the new season newsletters

Finally, I'm catching up on posting these....

I'll also try to create some listings for photos of unusual veggies, so you can find them, and hopefully something to do with them here on this site.  I'm still getting the hang of this blog thing.  I enjoy veggies a lot more than computers!

from week 1, june 4

First Basket! Yay!

arugula

Thank you all for joining us. We hope you enjoy the veggies. It's great to have beautiful heads of lettuce to share again. There's still room for a couple more folks, so please spread the word to anyone else you know who might enjoy the service.

Here's the line-up this week. In one bag:

Lettuce – two heads. Wash, dry, store in the crisper. Eat in abundance – there will be plenty more.

Radishes and Salad Turnips – The red radishes do not thrive down here. By the time the soil gets warm enough for them to take off and grow, it's so hot that they get really spicy. Oh well – enjoy them while they last. The white bulbs are salad turnips – very tender and mild, designed for salads. We like these a lot. Cut the tops off both these bulbs and store them separately. You can saute radish and turnip greens for a side dish.

Oregano – the longish spikes with small round leaves are oregano. We like to chop some into our salads. You can also freeze or dry it for later use.

Mint – Boil a pot of water. Add the mint, turn off the heat and let it set 5 minutes or more. Sweeten to taste and add a squeeze of lemon. Drink that instead of soda on a hot afternoon. Some good habits come easy. We also add mint to salad. Gourmet food is for ordinary folks too!

Celery blooms – Mom always said to eat your veggies. She probably didn't often tell you to eat your flowers, but I will. These are leftovers from last Fall's celery row. The taste is intensified. Great in soups or salads. Seasonal treats.

Arugula – Spicy hot goodness in a little green leaf. These are the muddiest thing in your bag – but it's good clean dirt, so just rinse them well and use the water in your houseplants.

Sugar Snap Peas – We never know how well peas are going to grow in a Spring. Sometimes it gets too hot too fast. This year, we thought we were planting too late, but it worked! These Sugar Snaps are just getting going and we should have more to share next week.

In the other bag:

Rainbow Chard – large leaves with multi-colored stems. These want to be cooked, but not for long. This is a relative to spinach – you can treat it similarly.

Broccoli – Weather this Spring was not favorable for large broccoli heads. We cut the main heads and now there are lots of these great little side shoots. These should be eaten ASAP for best flavor. Both the Chard and Broccoli would be great in a quiche.

Garlic Scapes – Beautiful green flower buds of the young garlic plants. The taste is not as intense as the cloves. Use it just the same as you would ordinary garlic. Keeps well in a vase of water, or wrapped up in the fridge.

Sweet Potatoes – Again, these are left over from last Fall. They're lighter and drier than they were last year, but still very sweet. They cook quickly, too.

Here's a Basic Quiche Recipe to play with...

1  9-inch piecrust 2  tablespoons  olive oil

2  medium onions, chopped Kosher salt and black pepper

4  large eggs 3/4  cup  half-and-half (I use milk or even yogurt)

1/8  teaspoon  ground nutmeg or fresh thyme

8  ounces  Gruyere, grated (I use any kind of cheese I have or like – Feta is great)

4  cups  mixed greens (your Chard or Broccoli would work here)
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375° F. Fit the crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Place on a baking sheet.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the greens and let the wilt just a bit.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir in the onion/greens mixture and the cheese.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the crust. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes.



Next week's basket will look very similar to this week's. The weather is shaping up well and everything is growing fast. We're thinking it's going to be a wonderful mid-season and we look forward to sharing it with you.



Enjoy! 

AND - week 2 - June 11  --

We're sure glad that rain stopped. Time to go do some more hoeing. There are more than the usual amount of slugs this year – we’ve found that soaking the veggies brings them to the top where you can find them before they reach your plate! I’ll try to post some pictures of unusual veggies along with the newsletter at: redspringsfamilyfarm.blogspot.com.

Here's the veggie line up – in one bag:

mizuna

Lettuce – Speckled – one of our favorites for its sweet buttery flavor and texture. It doesn't hold up to heat or keep well in a freeze, so we can only grow it in a narrow window of time – like now.

Arugula – Deeply lobed, slightly hair leaves with a really pungent taste. If its too much for you, try throwing it into a pasta sauce or onto a pizza (traditional in Italy) – the heat softens the flavor some.

Mizuna – light green leaves with lots of edges and white stems. The flavor is mildly peppery. It's a nice salad addition.

Cilantro – Yum. Use this wherever you like it best. Personally, I like it with Avocados, garlic, and lime juice.

Sugar Snap Peas – We're glad to report that the Sugar Snap Peas are still growing strong and we'll give more of them again next week. Chop them up in a salad with feta cheese and garlic scapes. Oh so good.

Garlic Scapes – Beautiful green flower buds of the young garlic plants. This is the last week of scapes. Sad as that may be, it means that garlic harvest time is soon.

Green Onions – These are the thinnings from the storage onion bed. We'll have another week of these and then some scallions.

In the other bag:

Radishes and Salad Turnips

Rainbow Chard

Broccoli – We may get one more week of shoots from these plants before we need to use the space they're taking for something else.

Next week – we'll have kohlrabi, and hopefully some early 8-Ball Zucchini.

Enjoy! Paul, Coree, Lulah, and Levon