, or grilled if you wrap them up. Don’t overcook the stems too long if you like the crisp texture. They are easy to clean once you cut the base off and allow the leaves to separate so you can wash out any dirt at the base of the stem.
Pea Shoots- These are great for salads sandwiches and on top of protein bowls or tacos. Packed with vitamins and a nice sweet pea flavor. These micros are also great for raw use or lightly sautéed at the end of a dish. One cup of pea shoots has almost half your daily vitamin C and 654 percent of your vitamin K! They are also high in plant proteins and fiber.
Spinach – Spring spinach is deep green with good rich flavor, i like it cooked down as a side green or in pasta, or you can use it for salads
Butter Lettuce heads- Our butter crunch lettuce is so good. It has bib outer leaves that are great for wraps and a crunchy inner head that is blanched in the center. I like to make a simple wedge salad out of the center head, perfect for two people with one head of lettuce or use the whole head for a great salad just coarsely chopping up the entire head.
Lettuce mix – this weeks salad mix is a green and red leaf blend of all lettuce. great for salads.
Radish – Red spring radishes are great with all the greens for salads or just as a fresh snack.
Cilantro – Our fresh herb this week is cilantro! The flavor is outstanding on this because of the freshness… such a difference in the aroma and flavors between this fresh picked crop and the stuff at the store. I eat it in my salads to spruce up the flavor or use it as a sauce blended with oil and garlic for tacos!
I hope everyone has their favorite salad dressings and stir fry recipes ready for this healthy week of spring greens. Remember bi-weekly members are off this week. Market share members I will be at Madison’s E Side Farmers Market On Tuesday and Fitchburg Market on Thursday if you want to come pick out some veggies we will have all the items listed above at market those days and also Saturday ill be on the square for Dane County Farmers Market! The address and times for those markets are listed on the main page of our website. Thank you all and I’ll see some of you at the drop sites. Have a great memorial day weekend. -Kyle
