Friday, June 25, 2010

Week One! 2010 CSA Season Begins!


Beet green bunches~ spinach bunches~ salad mix~ garlic scapes~radish bunches


Welcome to your vegetables, Village Farm CSA Members!

I grew up eating beet greens, steamed for 10 minutes with a pad of butter, squeeze of fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. That is still my favorite way to eat not only beet greens but most vegetables, actually. Beet greens can be enjoyed, roots to leaves. Give them a scrub to remove any bits of earth that we missed, steam them , saute them or add them to a risotto, soup or even a stir fry. They are overflowing with Vitamins A and K and other good for us nutrients in their most natural and absorbable form--fresh food!!

Spinach bunches and salad mix are self-explanatory but the radishes we will recommend with a touch of vinegar and salt. Somehow that cuts the hot and spicy radish flavor that is exciting but a little much for some people (like myself).

Garlic scapes are the flower buds of garlic plants. The bulbs grow under ground and the leaves fan out above in a symmetrical array. At this time of year, the plants produce a flower bud that goes straight up from the leaves and then starts doing a lovely loop-de-loop. We snip these flower buds and they are mildly garlic-y in flavor and so artistic in their form. They can be chopped by hand or in a food processor and used as your would garlic. They can also be sauteed whole until tender and served as a side vegetable. I have not tried it but have heard that they are great on the grill: baste with a bit of oil and roast them up! A friend brought a garlic scape pesto that we all devoured. I do not have a recipe but I am guessing that it was pine nuts or walnuts, garlic scapes, olive oil, salt and parmesan cheese blended until smooth in a food processor.

Our "Resources" page of our website has links to several websites we like for identifying and enjoying many vegetables that we produce. I often use them myself for inspiration for farm lunches.

Next week: (Always a bit of a guessing game...) Peas? Cilantro, salad turnips, head lettuce, salad greens again. . .and more I am sure. Things are looking so good out there.

Please come and visit anytime!
And mark your calendars with the following dates:

Farm Project Parties--a great way to see the farm, visit and lend a hand on whatever is going on around here.

July 10 -- 9-11 am with a lunch provided

August 21-- 9-11 am with a lunch provided

October 9 --9-11 am with a lunch provided


Evening Potlucks--Walking Farm Tour with a potluck dinner on the porch.

August 17th 5pm

October 5th 5 pm


All the best from one and all,

The Village Farmers



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