June 24th & 27th
In Your Box:
peas-great fresh, and freeze well for storage too
fennel- look for fennel tops and the bulb
green shallot-
salad mix-
bok choi-
head lettuce-
leek-
garlic scape- traditionally chopped up small and pickled in soy sauce for long-term storage. They are also great grilled.
basil- purple, lemon, & traditional italian this week.
napa cabbage- traditionally used in kimchee, asian cabbage, good in slaws.
kale-
beets-
salad turnips- purpley turnips great raw in salads.
kohlrabi- brassica family, round white or purple veggie, great in stir fries.
parsley-
cilantro-
dill-
*****************************************
I altered one of my favorite baked fennel recipes to a stovetop braising recipe because I can't bear to turn the oven on in this kind of heat.
Braised Fennel with Garlic Scapes
*cut one fennel bulb into eight segments.
*put 2 tsp olive oil into a pan.
*on medium heat add the fennel and cover, stirring and turning pieces occasionally so they dont get too brown.
*squeeze a tablespoon or so of lemon juice into the pan
*add ¼ c water and cover for 10 minutes or so, chop 2 garlic scapes into small pieces and add to the fennel; keep covered until soft when pierced with a fork.
*salt to taste. White pepper if you like.
*garnish with fennel tops.
*****************
Echollective 5th Annual Garlic Party
July 11th-12th
please RSVP ~~ echoCSA@gmail.com
camping, potlucking, garlic pickin' & good times!
In Your Box:
peas-great fresh, and freeze well for storage too
green shallot-
salad mix-
spinach-
bok choi-
head lettuce-
leek-
garlic scape- traditionally chopped up small and pickled in soy sauce for long-term storage. They are also great grilled.
basil- we're just getting started harvesting basil. Store your basil in a plastic bag in the coolest place in the kitchen-- but not the fridge-- that's too cold!
napa cabbage-
radish- almost to the end of radish season.
kale-
rhubarb-
parsley-
chard- see our swiss chard empanada recipe below
********************************
Swiss Chard Empañadas
pastery crust:
2c whole wheat pastery flour
4Tbsp butter, chilled
½ tsp salt
about 1/3 c ice water
filling:
2Tbsp olive oil
shallot & leek
1 bag swiss chard cut into thin slices
1 oz cheese of your choice
dash of lime juice
about ½ tsp salt
parsley
fresh cracked pepper
*mix flour, butter, salt in a bowl with your fingers until it forms pea sized pieces. Use a fork and stir in ice water, a little at a time. Knead until dough comes together in a ball. Cover and fridge for 1 hour.
*heat olive oil, add leek and shallot until transluscent. Add chard and cover for 2-3 minutes, until bright green. Take off of heat and add cheese and lime, seasonings to taste.
*roll out dough on a floured board to thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut 12 rounds ~ 3in in diameter. Fill, and fold in half, dampening edges to create a seal. Make 2 slits in each so that steam can escape. Brush with olive oil and bake 30 minutes or until golden @ 350º
We're in the thick of the growing season! Our greenhouses continue to amaze us with their ability to grow huge tomato and zuchinni plants-- not to mention a lot of the early spring greens you've all already had in your boxes. The tomato plants are flowering, so it will be a couple of more weeks.
It's been great weather for planting-- the rain has been especially nice. We just finished putting in the pepper plants. The weeds are waist high here at the farm. Join us July 10th, 11th, 12th for our Annual Garlic Party-- at the farm. We'll be pulling garlic, learning about the preservation processing of garlic for long term storage, walks in the woods, pot-lucking all day, and bonfire at night!
In Your Box:
peas- just the beginning of pea season!
salad mix- always changing salad mix of fresh greens
bok choi-
spinach- almost the end of the spinach.... until fall
arugula- a spicy salad green
head lettuce-
broccoli- taste the difference in farm-fresh broccoli v.s. Store bought broccoli!
kale-
radish- crisp and tastey!
Garlic scape- the flowering shoot of the garlic plant, use like garlic in recipes.
Massaged Kale Technique
*slice out stems, roll kale leaves, slice into ribbons
*take a small amount of olive oil and a dash of salt and rub into each of the ribbons, so that it softens the kale
Use this technique for raw kale salads to make raw kale softer and easier to digest!
For a simple kale salad:
*use the aforementioned technique
*add ½ C grated carrots
*add ½ C grated radishes
*finely chopped garlic scape
*a squeeze of lemon
*sunflower seeds to garnish.
We hope you all enjoyed your first box! We've got a lot of similar veggies this week, and some new recipes to try too.
In Your Box:
salad mix- our salad mix is always changing
bok choi- one of our favorites-- great fresh or raw, in soups, salads or stir fries. Even try the leaves as chips! Try the bok choi miso~~~>
spinach- yuuuum! Spinach quiche, saag paneer, salads and more.
head lettuce- we grow many kinds of lettuce
swiss chard- red veined green, tender when steamed
asparagus- almost the last of our asparagus for this year.
spring garlic- chop up small and infuse into olive oil for drizzling on bread, salad greens & more radishes- crisp and tastey!
leeks- try leeks in an omelete, scrambled eggs, or soup~~~>
anise hyssop- can be candied like violets-- these make great 'sprinkles' for special occasion cakes/sweets
spearmint- another tastey tea, try infusing fresh spearmint in hot water, strain, then put this tea in the fridge for a refreshing drink. For longer storage- hang to dry.
Oregano- use fresh or hang to dry and then store in a jar. Great in tomato sauces
dandelion greens- bitter greens stimulate digestive enzymes-- eat a dandelion salad as your first course.
************************************************
Bok Choi Miso
1 onion
½ leek
1-2 spring garlic (you can use the whole stalk and leaves)
2 carrots
½ C chopped radish
*sautee onions, leek, garlic in a little sesame oil, until translucent, add carrots and radish, 4 C water, + ½ C coconut milk, cook until carrots are consistency that you like.
*add 1 bok choi chopped horizontally to wilt in the soup
*pull aside 1 C broth and dissolve 2 tablespoons miso paste to warm, not boiling, broth. (add a touch of honey now if you like too.) turn off heat and re-combine. Enjoy!
**************************************
Anise Marinade
1 C coarsly chopped anise hyssop leaves
¼ c water
¼ C apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
6 tablespoons maple syrup, agave or honey
*combine and heat until anise is wilted. Marinade for tempeh, tofu, meats, etc
