CSA 2017 - Week #8
This is the first week of the CSA Fruit Shares! I sent out a separate e-mail detailing the pick-up protocol for the fruit, so please check your inbox! It's going to be a hot week, which our summer crops love! This week we're excited to harvest some beautiful Rainbow Swiss Chard, Walla Walla onions, the second planting of cabbage and some other delicious summer delights!
In other farm news, the resident raccoons have been helping themselves to the sweet corn in the fields. GAME OVER. We immediately put up an electric fence to keep them out! We're irrigating daily, cultivating our crops to keep the weeds out, and between CSA harvesting, we're finding time to continue seeding our successive plantings in the greenhouse and maintaining and tying our tomatoes! Stay tuned for a full farm update (with pictures) coming out later this week.
Until then, enjoy this week's sunshine and summer flavors... xo Maggie
JOIN THE CSA MEMBER GROUP! Please share your Recipes, Cooking Tips & other ideas for getting the most out of your CSA on our FACEBOOK CSA MEMBERS PAGE! (It's a private group.)
This week in the shares...
Walla Walla Onions - Another week, another fresh gourmet onion! These Walla Wallas are the state vegetable of Washington, where they hail from. They are juicy, sweet onions, perfect for grilling, caramelizing or eating freshly sliced and diced in salads. Discard the tops or use them for making stock...
Storage: In an airtight (plastic) bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked. When to use: Within a week.
Beets - Beautiful, sweet beets for grating raw in salads or boiling and slicing. They can be easily grilled too!
Storage: In an airtight (plastic) bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked. When to use: Within a week.
Swiss Chard - This is one of the few leaf greens that loves the heat of the summer. It's best cooked in all recipes - it's really not meant to be eaten raw or used raw in recipes. Its stalks are edible, but tend to take a little longer to cook. In most recipes, we recommend giving the stems a head start cooking and then adding the leaves a few minutes later. Try Grannie's Chard recipe below if you are a chard newbie, or if you think you don't like it. It's divine and even my kids gobble it up!
Storage: In an airtight (plastic) bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Cooked. When to use: Within a week.
Green Cabbage - This is a fresh eating green cabbage, which means that it is full of flavor and moisture! Cabbage can be enjoyed in so many ways - in slaws, stuffed and baked, in soups, salads...Try one of our great recipes this week.
Storage: In an airtight (plastic) bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw or cooked. When to use: Within 5 days.
Red Batavian Lettuce - This wonderful variety of lettuce grows pretty well in the heat of the summer. It is sturdy and crunchy like Romaine, but it has a slightly softer leaf texture. It's my favorite lettuce variety of all!
Storage: In an airtight (plastic) bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw. When to use: Within a week.
Parsley - We love growing (and eating) parsley in the summer. It's a nutritional powerhouse and adds such fresh flavor to all sorts of dishes!
Storage: In an airtight (plastic) bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw/Cooked. When to use: Within a week.
Cucumber - They are starting to come in nicely!
Storage: In an airtight (plastic) bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw. When to use: Within a week.
Summer Squash or Zucchini - Still no word on the mystery with our zucchini and summer squash. We did hear from many of you who are experiencing the same issues for the first time this season. We'll let you know what we can find out...
Storage: In an airtight (plastic) bag in the refrigerator. Uses: Raw, Cooked. When to use: Within a week
Recipes
Grannie's French Swiss Chard
Simple Swiss Chard & Potatoes
Roasted Walla Walla Onions with Pine Nut Butter
Simple Grilled Walla Walla Onions
Caramelized Walla Walla Onions
Raw Grated Beet & Parsley Salad
Tons more recipes, cooking tips and photos from fellow CSA members on our
FACEBOOK CSA MEMBERS PAGE!