Hello Subscribers!
This is hopefully the start of a new trend where I get you info about the weekly distribution before it happens, and even some recipe ideas.
This week look for more peas, chard, onions, assorted herbs such as cilantro, parsley, and lemon balm, and probably the last of the salad greens as I fear they will not survive the heat wave we’re expecting later this week. There’s also more raspberries to pick so you might want to get there a bit early. I’ll try and remember to pick a few ahead of time so there will be a few available, but I can’t promise I won’t eat most of them. They’re good!
Also, a sneak preview of the broccoli you’ve been watching get bigger these last few weeks. There are a couple of heads big enough to harvest, and while it’s not enough to provide you all a share’s worth, I’ll have some broccoli and dip for you to sample the first harvest. More center heads are coming on quickly, and these varieties (Thompson and Umpqua) were chosen specifically for their ability to keep producing side shoots the rest of the season after their center head has been harvested. If you have an interesting dip or sauce you’d like to bring, please do.
I’ve been doing some interesting things with the pea harvest from last week including more stir-frys, an ingredient in salad rolls, and also part of an Asian breakfast scramble with eggs. Yum! This week could be the last of our peas so if you’d like to save some for later, here’s a link to info on how to blanch and freeze them. http://www.farmersalmanac.com/blog/2006/06/05/freezing-snow-peas-and-sugar-snap-peas/
Here’s an idea for some of the chard coming this week which looks like it will be a weekly offering for some time. Last nite I sauteed onions in olive oil until they were just about translucent, added chopped chard (and any other cooking green you have such as kale or collards) and let it cook down until just about wilted, turned down the heat to low and added minced garlic. Mix it around a bit to warm the garlic and get everything coated in the oil, and then add cooked and drained pasta (best right from the pasta pot on the next burner where it’s been cooking all this time). Toss it around a bit, add some more olive oil to make sure everything is well coated, and salt to taste. Serve in a nice big bowl with grated parmesan on top. I didn’t use any other seasoning as I wanted to get all that greens goodness. It was yum and made me feel like I was in Tuscany for a minute.
I hope you’re enjoying the salad greens too. I really love growing greens and am calculating how soon I can get some more growing without being affected by the summer heat. I’ve been eating them as a garnish on everything from peanut butter sandwiches, bagels with hummus, eggs, rice and beans, and even as salads.
It could be pretty hot by pick-up time tomorrow. If you’ve got some ice or an ice pack, or a small cooler it could help your produce make it back home while still looking perky. I’ll have the distribution table set-up under the grape arbor again to keep things cool, but all the produce will likely be inside the coolers and we’ll all need to work fast when taking things out so the coolers are open as little as possible.
See you Wednesday, 4-7pm!
Peace and (blanched and frozen) peas,
Calliope
