Week 3: PR and DL Monday, July 14; Dilworth and Fargo, Thursday July 17
In your veggie boxes this coming week:
Mesclun with borage (like cucumber), vetch, nasturtium, calendula, mustard flowers
Assorted head lettuces
Spinach
Napa cabbage
Snow peas, possibly some sugar snap peas
Bunch of salad onions
Arugula greens
Radish greens
Baby turnips
Baby kohlrabi OR a small head of open-pollinated Calabrese broccoli
Baby green or golden zucchini or patty pan summer squash OR early Glacier tomatoes
Basil and lemon balm herb tops
Accolades and high-fives to super-members Bill Steen and Chris Thornbury! Bill mowed deer-alert lines on both sides of the CSA electric fence and relief-station pathways into the woods. He also mowed close to the raspberry bushes, where our tractor’s big brush mower can’t reach.
Chris helped enthusiastically with Monday’s wet bagging and boxing and won (fairly) the first ripe hoophouse cucumber in the spontaneous lottery. A Diva, the precocious fruit was too small to divide. I encouraged her to take her winnings and run.
Raising peas is a labor of love. We love them. You love them. We raise three types. Oriental snow peas are long and flat, completely edible up to the stem. Sugar snap peas are 100% edible pods with yummy plump peas inside. If you don’t like the “string” on the seam, grasp the stem and pull down; the string will peel off. Snap peas are the old-fashioned English pea. Open the pod and pick out the peas. The pod is tough and chewy (as in gum), the nursery pod for the peas.
As one attached photo shows, our pea vines have grown 4 to 5 feet high in less than two months. They are flowering profusely now. The peas will come on fast, then will be done for the season. Never long enough, never in quantities enough. Most CSA’s don’t offer them because they are space and labor intensive, but I can’t imagine a season without peas. Enjoy!
Raspberries are forming now. Another attached photo shows a cluster of berries in their “green” stage.
Patty pan summer squash looks weird, as does kohlrabi. Harvested small, both are delicious sliced into thin wedges and sprinkled with sea salt, or grated into salads. To cook, cut in quarters, rounds or matchsticks, then steam or roast.
This week’s recipes should help you keep up with the greens season. Mild, tender greens like spinach and chard are delicious steamed quickly. High-calcium greens like kale and collards need more aggressive cooking.
Asian, Kale, Radish or Chard greens with crisped bread crumbs
½ cup coarse bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon butter
1 bunch or head of Greens
2 Tablespoons olive or peanut oil, or butter
Saute crumbs in butter in a small skillet until crisp and golden.
Meanwhile, cook greens by bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart of water used. Drop in the greens and cook, uncovered 5 to 20 minutes, depending on the variety of the greens and how you like them. Some people cook even longer. Drain and press out excess moisture, chop, then toss with oil or butter, salt and pepper. Top with toasted bread crumbs.
Basic Steamed Napa Cabbage
Chop entire head, including white base, into strips. Heat a few Tablespoons water or rice wine in a wide skillet. Add cabbage strips and sprinkle with salt. Cook over medium-high heat, turning cabbage with tongs until wilted. Drain, then toss with sesame oil, roasted peanut oil or butter. Garnish with chopped parsley or dill or snipped chives, and toasted sesame seeds.
Cabbage-stuffed Cabbage with Blue cheese
1 large Napa cabbage
1 ½ Tablespoons butter
1 onion or leek, diced
10 juniper berries
1/3 cup cream
8 ½-inch cubes Gorgonzola or Roquefort blue cheese
1. Select 8 large leaves for wrapping.
2. Cut rest of cabbage head into ribbons or squares. Boil until well wilted. Drain and rinse under cool water. Squeeze out excess moisture.
3. Melt butter in large skillet. Add leek or onion dices, juniper and 1 Tablespoon water. Cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage and cream. Cover pan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Taste for salt and season with pepper.
4. Blanch or steam 8 wrapping cabbage leaves over boiling water until tender. Cool.
5. Place ½ cup of stuffing mixture in the center of each softened cabbage wrap leaf. Set a cube of blue cheese on top.
6. Roll up each leaf, folding in sides as you go to make a plump, rounded shape.
7. Steam each roll until heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve.
Beet Greens with Potatoes
2 boiling potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
1 bunch baby beet greens
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon pepper flakes
Boil potato cubes until tender. Simmer green in skillet until tender, then drain.
Return skillet to stove. Heat olive oil and sauté garlic and pepper flakes. When you can smell the garlic, add cooked potatoes and greens. If desired, add a diced ripe tomato. Cook over medium heat, mashing potato into greens with a fork to make “hash.” Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle additional olive oil over serving portions.
Creamy New York Deli Coleslaw - serves 3 to .
Use New York-style—as part of a roast beef on rye sandwich.
1 to 2 heads Chinese cabbage, shredded (6 to 7 cups)
Salt
1/4 teaspoon caraway or celery seeds
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pepper
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 to 2 heads Chinese cabbage, shredded (6 to 7 cups)
Salt
1/4 teaspoon caraway or celery seeds
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pepper
1 carrot, peeled and grated
Toss the cabbage with salt and allow to sit in a colander for at least 1 hour, or up to 4 hours. Meanwhile, toast the caraway or celery seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Rinse the cabbage, then pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Whisk the toasted caraway seeds, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl large enough to hold the salad. Add the cabbage, carrots, and onion and toss. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Trees (excerpt) by W. S. Merwin
I am looking at trees
they may be one of the things I will miss
most from the earth
though many of the ones I have seen
already I cannot remember
and though I seldom embrace the ones I see
and have never been able to speak
with one
I listen to them tenderly
their names have never touched them
they have stood round my sleep
and when it was forbidden to climb them
they have carried me in their branches.
