Seasonal, local food comes in waves. We’ve been delivering our summer CSA shares to Farmer’s Market for a month now and we’re already moving out of spring crops and into pre-summer crops. Some things are behind us until fall. Some things stick around all summer and the choices become more bountiful. Our first waves of crops were planted in February then March, then April, then May. Then almost every day of June. And now our space is chuck full. The pot is on the stove and we’re waiting for it to boil. And with that I am headed to run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, like I do every year. I use it as a great big carrot to get the farm up to speed so that I can walk away for two weeks and leave it with my dear interns, family, and employees. This place is so simple. So natural. So intertwined. But somehow it is magically complex with so many thousands of details that need care and that are likely to die if forgotten. Orchestrating it is a wonder. Distilling it into instructions is almost impossible. Leaving is totally disconnecting. In the best and worst way….
Please be patient with the crew and do try to remember your CSA so they don’t have to track you down. Come see them all at the market and see how they are doing!
Some of the things I imagine you’ll see are the classics… kale, lettuce, carrot, green onions. Try making pesto out of garlic scapes and carrot tops! If you end up with radishes, try to roast them. If you end up with bones in your meat CSA, try bone broth. Super good even in the summer!
You’ll probably see the purple mountain spinach at least one more time. I really recommend sautéing or massaging these greens with a good dressing. You could cut them in strips and add them to a slaw. Eating purple is such a good thing. Put them in green drinks? Find a way to get them in 🙂
Bridget just harvested 16 pounds of mushrooms as I write late this evening. Head down to the market and see her to get your box of beautiful Oysters.
Check out recipes below….
Roasted Radishes with Radish Greens
- 3 bunches small radishes with greens attached
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 500°. Trim the radishes and wash the greens; pat dry.
- In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the radishes, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the radishes for 15 minutes, until crisp-tender.
- Return the skillet to the burner and stir in the butter to coat the radishes. Add the radish greens and cook over moderate heat until they are wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season with salt. Serve the radishes right away.
Check out bone broth recipe here and how to use it for a creamy, salty and medicinal fuel that will power you through your day and well into the afternoon. https://itsmecharlotte.com/2015/05/13/bone-broth-autoimmune-paleo/
Or check out what CSA Member Perry Rhodes is doing with the veggies: “I couldn’t resist sharing – I stumbled across a Middle-Eastern flavored Kale salad to use some herbs with that you gave us a week ago with our CSA. Here’s the gist of the recipe:
1. Sautée some minced shallots and elephant garlic in a big pan or wok
2. Chop the herb (don’t know the name) and add it to the pan
3. Add a lot of kale, washed and stems removed, and torn into salad sized leaves
4. Add salt, pepper, and some water and lime juice to kale and stir
5. Chop 2 bell peppers and add to pan
6. Stir a few more minutes and get the kale off before it gets limp.
7. Garnish with toasted coconut flakes
It has a Moroccan flavor, really good!
CSA Member, Patti Calande modified a rhubarb compote recipe, cooled it, and served it over Fage plain Greek yougurt. Thought you might like it too.
1 cup chopped rhubarb
½ cup coconut water
2 T organic coconut palm sugar
2 T honey
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 star anise
1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
Directions
Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 30 minutes until the rhubarb is soft. Remove star anise and peppercorns. Mash rhubarb into sauce.
King with two different kinds of wheat that we are raising this year. Yecora Rojo and Red Fife. Both dark northern spring for Jackson’s Corner in Bend.