CSA Newsletter, Week 5 - June 29 and July 2

10:14 AM Mandy 0 Comments

Wishing for the summer sun now... we are hungry for the ripening of fruit and the fattening of garlic bulbs! Peas are done, and potatoes are starting to bloom--the first ones may make it to market next week. And over just a few rows, the Practical Farmers of Iowa are initiating the post harvest phase of their study on weed control in asparagus.


Volunteers, please? We need some more happy helpers at market for July. Let us know if you are available for an hour or two on a Wednesday (4:40pm-'til) or Saturday (7:00am-'til) to help set up and staff the CSA table.

On the table:

• Beets: these are fabulous grated raw in salads, wraps, and even pasta dishes. Toss hot pasta with a bit of coconut oil plus grated raw beet and fresh chopped basil.
  
• Cabbage
  
• Basil: not quite enough yet for a big batch of pesto, but it is refreshingly sweet and flavorful. Chop for garnish on a variety of dishes.
  
• Garlic scapes
• Onion
• Parsley: throw a handful of fresh, chopped parsley into whatever vegetable dish you make near the end of cooking it. It adds a refreshing zing.
• Lettuce
• Broccoli: you can make your own braising mix with a few leaves of broccoli, a few of beet, and double that amount of kale leaves. Chop the mix very fine and steam, and you have the filling for a mixed green quesadilla.
  
• Zucchini
• Peas
  
• Other items, to be determined on picking day

Foraging tip of the week:
Yum-- it is berry season in Iowa! Service berries are deliciously sweet this year, so scout out bushes on your walks and outings. Service berry is a tall bush popular in landscape plantings. Also, check along roadsides, alleys, and creek banks for mulberries and gooseberries. I have even found a few nice early raspberries already, but I'm not telling where!


Please tell us if you can't identify something on the market table, don't know what to do with a particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have other questions or comments. We love to hear from you!