We're very excited for the first week of the 2017 CSA! We grew from 118 CSA members last year to 175 this year, so we have a lot of new names and faces to learn! It's been a very cool spring, especially compared to the last two seasons. Returning members may remember that we've had strawberries and peas during the first week of the CSA for the past two years - this year we'll have to wait one more week. Every season has it's variations, but we're looking ahead to the rest of the season and feeling optimistic about the state of our crops. This week we will enjoy all the fresh greens and look forward to the strawberries and peas, carrots, beets, scallions and kohlrabi coming along very soon!

In the CSA:

Green garlic - this spring we had some leftover small-sized garlic heads from last season, so we planted them in the hopes of having something interesting and flavorful for the late spring! These look like purple scallions, but have a garlicky flavor and can be diced and used as a substitute for regular garlic in any dish. They have a milder flavor than cured garlic.
Baby fennel - these tender baby fennel bulbs can be shredded raw on salad or roasted. The fronds are edible as well and can be used as garnish on salad or soup. We'll have larger sized fennel bulbs later in the season.
Radishes
Salad turnips - these white turnips are like a milder radish. They can be eaten raw in salad or roasted. The greens are also edible - they are nice sauteed.
Curly kale - the kale right now is very tender. It's not only great for kale chips and soups, but raw in massaged kale salad or smoothies.
Baby Swiss chard
Head lettuce - we'll have several types of lettuce this week, including green leaf, red leaf and oak leaf
Salanova lettuce mix
Arugula
Bok Choi
Red Russian kale - this baby kale can be eaten as a salad green or sauteed as a side dish.

CSA PYO:

The peas and strawberries from the PYO fields are still ripening and maturing, so there won't be any PYO crops this week. We should have some for picking in week 2 though! There will be some strawberries in the store this week, as the smaller planting we did for the store has ripened.

In the store:

Most of the items listed for the CSA will also be available in the store. There will also be a limited number of strawberries and some Sweet William bouquets. In addition we will have mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and pasture-raised eggs from Clark Farm in Carlisle!

Recipes

The first week of the CSA is usually heavy on greens, but there are plenty of ways to prepare them and make nourishing side dishes and meals, especially when combined with the mushrooms and eggs we now have in the store! Below are a three ideas.

Stir fried Bok Choi

This is a really simple recipe that Lise improvised for lunch Monday!

1 head bok choi, sliced in ribbons
2 green garlics, diced
mix of neutral oil (like canola or sunflower oil) and toasted sesame oil
mirin
soy sauce

Heat the oil in a pan on medium high heat. Add the bok choi and green garlic and stir occasionally until the leaves are wilted and the thicker leaf stem is softened (about 2-3 minutes). Lower heat and add a dash of mirin and soy sauce and cook for another 15-30 seconds.

Quiche with Swiss Chard and Mushroom

by Sue Lau, A Palatable Pastime

3 large pastured organic eggs
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces white or crimini mushrooms, chopped (or try using some Fat Moon Farm oyster or shiitake mushrooms!)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion or shallot
2 tablespoons butter
5 ounces Swiss chard leaves (no stems), chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
5 ounces Prima Donna aged Gouda cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
Dash nutmeg
1 prepared pie crust or quiche pastry dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat room temperature eggs with heavy cream in a small bowl. Place pie crust in a deep-dish glass pie plate and crimp edges. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a saute pan and cook mushroom and shallot until browned. Season vegetables to taste with salt and pepper and stir in chopped chard leaves, cooking only long enough to allow them to wilt; cool mixture. Sprinkle about 2 ounces of the cheese in the bottom of the pie crust and spread vegetables over that, then top with remaining cheese. Pour the custard (cream and egg) mixture over all. Make sure the cheese and vegetables are covered or wet with the custard mixture. Dot with butter pieces and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake quiche uncovered, in a preheated oven, for about 45 minutes or until domed and puffy and custard is set. Allow to sit undisturbed for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Kale Salad with Oranges, Currants & Feta

from Boston Globe Magazine, January 13, 2013

2 large oranges
2 bunches kale, stems removed and leaves washed, spun dry, and torn into bite-size pieces
1½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup crumbled feta
1½ tablespoons milk, or more if necessary
Salt and black pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup currants

Finely grate 2 teaspoons zest from 1 of the oranges and set aside. Cut the peel and pith off the oranges and, working over a strainer set in a bowl, cut the segments free of the membranes and reserve; discard the membranes. Place the kale in a large salad bowl and set aside.

In a blender or food processor, process the orange zest, vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, ⅓cup feta, milk, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper to a smooth puree. With the motor running, very slowly add the oil and process briefly until dressing is thick and emulsified; you should have about 2/3 cup. (If the dressing seems too thick to coat the kale leaves, add more milk about 1½ teaspoons at a time to adjust consistency.) Add the dressing to the kale and, with your hands, mix the salad thoroughly until all the kale is coated. Rest the salad to allow the kale to soften slightly, about 30 minutes.