week six

In shares this week:
red fire lettuce, 1 bunch of kale, 1 bunch of carrots (mokum and parmex), raw summer honey, and a few of our very first peppers.

We harvested the summer honey on Saturday (pictures soon - it was a full house!) It's definitely darker than the pale spring honey but significantly lighter than the deep, rich fall honey. Let me know what you think of the flavor.

I've noticed that even a day or two after harvest the carrots tend to become limp and wilted. This is caused by moisture loss and can be avoided by removing the green tops and keeping the carrots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, with or without a moist paper towel. If you find that they are already wilted, put them in a shallow dish of water in the fridge and they will regain their crispness.

The peppers are a mix of sweet and mild - no hot peppers yet, and when you get them I'll make sure to package them separately. This is only a sample of our first peppers, so you might try them cut up on a salad with some red fire lettuce and herb vinaigrette.

Some recipe suggestions for this week...

kale: Thinly slice, saute with onion and garlic, cover to steam (steaming makes the leaves more tender than frying). Serve with crumbled feta cheese on top (substitute the Ivory Lace, or your favorite grated cheese) Thanks for the recipe suggestion, Kate!

carrot and couscous salad: Add couscous to a pot of boiling water, turn off heat, cover, let sit for ten minutes. Shred carrots and mix with the juice of 1 lemon, a few tablespoons of orange juice, 1/4 cup of olive oil, a bit of cumin, and salt and pepper. When the couscous is done, fluff with a fork and add to carrots with a handful of raisins. Toss and serve. (You could also substitute quinoa or any grain of your choice)

honey: There are countless uses for this amazing honey, but here are some simple favorites. My husband drizzles it on cereal, and I eat it for breakfast on a toasted whole-grain English muffin with a bit of butter. My friend Jen highly recommends honey drizzled on toast with peanut butter, and my friend Ellen uses it when she bakes bread. I love it mixed in with my favorite yogurt, and in any recipe in place of sugar (general guidelines for substituting honey for sugar in recipes can be found here: www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1923,145167-243192,00.html)

We are now selling 8-oz jars of our honey! Contact me if you're interested.