Spring crops are in full swing for the 2016 Redfearn Farm CSA Season! The items available for Week 2 of the CSA season are: Farm Selected Items (shown in the top row of the photo): Spring Salad Mix, Broccoli and Stir Fry greens and for the Choice Items (bottom row, L to R): Kale, Radishes, Spinach, Basil, Garlic Scapes and Garlic Shoots. In addition, extra salad greens will also be available as a choice item in addition to being a farm selected item.
Salad mix (Farm selected Item, and also available as a choice item): Store in plastic bag in the refrigerator. Wash before eating, and dry well. For salad inspiration, look at this: Mesclun Salad with goat cheese, or Chart of Salad Toppings Combinations.
Stir-fry greens mix (Farm Selected item): Store in plastic bag in refrigerator, use within a couple days. This greens mix contains a variety of mustards, bok choy, and cabbage family greens. Basic cooking instructions: wash and spin dry, slice or chop greens, heat oil (olive or vegetable) over medium-high heat. Gradually add chopped greens, stirring to just wilt. Season with salt and pepper. Variations: add chopped garlic when you add the greens. Top the cooked greens with a fried egg(s). Here’s a detailed sir-fried greens recipe. Our family’s favorite way to enjoy stir-fry greens in alongside Korean Beef on a bowl of rice, topped with a fried egg. This recipe for Greens cooked with tomatoes and topped with eggs has helped many people enjoy greens. It is a highly adaptable recipe, and can be used with nearly any type of leafy cooking green, from spicy mustards to mellow chard. Also, some recipes that call for mustard greens can be substituted for this stir fry mix, such as: Indian Saag or Curried Mustard Greens with Kidney Beans.
Broccoli (Farm Selected item): Store in a loose plastic bag in the refrigerator. Peeling the stems with a pairing knife is a great way to make the stems more tender. My go-to method of cooking broccoli is to quickly peel the main stem and then separate the head of broccoli into “trees” and cook (blanch) in salted- boiling water for 1 minute, then drain well, pat dry and roast on a cookie sheet with olive oil salt and pepper (and I often add a little savory BBQ rub seasoning) at 425F, for 10 to 15 minutes until broccoli is cooked to the desired doneness. Here’s a couple of recipe ideas: Broccoli Salad, Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes Miso Bowl, Beef and Broccoli stir-fry, and Roasted Broccoli. Broccoli can be paired with leeks as in this Potato, Leek and Broccoli Soup.
CHOICES:
Radishes (Choice item): Store in plastic bag in refrigerator. Crisp radishes in ice water. Sliced radishes add great flavor to salads. You can also just eat them straight with butter and a sprinkle of salt. There are many variations of radish salads, here are a couple: Radish and Mint Salad , Smitten Kitchen’s chopped salad, and Radish, Cucumber and Orange Salad. Radishes are milder when roasted or cooked. I cut radishes in half and toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 425F until tender crisp (they can be roasted alongside sweet potatoes or carrots for a nice flavor and color combination).
Kale (Choice item): store in plastic bag in refrigerator. Kale can be eaten raw as in Kale Salad and in green smoothies or cooked (sautéed in olive oil or coconut oil), Kale Pesto (Pesto can be frozen). Try this Zuppa Tuscana soup (I usually add a can of tomatoes to this soup and sometimes kidney beans). Or, try this method of fixing kale:
Spinach (Choice Item): Store in plastic bag in the refrigerator. Eat fresh in a salad, or lightly sauté in butter or olive oil, with chopped garlic if desired.
Basil (Choice Item): Ideally, store like you would cut flowers, in a cup of water, with the stems in the water. Do not refrigerate or basil will darken. If you need ideas for how to use basil, check out this link: 34 Basil recipes to carry you through summer.
Garlic Scapes (Choice Item): Store in plastic bag in the refrigerator. Garlic Scapes are the flower bud of the garlic plant. The bud is removed to encourage the bulbs to thicken up. Scapes taste just like garlic. They can be used the same way as garlic in nearly any recipe. On thicker scapes, snap off the woody end (in the same way you would snap asparagus). Try them in a sauté, roasted, pickled, added to soups, and more. The most tender tops of the stem and the buds are delicious chopped up raw. To preserve: Chop the scapes in a food processor, add to jars and cover with olive oil. Save this in the fridge for up to a year, sometimes add more oil to keep it covered. Use on salads, baste on meats and vegetables for grilling, garlic bread, anything your imagination can think of. You can also freeze cubes of this in a ice cube tray then put in a zip lock bag and keep frozen.
A site highlighting many ways to serve garlic scapes; including a garlic scape pesto recipe: What to do with Garlic Scapes (Note: my family made the Garlic Scape Pesto from this link, using sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts, and it was wonderful!).
Garlic Scape and White Bean Hummus
1/3 cup sliced scapes
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
ground black pepper
1 can (15 oz.) cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup olive oil
In a food processor, process scapes with lemon juice, salt and pepper until finely chopped. Add beans and process to a rough puree. With motor running, slowly drizzle olive oil through feed tube and process until fairly smooth. Pulse in 2 or 3 T water, or more, until mixture is the consistency of a dip.
Garlic Shoots (Choice item): Store in a produce bag in the fridge. Add sliced garlic shoots to stir fries, such as with the stir fry greens or in place of garlic cloves in pesto.