In your box

• Bok choy
• Garlic scapes
• Head lettuce
• Radishes
• Salad Mix
• Scallions
• Spinach

Farm News

Just a reminder to please check the labels on your box when you go to pick up today. Except for Honey & Rye Bakehouse, all of the boxes have last names on them. Please double-check to make sure you don’t walk off with someone else’s box. Thanks!

Our rain on Father’s Day didn’t really add up to much, unfortunately. When you consider that I was unanimously voted as “World’s Greatest Dad” nine years running, it seems like it wouldn’t hurt my boys to dial up a little rain for me as a gift. Guess I’ll have to try a little harder for next year….

We are excited to announce our first Farm Day of the year, coming up on July 10th. This is the first year we’ll be participating in the Co-op Farm Tour. I’ll be leading tours every hour from 10am-4pm, and there are some other farms participating in our area if you want to make a day of it. We’ll also have yard games set up and you’re welcome to walk around and explore. For more information, please visit www.coopfarmtour.com.  I could also use a few volunteers for two-hour shifts. If you or your family would like to come out and help direct traffic and welcome folks to the farm, we’d love to have you! Just send me an email with a time that works for you.

This week’s box

Spinach was a tricky crop for me to grow for the longest time, but I’ve finally got it figured out. I love spinach. I love to eat it and I love to grow it and it’s one of my favorite crops to put in the boxes.  I’m not entirely sure why, but a CSA box with spinach, tomatoes, or winter squash just makes me happy. Unfortunately it’s already had more than its fair share of heat, so we’ll just enjoy it while it lasts.

This week brings the first two crops of the onion family, scallions (green onions) and garlic scapes.

Scallions are onions bred to grow in tight spacing with delicious fresh greens. The whole plant is edible–just chop off the lower portion where the roots are, wash thoroughly and finely chop the whole plant. Scallions are delicious raw but can also be cooked up like any regular storage onion. Onions grow really well on our farm, so expect more of these over the next few weeks. Scallions should be kept in the fridge and last well for up to two weeks.

Garlic scapes are the top portion of the garlic plant we pull off to encourage bulb growth. In the wild, scapes would have produced seeds and tiny bulbs to help the garlic reproduce itself. Since garlic is now grown agriculturally for its cloves, the scapes are no longer capable of producing seed. Removing them helps the plant grow–and they taste great! Scapes have all the flavor of the regular cloves, and you can chop up the whole thing. Scapes keep really well in the fridge, and usually last up to a month. We have three different kinds of garlic that produce sequential scapes, so expect more of these over the next couple weeks.

Spinach and Bok Choy Recipe

From BonAppetit.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled & sliced
• 1 bok choy chopped fine
• 2 bunches mature spinach, trimmed
• ¼ cup fresh grapefruit juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• Toasted sesame seeds (for serving)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium. Cook ginger, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add bok choy, spinach, and 2 Tbsp. water to pot and toss to coat in oil. Cover with lid and let steam until spinach is just wilted, about 3 minutes. Uncover and let cool.
2. Squeeze excess liquid from bok choy and spinach (they hold a lot of water, which will dilute the dressing!). Toss greens and ginger with grapefruit juice and soy sauce in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Crush sesame seeds on a cutting board with a flat-bottomed mug and sprinkle over top.

Coming up

Next week we are expecting bok choy, green onions, head lettuce, chard, radishes, salad mix, and garlic scapes.