This week you’ll find in your share:
- Yellow Squash
- Cucumber
- Kale
- Swiss Chard
- Mustard Greens
- Kohlrabi
- Broccoli
- Radishes
- Turnips
- Snap Peas
- Beets***
- Basil
Next week you might find in your share:
- Squash
- Kale
- Chard
- Beets?
- Radishes
- Kohlrabi
- Herb
From Your Farmers…
Happy first day of Summer everyone! We hope everyone gets to spend the longest day of the year outdoors. Maybe even while enjoying a fresh sliced cucumber from your share. Our summer crops have arrived just in time, as spring leaves and roots are fading away.
Week B people (and a reminder for everyone else) Would you like fresh eggs in your CSA share every week? Want to show your children where this important food comes from, or enjoy more connections to the natural world? Do you want to help make chickens a new addition to your Seeds of Hope Farm? If so, make your voice heard and let farmer Gabriel know that you are interested, and willing to help out sometimes for chores like feeding and watering and keeping things tidy. Help make a community coop our next great project!!
–Randy
Summer time is coming around. The mornings are warm, afternoons hot, evenings good for a swim…which means summer crops are finding their way into your share. Some of our early plantings of squash and cucumbers are starting to produce, but we’re not sure how long this first planting will last. But more are in the ground and will be coming around in a few weeks.
Food For Thought…
Perfection. What is it, and does it exist? In our machine-based, cookie cut, bordered ways, maybe. In living beings, maybe not. For instance, is there a perfect child or parent, a perfect plant, or even a perfect leaf? The living are malleable in relation to their conditions. As such, the living must be adaptable. So, does a hole in a leaf make something imperfect? Maybe, or it means it can have a bite taken out of it, adapt, and keep on living.
To take a heavy philosophical and emotional question down to the weight of a leaf, consider a hole in a mustard green. This hole is a sign of what’s not in the picture. The leaf hasn’t been ‘protected’ by chemicals or processed to conceal, but instead, left to carry their own genuine selves to nourish you.
Basil-tear a leaf and drop it into any dish with marinara, or put it on a cracker with cheese. The taste too powerful? Just put it in a glass of water in the kitchen window sill, and let the aroma calm your senses each time you pass by.
Radish and Turnips- Yes, radishes can be completely white. Who knew? This variety was chosen for its dependability, large size, and heat tolerance. Some of the radishes you’ll be getting are the traditional red, some are purple at the bottom, others purple at the top like a turnip. White or white and purple turnips may be in your share as well.
How to tell the difference: The radishes tend to be smaller, the leaves have a smooth edge, and are smoother to the touch. Turnips have what could be called slight lobes or teeth along the edge, and tend to be bristly on the back side, like thistle, but not near so tough. The turnip greens can be eaten if cooked down. And for the radish greens, refer to the radish leaf pesto recipe from week 3.
Mustard Greens- Are the lime green rough-edged green. They can be used as a salad green or cooking green. They are quite spicy, and have a good bit of mustard flavor. When using them in a salad I chop them into small pieces as a little goes a long way, and can be left alone to liven up a salad.
-Gabriel
Recipe of the Week: Turnip Frittata
from Whitney, the farm apprentice (adapted from eatingwell.com)
Turnip the heat on your breakfast table with this late spring recipe. If you’re new to frittatas, they’re a fool proof omelet, started on the stove and finished in the oven. While I think they’re just as much fun to eat as to say, Randy claims a frittata is “the ultimate way to finish off left-overs while getting a well rounded meal.” Broccoli florets and turnips can be fast friends in this recipe but if you’re saving up florets for other kitchen adventures, toss in sautéed greens instead to add some color to the dish.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces broccoli (1/2 head, give or take)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 3 1/2 cups shredded peeled turnips (about 2)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 8 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup low-fat milk
- 1/2 cup shredded fontina or Cheddar cheese
Get Going:
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Prepare the broccoli: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add broccoli and cook until very tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt and set aside.
- We’re basically making hashbrowns with turnips here: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the turnips, onion and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread and pat the mixture into an even layer; cook, without stirring, for 2 minutes. Browned bits add a deeper flavor to the dish so scrape them up and mix them in here. Pat the mixture back into an even layer and continue cooking, without stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir again, spread back into an even layer and cook until mostly golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Wash and dry the pan for later.
- Whisk eggs, egg whites and milk in a medium bowl. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring briefly, until beginning to set, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Spoon the turnip mixture evenly over the eggs. Top with cheese then the broccoli.
- Transfer the pan to the oven, that’s right, just toss it in there. Bake the frittata until set, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes. To release the frittata from the pan, run a flexible rubber spatula along the edges then underneath, until you can slide it out onto a cutting board or serving plate for the table.
Farm Wish List:
-empty gallon jugs
-compost (your food scraps, coffee grounds,
-hands to help control bindweed and Bermuda grass
-empty electrical wire wide spools from 2-8 feet wide. (we use them to store greenhouse plastic and row cover)
CAASTLC's Seeds of Hope Farm 