The harvest season officially starts on Wednesday! And it looks to be a far better start than the last two years. This spring has had great growing weather. Initially it was a bit dry and we had a couple of late cold days with very minor frost but these last few weeks have more than made up for any earlier issues.
We still have shares available. Please spread the word!
Since we still have shares available if you know anyone who would be interested in a WorkShare (work on the farm in exchange for veggies) please send them our way. With all the excess shares unsold we could get a lot of work done using WorkShare help.
FruitShare, EggShare and CheeseShare start next week (June 24) then are every other week thereafter.
MeatShare for June has come and gone. The next MeatShare is the first Friday of July (July 3rd) then monthly thereafter.
IceCreamShare will come next week with the cheese then once per month thereafter.
CoffeeShare starts this week then once per month thereafter.
SeafoodShare starts June 26 then once per month thereafter.
SalmonShare starts next month.
FlowerShare is still up in the air but it looks like it could be in a couple weeks.
If you would like to sample any of these items please let me know. You can purchase a trial share at our online store or by sending me an email with a follow-up payment.
What will we have for veggies this week? Snap peas, radishes, lettuce, bok choi, Swiss chard, kale, and green garlic. Pretty good start to the season!
What is green garlic and how would I use it? To use an analogy: Green onions are to onions as green garlic is to garlic. In other words, green garlic is just immature garlic. And like green onions, the whole green garlic plant (except maybe the roots) can be eaten. It has a milder flavor than full season garlic though the bigger the bulb the stronger the flavor. It can be eaten raw in salad; chopped in a food processor and mixed with cream cheese or sour cream for a nice spread or dip; cooked to add a garlicky flavor to any dish; or roasted and eaten as a delicious side dish or appetizer. You could do a stir fry with green garlic, bok choi, and radishes! Use it with the Swiss chard in this recipe (which can also be found on our Pinterest page). These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Let your imagination run wild and don’t fear the green garlic! If you have other ideas send them to me or pin them on our Pinterest page.
And since I am on the subject of recipes, for those who don’t like the taste of radishes may I suggest cooking them. It takes the bite out and adds a bit of crunchy texture to your dish. Don’t fear the radish!
What about the bok choi? A simple dish to make with bok choi is to stir fry it with green garlic (you can add other things like radishes or mushrooms if you have them) until cooked, then throw some soy sauce on top and voila! It is best to start the garlic cooking first and radishes (if you want), then add the bok choi at the end. Don’t overcook the garlic! Throw some crunchy noodles on top if you are so inclined.
Finally, for those new to eating fresh, the peas in this week’s share are snap peas, which are edible pod peas. What does that mean? The pods, as well as the peas inside, are edible! They are delicious as a fresh, cold spring snack right out of the fridge. There is a bit of a stringy part attached to the stem end that runs down the length of the pea that you may want to remove prior to consuming – unless your doctor has suggested you need more roughage. Snap peas can be cut into a salad to add some great sweetness and crunch. Some people cook them but I like them better uncooked; snow peas which we will have a bit later this spring are in my opinion better for cooking.
That is all for this week’s newsletter. If you have a question or topic you’d like covered in a future newsletter do not hesitate to send it in. After writing this newsletter for 13 years I am running out of material — and jokes.