Welcome to our 2015 CSA! This is the beginning of our fourth year as CSA and market farmers. We are so pleased that you all have decided to join us this season. Our members make it possible for us to do what we love, and that is to grow the best fruits and vegetables and raise the best meats that we can. We’ve already been working hard for the past few months to bring you a variety of tasty, naturally grown produce. It is a great feeling to finally get harvesting! Every week, this newsletter will bring you information about what to expect in your share, updates about what is happening on the farm, and ideas for preparing the vegetables in your CSA.
I know it seems like we just can’t decide when the CSA is going to start. When we started planting in the high tunnel eight weeks ago, we didn’t know we were headed towards freakishly cold weather and near record rainfall in March. So voila! Our high tunnel crops are ready on time for a beginning of April start. We had hoped they would wait and give the field crops a little time to catch up but the fast growing Asian greens refused.
In fact, some of the mizuna and bok choy has started to flower. Don’t worry, the whole plant is perfectly edible and delicious. They are cousins to broccoli, after all, and the most desirable part of the broccoli plant is the cluster of flower buds we refer to as a head. All your greens have edible stems, so there is no need to discard them. When sautéing a bunch of greens I start chopping at the stem end. I cook the stems for a few minutes before tossing in the middle section of the bunch, cook those for a moment and then finally throw in the last leafiest part to wilt. This way the most tender parts don’t get over cooked.
Spring opens with lots of greens. After all, the leaves are the first part of any plant to grow. Eating with the seasons can be a big shift from eating off the supermarket shelf where it is simultaneously spring, summer and fall 365 days a year. We hope you are ready to eat like a farmer! That means eating a lot of what is in season when it is in season. The secret is to go completely overboard. I try to eat so much lettuce that by the time summer’s heat rolls around and the lettuce wilts I am absolutely sick of it and can’t bear to face another salad. By the time I am craving those leafy greens again, fall will be right around the corner and greens will be coming back soon.
When approaching an unfamiliar vegetable…
We grow several crops that you are unlikely to find in most grocery stores, especially greens. Try it raw. If you don’t like it raw, cook it. Pretty much any vegetable can be sautéed in olive oil with a little garlic. Or, as we do here in honor of the great southern culinary tradition, pan fried in lard or bacon grease. We try to give you suggestion for preparing unfamiliar veggies but don’t be afraid to just forge ahead on your own. Give your “not favorites” another chance. I have had more than one CSA member tell me they thought they didn’t like cabbage until they tried it fresh from the farm!
Mizuna is an unfamiliar green to many. It is sweet and mild and excellent raw. Use it in a green salad or as a bed for potato salad or chicken salad, for example. During greens season, we serve anything and everything on a bed of some kind of leaf or another. Put it in a smoothie or on a sandwich. It can also be sautéed and pairs well with your bok choy (but add the mizuna after the bok choy as it will cook faster).
In Japan, mizuna is often pickled. Place a layer of leaves in a dish (for example a glass casserole dish), sprinkle with salt, then more leave, more salt, etc. Thinly sliced red chilis can be added if desired. Place a weight on top such as a Ziploc bag of water and put it in the fridge overnight. Squeeze out the excess liquid and chop.
