Whole Farm CSA - Week of April 25th
Full share: Bok choy, Asian greens mix, hakurei turnips, mint, cilantro micros, carrots,
Half share: Bok choy, Asian greens mix, hakurei turnips, cilantro micros, broccolini
Happy Wednesday farm friends!
It’s finally starting to feel like the farm season is underway and things are really starting to ramp up on our 50-some-odd acres. We’ve welcomed back a few familiar faces in the past two weeks - a member of our 2020 farm crew, Alex, is back to lead the vegetable crew for another bountiful summer (you’ll be hearing from him in the next couple weeks!) and our fabulous irrigation expert Jake has returned from his travels to help lay out the pipes that will keep our fields fresh and thriving all season long.
The crew has been hard at work turning all of the greenhouses over from winter crops — no small task. Spinach is now done for the season (come snag the last of it today at the farm stand!) and chard won’t be back until the seedlings we planted last week are mature - probably late May/early June. Our veggie greenhouses now have trellised cherry tomatoes and carrots in the ground, nasturtiums and other edible flowers (not only are they beautiful garnishes, they’re also a central part of our greenhouse pest control system), and rows upon rows of thriving greens from bok choy to mustard greens. You’ll see some of these in your boxes this week but brace yourself! We’re only just getting started.
Half and full share will both be getting bok choy and hakurei turnips, so let’s talk about them!
High in vitamins A, C, and K, bok choy can store fresh for weeks in the fridge but it’s so quick and easy to prepare you probably won’t have to worry about that. Steamed, stir-fried or simmered, bok choy cooks in just 2-3 minutes (8 mins if steamed whole) and can be used in similar ways to other leafy greens. This recipe is pretty much how I usually prepare it - stir fried in a neutral oil with ginger, garlic and scallions and seasoned with sesame oil and rice vinegar. A great side to any asian dish! Perhaps your greens sautéed with some ground lamb?
As for your hakurei’s, I doubt you’ll be able to hold on to them long enough to need any storage tips, but the best way to keep them fresh is to remove the greens (which can be used similarly to kale, collards, or sauteed with your asian greens mix) and store the bulbs and greens separately in your crisper. Again I’m a huge advocate for eating these raw sprinkled with a bit of salt or with one of the dips I shared a few weeks back, but I came across this reel yesterday for chili walnut tofu with roasted turnips and am dying to try it out. Let me know if you do! The tofu looks fab and the turnips are simply roasted with oil salt and pepper at 425 until tender. She leaves an inch or so of greens on top to get crispy in the oven, yum.
Now for recipes: in honor of your monthly meat package (ready for pickup today), I’m including a couple meat-forward mains to go with the usual vegetarian fare.
Swap out the asparagus in this recipe for any of your CSA greens and top with your cilantro micros instead of dill to make this a full CSA meal:
10-Minute Lamb and Asparagus Stir Fry
I saw a recipe for red beans and rice with andouille sausage in this month’s issue of Food and Wine that looks incredible but couldn’t find it posted online. It’s from Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s forthcoming book, My America, Recipes From a Young Black Chef (available for preorder!). This version follows most of the same steps and ingredients! The main difference is that Onwuachi adds two smoked ham hocks to the dutch oven when he adds in his beans. I’m sure either version is delicious.
Andouille Sausage with Red Beans and Rice
And for our half share CSA members receiving the first broccolini of the season, celebrate with an herby spring salad!
Broccoli rabe and avocado salad with herby molten eggs
Thanks for reading and stop by the market stand any time before 6 today to say hi!
Sasha