In Your Box:

• Bok Choy
• Garlic scapes
• Head lettuce: “Grandpa Admire”
• Kale, “Red Russian”
• Radishes
• Salad Mix
• Scallions

Farm News

Following a busy weekend of planting, the gardens are now nearly completely planted for the farm season. There are still some successional plantings of lettuce and the fall broccoli/cabbage beds to plant, but at this point the growing season is well underway and not too many things have gone wrong!

Now that the planting is all caught up, I’ll be working to keep all the weeds under control for the next couple months. This requires less time and work than planting, so as the summer heats up I have more opportunities for naps and less physically demanding work to do during the heat of the day.

This week’s box

This week’s box is similar to last week’s, though unfortunately without the spinach. Spinach favors cool seasons and goes to seed during prolonged heat, so unfortunately the heat wave this week has wiped out our promising spinach bed. We will plant spinach again in the fall, so hopefully we’ll have some more in late September.

This week brings our first harvest of the Red Russian variety of kale. In case you’re not familiar with kale, it’s the bunched green leaves with purple stems. It can be wilted lightly and added to any dish that needs some vitamins (we like it in burritos and lasagna). Some people also like making their own kale chips by chopping the leaves into ribbons, tossing them in olive oil, and baking until crispy. Kale keeps well in the fridge for 1 week, preferably in a bag or hydrator drawer.

I should have said more about the scapes last week, since these might not be familiar to anyone who hasn’t been with a CSA before. Scapes grow off the top of the garlic plants and need to be removed for the bulbs to fully form. The scapes themselves have the same flavor as the cloves and can be used in all the same ways. Scapes keep well for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

Finally, this week brings us our first harvest of salad mix. This is a combination of 8 different types of leaf lettuce that are cut small for delicious salads. Our salad mix is double-washed, but it’s still helpful to freshen it up and make sure it’s clean by washing before you enjoy.

Grains and Greens Casserole

From Fields of Greens, by Annie Somerville

Ingredients:

• 1 TB light olive oil
• ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 bunch of bok choy, kale or spinach, stems removed and leaves washed (about 8 cups packed).
• zest of 1 lemon, minced
• 2 tsp fresh dill or 1 tsp dry dill
• 6 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup water
• butter for the pan
• 1 oz. Feta cheese, about ½ cup
  

1. Heat ½ TB of the oil in a medium-size skillet; add onion, pinch of salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until the onion is tender, then add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
   
2. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and quickly wilt the greens with a pinch of salt over high heat. Transfer to a colander, drain, and cool. Using your hands, squeeze out the excess moisture and coarsely chop. Add the greens to the onions along with the lemon zest and dill. Add salt and pepper to taste. The filling should be well seasoned.
   
3. Season the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper; add the water and whisk. Melt the butter in a seasoned omelet pan. When the butter is hot, add half the egg mixture. With a spatula, move the eggs toward the center of the pan as they begin to set on the edges. Tilt the pan so that the entire surface is covered again with wet eggs. As the eggs begin to set, place half the vegetable mixture in the center, then sprinkle with half the feta. Gently fold the omelet over and turn it out onto a plate. Repeat with the second omelet.

Coming up

Next week’s box should have komatsuna, garlic scapes, head lettuce, chard, radishes, scallions and salad mix.