Week 2 Newsletter 2018

Hello Everyone,

I hope you connected with your bin or bucket last week and that you are making room in your refrigerator for Week 2! The full shares are packed in a 1/2 bushel black plastic bin and we use an 8 quart sapphire blue bucket for the small share. The strawberry plants are continuing to produce berries and the garden enjoyed the gentle rain last night.

Below you will find information about green garlic and garlic scape:

Green garlic looks like a scallion with a fat white bulb and dark green stem. It’s an immature garlic plant that farmers remove when thinning out their garlic crop. It has a subtle garlic flavor and the entire green can be used. It may be used in salads, vinaigrettes, sprinkled on pasta, pizza, sauces, and in marinades for grilled foods.

Garlic scapes are the curled flower stalks of hard-necked garlic varieties. They are a seasonal treat, cut off to encourage better bulb growth underneath and are available through early summer. Scapes are crunchy, have a mild garlic flavor, and can be used like green garlic or mature garlic. The whole scape, the flower head as well as the green stalk, can be chopped and used raw or cooked.

This week's list:

Week 2 Bin:

Garlic Scape

Strawberries
Rhubarb
Mixed Greens
Lettuce
Sugar Snap Peas or Shallots
Garlic Scape
Maple Syrup
Radishes

Small Share:

Strawberries
Lettuce or Arugula
White Turnips
Green Garlic

Green Garlic

The tender baby turnips of late spring and summer, the smallest bulbs of this root vegetable yield delicate, sweet flavor. Turnips are great candidates for a variety of cooking methods: roasting, braising, sautéing, and steaming. You can also thinly shave or julienne them to use raw in salads. This is a great recipe that incorporates both bulb and greens in one dish.

Last week one member wrote me a note and explained how she prepared her radishes and radish greens with wonderful results. This recipe could easily be adapted to use radishes.

Braised Turnips with Greens

Yield: Serves 4 (serving size: about 1/2 cup)

CHERYL SLOCUM January 2017 Cooking Light

Ingredients

6 small turnips with greens
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup unsalted vegetable stock
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cold butter
1 teaspoon honey

How to Make It

Trim and peel turnips; reserve and chop the greens. Halve turnips. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add turnips, cut side down; cook 4 minutes or until golden. Turn and add vegetable stock, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until turnips are crisp-tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and add greens; cook until liquid reduces by three-fourths and thickens, about 6 minutes. Swirl in butter and honey.

Strawberries, Sour Cream And Brown Sugar

Prep 5 mins
Total 5 mins

Yield 2 -3 servings

Ingredients

1 quart strawberries, leaves attached
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions

Rinse strawberries and put the whole strawberries in a bowl with the leaves attached, a bowl of brown sugar and a bowl of sour cream. Let the dipping begin!

Week 1 Newsletter 2018

Welcome to the 2018 season of the Peak Season CSA!

The first delivery of the season is here and is always exhilarating. It is also the time of planting, planting and more planting. Then taking a step back to see what is ready to put into the Week 1 bins. It is just the beginning of the season and the early boxes are a gradual build-up to the bountiful bins that come together in deep summer and the hefty crops that arrive in the fall.
Eating with the seasons, as well as eating locally, may be new to some of you. It can be frustrating, intimidating and overwhelming when you are just starting out with bins of fresh produce.
Hopefully, the weekly newsletter will provide you with information to make it easier and to inspire you to try some new things that will work for you and fit into your lifestyle.
We welcome your ideas and recipes so that we can share them with other members of the CSA.

Here are details about picking up your bins including location addresses and pick up times:

Wednesday
Mark’s House:  4:00 - 7:00 pm     -   7177 Center Rd.- The bins & buckets will be located in the large wooden shed behind Mark’s house and close to the circle driveway.

Govt. Center:  4:30 - 5:00 pm     -    400 Boardman Ave - The pick-up locations is to the left of the main building. Joe will be parked in the Delivery Only area and the bins & buckets will be in his gray pick-up truck.

Wunsch Farmhouse 6:00 -7:00 pm   -   17017 Peninsula Drive -  The bins & buckets will be in the trunk of my light blue car.

Thursday
Grand Traverse Senior Center   7:30 - 9:30 am  - 93801 East Front Street  - The bins & buckets will be inside the Senior Center Building on the right side of the main entrance. 

Please be respectful of the pick - up times. If you are not able to pick up at the location during the set pick - up time, call me ahead by 24 hours and you can pick up your bin at the farm. 

(231-313-1471)

   

Here are the items to expect to find in the Week 1 bin:

Standard Share:

Strawberries
Rhubarb
Radishes
Chives
Mixed greens

Baby kale
Honey

Assorted fresh herbs plants

Small Share:

Strawberries
Rhubarb

Chives
Radishes

We hope you enjoy this culinary adventure with us as we celebrate another season. Thanks for joining us. Here are couple of recipes that include items that you will find in your bins & buckets this week.

Classic Deviled Eggs

ALEX WITCHEL

YIELD
 12 halves

TIME 
45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 to 2 dashes Tabasco sauce, to taste

Salt, to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Paprika, for garnish

Whole fresh chives, for garnish

PREPARATION

Rinse eggs with warm water, and place in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water, place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 10-12 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and peel. Cool in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for 15 minutes.

Halve eggs lengthwise, and carefully scoop out yolks. Place yolks in a bowl, and mash with a fork. Add mustard, Tabasco, salt, pepper and snipped chives. Stir in mayonnaise.

Fill each egg white with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the egg-yolk mixture and dust the top with paprika. Arrange in a spoke design on a platter; garnish with whole chives.

Rhubarb Crisp

MARK BITTMAN

YIELD 
6 to 8 servings

TIME
 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing pan

2 ½ to 3 pounds rhubarb, trimmed, tough strings removed, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 5 to 6 cups)

¼ cup white sugar

1 tablespoon orange or lemon juice

1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste

Pinch salt

½ cup rolled oats

½ cup pecans

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square baking or gratin dish with a little butter. Toss rhubarb with white sugar, orange or lemon juice and zest, and spread in baking dish.

Put the 6 tablespoons butter in a food processor along with brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt, and pulse for about 20 or 30 seconds, until it looks like small peas and just begins to clump together. Add oats and pecans and pulse just a few times to combine.

Crumble the topping over rhubarb and bake until golden and beginning to brown, 45 to 50 minutes.