Friday, June 12, 2009

week two!

Here is what to expect in your CSA totes this week

more lettuce! 2 bags, a new variety of lettuce mix and another bag of red fire lettuce
parsley - 1 bunch
kale - 1 bunch
beets (mixture of golden, early tall top and chiogga)
small jar of raw, unfiltered fall honey

Shares will probably include either baby carrots or snow peas - I won't know for sure until I get into the garden on Sunday morning and start harvesting. I'm going to take whatever looks best this week. You will also most likely get more dill, as I have a lot of it, much more than I expected. Radicchio may also be included depending on the readiness of the carrots and peas.

Sadly, your beets will be minus the greens this time. I didn't row cover them and the dastardly cucumber beetles ate holes in many of the leaves - but the second planting of beets looks great and is growing cozily under row cover, so later in the season you will have those with their greens.

recipes:
greens and beans - saute garlic and onion in oil until barely browned, add kale (see below for preparation hints), cook until greens are wilted. drizzle with juice of 1/2 lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Add black-eyed peas or your favorite beans (canned, or cooked separately) toss together in heated pan to warm. We have also made this substituting a whole-wheat penne pasta for the beans. Parmesan cheese grated on top is also super tasty.

My friend Katie also has a delicious and easy recipe for kale - saute onions and garlic, add kale. Add chicken or veggie broth, or white wine, and saute until leaves are wilted, salt and pepper to taste.

To prepare the kale, strip leaves from the stems, wash, stack, slice into thick pieces.

The snow peas can be sauteed in butter with the chopped parsley, and any herbs you might have left from last. The baby carrots would be excellent with this, or cooked in butter with a bit of dill.

Beets, especially baby beets which are often candy-sweet, can be cooked, sliced and added to salads. They have such a great flavor on their own that I don't recommend doing much to them. Scrub the raw beets to remove and grit and dirt, and steam them until they are tender (can be stabbed with a fork, but are still somewhat firm). drain and immediately rinse in cold water, and peel the sides - you'll be bale to do this with your fingers.

Another suggestion for the dill, since I have so much of it, is to make a dill butter and freeze it, in anticipation of all the potatoes you'll have later in the season. Soften 1 stick of better and add the shopped dill, roll into a thick log, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze. you can slice of fresh herbed butter pats as needed!