We will be officially getting into Summer for this week's farm share. Thanks to the cooler weather we've been having lately we are still mostly harvesting the Spring crops. I am not complaining! Although the tomatoes and corn and cukes have slowed down a bit, things are still growing great, and it is definitely easier than last year! This time last year it was so hot and dry, it was really a challenge to keep up with the irrigation. This cool wet week has really given us a chance to catch up, and a lot of the cool weather crops like the peas, broccoli, and greens are loving it. We have a lot of crops right around the corner; the potatoes, cauliflower, fava beans, fennel, and basil are all starting to come on, and the cucumbers and green beans are not far away either, especially with warmer weather forecasted ahead.
Here's what's in this week's share:
Beets- Beets will be in all shares this week, a nice mixed bunch of red, gold, and Chioggia beets. The Red and gold are pretty self explanatory; the gold are just like the red with a nice, sweet taste. The Chioggia are pink on the outside with a pink and white swirl in the middle that's very pretty. http://www.marthastewart.com/274226/beet-recipes
Lettuce- Head lettuce is back in the share this week; not everyone will get the same variety, so it will be either a green butter lettuce, a green oakleaf lettuce, or a redleaf lettuce. They are more modestly sized but very nice! Hope you're ready for em.
Peas- Sugar snap peas making their third appearance in a row. They are coming on strong and really delicious. As I mentioned above, peas are a crop that is happy to have the cooler wetter weather... our peas usually go through the month of July as long as it doesn't get too hot! We are also growing shelling (or English) peas this year, which should be ready in a few weeks.
Garlic Scapes- Garlic scapes appeared in the large shares a few weeks ago, so you may remember...they are the flowering stalk of the garlic plant, which the plant produces a few weeks before harvest. They are truly delicious and easy to use. Use them in almost anything that you would garlic...stir fry, casserole, salad or salad dressing, or raw. They are also my very favorite thing pickled! You can try quick pickling them if you're up for a bit more of a project!
http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/pickled-garlic-scapes-make-ahead-monday/
Radishes- For the first shares, I was worried we may not have enough radishes. I had made a real rookie mistake...using the wrong seed plate in our Earthway Seeder! For direct seeding (putting unsprouted seeds directly in the ground) we use and device built by Earthway, which requires swapping out different seed plates based on the size seed you are planting. Instead of using the Radish/Spinach plate, I unwittingly planted a bed of radishes using the Beet plate. Beet seeds are much larger than radish seeds, so the seed was put down waaay too heavily! We tried to thin the seedlings, but we weren't quite aggressive enough in our thinning, so the radishes were still a bit overcrowded. This time around is a different story. We have a lot of radishes, so I have no worries about not having enough!
Spinach- We were going to put arugula bunches in the share, but the spinach is so nice right now, and without any broccoli, kale or chard I thought spinach would be nicer because you can cook with it if the lettuce is enough salad for the week... seems like many people can't get enough spinach! We are having a very successful spinach growing season so far with several very nice plantings.
Herb bunches- Well, we had a case of what my friend and former boss Georgie Smith calls "remay blindness". The remay is the big white floating row cover that you may have seen in our fields that is great for keeping away pests and warming up the crops. But it prevents you from being able to see what's going on, and if you forget to pull up the corner of the remay to peek, you have no idea what's going on under there. In this case, the cilantro started to bolt (send up a flowering stalk) as it often does (although this was unusually early) and I missed spotting it. Because of this, we won't have cilantro left for the end of the week...so Thursday folks will be getting dill bunches instead. When we get into the next herb planting I'll remember to swap it around so everyone gets both!
IN THE SMALL SHARES:
Zucchini- The Summer squash plants are growing fast now but still just getting going with their fruiting. I'm hoping this week we'll have enough zucchini to go in all the small shares....with more on the way soon for everyone. You may have to halve this recipe, but this is a great way to use zukes-
http://www.justataste.com/5-ingredient-zucchini-fritters-recipe/
AND IN THE LARGE SHARES:
Carrots- More carrots out of our first Spring carrot beds. These should be a piece of cake to get rid of.
Scallion- The scallions have grown so nicely this year, I have found myself using them all the time in the kitchen in things I'd never thrown scallions into before...but the standby has been to throw some into a lettuce salad with carrots, radishes, and hakurei turnips.
http://www.saveur.com/gallery/Scallion-Recipes
Cabbage (or kohlrabi/broccoli)- We have some beautiful little heads of "Melissa" semi savoyed (slightly crinkly leaved) cabbage. It has a nice green and purple leaf and a delicious crunch. Unfortunately, the back part of the bed has been mysteriously slow to head up...a few folks may get mini cabbage heads, in which case we'll throw in a bit of broccoli or a kohlrabi bulb to make up for it!
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