CSA-Week of July 10th

Full Share: Carrots, Turnips, Shelling Peas, Broccolini, Green Garlic, Kale, Lettuce Heads, Basil

Half Share: Carrots, Turnips, Snap Peas, Green Garlic, Kale, Lettuce Head

Flower Bouquets: Lily, Sunflower, Dahlia, Feverfew, Corn Cockel, Snapdragon or Canterbury Bell, Stock

Howdy Guys!

I’m writing this while watching Jordan herd our sheep across the parking lot to their new grazing spot. Lots of happy “baa’s” drifting into the market stand.

Naturally, we’ve got plenty going on this week. After a week off for 4th of July, our campers are back again. I’ve been periodically checking in on the garden they’ve been planting behind the barn—its looking great. Our sunflowers were ready for harvest yesterday, so those of you with flower shares can enjoy a nice addition to your bouquets. We also have plenty of single stems available in the marketstand. U-Pick strawberries are still going strong, someone got about 10 lbs this morning! I hope everyone had a restful weekend and is enjoying this sunny afternoon!

Full and Half CSA’s are getting different kinds of peas this week. We grow three kinds of peas here at GVB, snap, shelling, and snow. This week, half share is getting snap peas—these can just be eaten whole no need to remove the shells. Full share gets shelling peas, the shells on these are thick and tough! Be sure to discard of the shells before eating.

Don’t forget to grab your July chicken if you haven’t done so!

We’ve got so many goodies this week I’m having a hard time choosing one to feature in this weeks recipes, so I’ll just shoot off a few quick ideas I’ve come up with.

Lettuce Heads: Summer Salad with Soy Sesame Dressing

Dressing—

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar or mirin

1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

finely diced or powdered ginger (to taste)

Salad:

1-2 heads of lettuce

Thinly sliced hakurei turnips

Chopped shelling or snap peas

Roasted Carrots and Turnips:

1 bunch carrots (halved)

1 bunch turnips (quartered)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Balsamic vinegar

-pre heat oven to 425

-toss carrots and turnips in salt and pepper

-lay carrots and turnips out on a baking sheet, leave plenty of space between each

-sprinkle balsamic vinegar over veggies, give the baking sheet a shake to fully coat each

-bake for 20-25 mins or until caramalized

Pickled Green Garlic:

1 bunch green garlic—cut and peel away the tough outer parts

Brine—Per quart jar

1 cup filtered water

1 cup white vinegar

approx. 1 dozen peppercorns

3 sprigs fresh dill

2-3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

1 heaping tablespoon each of salt and sugar

light sprinkle of celery seed

-In the bottom of each glass mason jar (or similar container), add a few sprigs of fresh, washed dill. Peel 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, crush them lightly with the wide side of a knife, and throw them in the jar as well. Finally, add a pinch of peppercorns. We add about a dozen per quart jar. If you are using grape or oak leaves, add one or two to the bottom of each jar now. We’ve done it both ways, and simply didn’t have any available to use this time!

-On the stovetop, combine equal parts white vinegar and water in a pot. Next, add equal parts sugar and sea salt, plus a sprinkle of celery seed – following the amounts list above. Stir, and lightly heat the mixture until the salt and sugar has dissolved.

We don’t want to add the brine to the garlic when it is piping hot though! “Cooking” the garlic in boiling brine will make them soften. Therefore, allow the brine to cool a bit while you are preparing and packing the peppers in jars. Lukewarm is good.

-Wash your green garlic bulbs. Next, poke each bulb with a sharp knife in a couple of places. This allows the brine to adequately penetrate and engulf the garlic, seeping in through the small holes you’ve created.

-Now pack those jars!  I try to carefully and methodically place, pack, and tuck whatever I’m pickling into the jars in a manner to fit as many as possible, leaving little spare room. Packing them tight also reduces their ability to float, and helps them stay submerged in the brine. 

-Once your brine is no longer hot, pour it over each jar stuffed with peppers – until it is completely full and all of the garlic bulbs are submerged. You will see the bulbs begin to bubble as the brine seeps into the holes you created. After adding a lid, tap and wiggle the jars side to side to encourage that seeping. This will also help knock loose any air bubbles. Feel the jars, if they’re still warm, let them cool to room temp before refrigerating.

-refridgerate for 2-3 weeks, then enjoy!

-this method will work for a myriad of veggies! Try it with beans, peppers, carrots, or even broccolini!

I love experimenting with different ways to use the veggies this farm provides us. I spend a lot of my free time cooking and devising new recipes. If you ever have a question about how to use something, or are just looking for a fun summer dish, don’t hesitate to ask!

Lots of love!

Emma