Here we go! As we sit down for lunch, the first share has been picked and washed. After this brief breather, we’ll pack the shares into boxes and ready them for their trip home with you folks. The crops looked great this morning and it was a pleasure to pick and wash them. We hope you find them as pleasing as we do. All shares contain:
- radishes
- stir-fry, cooking or “braising” greens
- lettuce
- kohlrabi
“Full” shares also contain:
- fresh garlic
- fresh herbs: tarragon and sage
- napa or chinese cabbage
- snap peas – the pods are edible w/ the peas
Veggie Notes
Stir-fry greens – These are very tender, semi-succulent greens that are great for stir frying or sauteing. Saute some garlic in olive oil and throw in a few big handfuls of these greens (chopped up). When they’ve wilted, they’re ready. Splash with some balsamic, cider or — our favorite — Ume plum vinegar to really draw out the flavor. This is a good, simple treatment for all greens, which you will likely see a lot of this summer.
kohlrabi – Funny looking, isn’t it? To prepare, simply cut off the leaves (which are edible, but a little less tender than the stir fry greens) and peel the “bulb”. The bulb can be sliced up and is excellent either raw (makes a great vehicle for dips) or stir fried.
fresh garlic – These are just really young garlic plants. The leaves are still tender enough to be edible, just like scallions. Simply chop up the whole plant and use as you would regular garlic. Fresh garlic tends to be a little more mellow in flavor.
Recipe Ideas
We’ll be a little shy on actual recipes this week, but I’ll give you a couple of suggestions:
- The note above about preparing greens: saute w/ olive oil and garlic is so simple but is a real knockout. It’s muscle memory for us now. I will say that the vinegar drizzle does make a difference, too. The greens should be slightly damp, but not wet. A little moisture will help to cook them, too much will just make them a watery mess.
- Fresh Herb Vinaigrette – Prepare a simple vinaigrette (approx 1 part vinegar to 2-3 parts olive oil, whisked or shaken well) with a pinch of salt and some coarsely ground pepper. Add to this a generous amount of minced fresh herbs (more for subtlely flavored herbs — like tarragon — or less for strongly flavored — like sage).
As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.
We hope you enjoy the share!