Tomato Plants, Spring Greens & Blooming Chives!

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You know you've reached peak spring when you're juggling between irrigating and working in as many hours of tractor time as you can before the next bout of rain sets in.  You know you're there when your propagation tables are so full that you're waiting for a bed of greens to come into maturity so that you can harvest eat and get the next thing in the ground (already!).  This week, we hope to be planting a round of strawberries in preparation for next year; however, we also might need to get to planting a big round of tomatoes so that there's enough room for the cucumbers, zucchini and squash that could use that propagation house real estate immediately.  Mark calls this mode the May Crazies, and though we're wigging out, there are moments of ecstatic bliss woven in there as well.

Case in point--the gorgeous Wild Hare Organic Tomato Plants that we'll have for sale at our Farmstand and Market Booths starting this week. They're looking soooo lush, and if you're anything like us, you'll want to plant or gift some this weekend.  For a list of this week's available varieties, check the below. 

One of the greenhouses we're harvesting through this week is packed with tender Spring Rapini, aka Broccoli Raab, and we're pairing it up with Dandelion Greens from our incredible friends at Four Elements Farm.  Our Dandelion didn't make it into the seeding rotation as we'd hoped, so we're extra thankful to share this with you all this week.  Be sure to check the recipes and tips for ideas on how to make the most of these super healthy and delicious Spring greens.  

Share members, you'll want to make a point of picking a few Blooming Chives this week. The stems are forming beautiful, edible purple buds that actually taste like the chives themselves.  Mark really loves using the flowering stems to infuse a simple batch of Chive Blossom Vinegar every year.  It makes a beautiful, mauve colored vinegar  (a great homemade gift for Ma!) and tastes great splashed on those grilled vegetables and potato salads all summer long.  When the buds open up, I like to sprinkle the seeds onto salads, soups and roasted or mashed potatoes.  

Best Wishes,
Katie
 

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The Summer CSA begins in just 22 days!   You may register for your share at anytime on our website.  You no longer need a special login to sign up--you just have to know whether you plan to order and pay online or whether you'd prefer to sign up and pay by check or other method at the farmstand.  Your payment will be due by the first week of the season; however, payments received prior to the start of the CSA season are greatly appreciated.  

IN THE CSA SHARES THIS WEEK:

  • Asparagus
  • Carrots
  • Dandelion/Rapini
  • Onions
  • Little Potatoes
  • Fuji Apples

EXTRAS TO PICK THIS WEEK (FREE TO ALL SHARE MEMBERS):
UPICK Rosemary (some in flower), Blooming Chives, Oregano, Thyme, Sorrel, Mint, Lovage and Nettles.

HARVEST HIGHLIGHTS &
WHAT'S IN STOCK AT THE FARMSTAND
CSA Members receive a 10% discount on most items at our farmstand

HARE-RAISED PRODUCE:  

  • Salad Mix (limited)
  • Green Garlic
  • Celeriac 
  • Rainbow Chard
  • Herbs
  • Eggs 

WILD HARE TOMATO PLANTS:
Yellow Pear, Sungold Cherry, Peacevine Red Cherry & Chocolate Cherry
Juliet Plum, San Marzano & Striped Roman
Momotaro, Wapsipinicon Peach, Persimmon, Green Zebra, Purple Cherokee, Black Prince, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Ananas Noire, Brandywine, Cosmonaut Volkov & Striped German.....While supplies last, of course!
Purple Tomatillos & Ground Cherries this week too!

FROM BEYOND THE FARM:

  • WA Organic Pinata, Cameo, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Fuji, & Gala
  • Organic Fruit: Heirloom Navel Oranges, Red Grapefruit, Meyer Lemons,  Mangos, Bananas, Limes, & Lemons.
  • Olykraut, Essential Baking Co. Artisan Breads, Grounds for Change Coffee
  • Dates, Ginger, Nuts, Sweet Potatoes and Dried Fruit
  • Jody's Honey!  

SEASONAL RECIPES & TIPS

SPRING-Y SWISS CHARD RECIPES - Love & Lemons

BACK-PORCH RAPINI PASTA WITH PANCETTA & PECORINO
Farmer Mark

1 lb Short Pasta (Farfalle, Casarecce, Fusilli, Penne)
2 stalks Green Garlic, chopped thin
4oz Pancetta, diced
Olive Oil
Grated Italian Cheese (Katie prefers Pecorino)
1 bunch Rapini, chopped into strips, stems and all.

Boil pasta according to instructions on package. 
Meanwhile, place diced pancetta into a room temp skillet, bringing the temp up to medium heat and allowing the fat to render.  Depending on your cut, you may need to add olive oil to coat the pan.  Add Green Garlic and saute until translucent.  Add chopped rapini to the pan and allow to saute and wilt.  Combine greens with prepared, drained pasta and top with cheese.  


GARLICKY CHIVE BLOSSOM BUTTER (VEGAN!)
One Green Planet

1 stick unsalted vegan butter, at room temperature
10-12 chive blossoms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

SHAVED ASPARAGUS PIZZA
Smitten Kitchen

1 recipe Really Simple Pizza Dough or your favorite pizza dough
1/2 pound asparagus
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded or cut into small cubes
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Several grinds black pepper
1 scallion, thinly sliced

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

SHEET PAN SPINACH QUICHE  WITH SPRING ALLIUMS
Brooklyn Supper

2 cups all-purpose flour
14 tablespoons unsalted butter cold
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 - 7 tablespoons ice water
Cooking spray or neutral oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 stalks green garlic chopped, plus 1 stalk cut into long thin strips
2 stalks ramps chopped, plus 1 stalk cut into long thin strips
4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1/4 cup cream
6 large eggs
10 ounces frozen spinach thawed, with as much water as possible squeezed out
3/4 cup grated cheddar or gruyere 3 ounces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan 2 ounces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

CONTINUE TO RECIPE


SAUTEED DANDELION GREENS WITH EGGS
A Beautiful Plate
4 cups chopped dandelion greens, thick stems removed (about 1-2 large bunches)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, clarified butter, or ghee
1 large leek, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
4 large eggs
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

SAUTEED SPICY DANDELION GREENS WITH ONION
Gina Marie Miraglia Enriquez

4 pounds dandelion greens, tough (lower) parts of stems discarded and leaves cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 fresh hot Italian cherry pepper, seeded and minced, or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

LONGEVITY GREENS PIES
Diane Kochilas

2 large carrots, peeled and grated, or 1 1/2 cups grated pumpkin or butternut squash, lightly salted and thoroughly drained in a colander*
1 ½ pounds / 750 g mixed raw sweet greens (any combination of spinach, sweet sorrel, sweet dandelion, Swiss chard, Chervil) / 6 cups cooked mixed greens
1 fennel bulb, chopped
3 red onions, chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
4 scallions, trimmed and chopped
1 pound commercial fillo, at room temperature
1 ½ cups chopped fresh herbs (any combination of mint, parsley, fresh oregano, marjoram, savory, dill, fennel fronds)
¾ cup extra virgin Greek olive oil

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

Starting the year with the salad that started it all

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In the CSA shares this week: 

  • Turnips
  • Parsnips
  • Kale
  • Carrots
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Cameo and/or Melrose Apples
  • Frozen Blueberries

EXTRAS TO PICK THIS WEEK (FREE TO ALL SHARE MEMBERS):
UPICK for Herbs only from here on until Spring.  

A little over a week ago, Mark passed an article from the Times my way entitled "Seeing Kale With New Eyes."  Mind you, we're in the throes of envisioning twelve months of crops in succession for the year ahead, and Kale is one of those greens that we're constantly trying to decide how much more we bump up our numbers, or if (gasp) 2018 is the year that folks will decide they're over it.  It diminishes in popularity over the Summer; however, in January, I always wish I had more, so it'll probably win us over on those grounds alone.  I happen to love Kale, and I fell for it in 2007.  That was technically the first year that vegetables paid my bills, and I spent hours calling around to kitchens all over the boroughs to catch chefs between the hours of lunch and dinner services each day.  In all of my years of schooling, that year I confronted the steepest of learning curves and some pretty tough customers (and some incredibly kind ones too).  But, in hindsight, it was a thrill--one that I have been chasing ever since. In talking to chefs about their menus, I gleaned some great ideas for how to use vegetables that Mark and I would valiantly try to replicate at home with varying success.  In particular, I loved to learn that the dark narrow leaves of Cavalo Nero (and all of its names Black Cabbage, Italian, Toscano, Lacinato, or most charmingly, Dinosaur) made an awesome raw salad green, thanks to the chefs at Il Buco who introduced me to the Kale Caesar and Joshua McFadden who is said to have brought Kale salads into our national consciousness.  And when there was a gap, crop failure, or bout of insect damage, I learned the more difficult way just how much people could love Kale.   Last year, McFadden published a really great book entitled Six Seasons:  a New Way with Vegetables, which has claimed a high rank among the stack of books that Mark and I turn to as we prepare for year four.  And while we're planning to bump up our Kale numbers so that there is a bit more for us to enjoy this time next year, I'm super thankful that our friends Amy and Agustin from Four Elements Farm had bunches of Kale to share with our CSA this week while what remains of ours is teeny tiny.  Kale Salad Kismet!

Best,
Katie

WHAT'S IN STOCK AT THE FARMSTAND
CSA Members receive a 10% discount on most items at our farmstand

HARE-RAISED:  

  • Salad Mix (limited)
  • Celeriac 
  • Carrots
  • Parsnips
  • Eggs 
  • Winter Squash

FROM BEYOND THE FARM:

  • WA Organic Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Opal, Fuji, Gala, Melrose & Winesap Apples
  • Organic Broccoli, Fennel, Roots & Cabbage 
  • NW Organic Roots, Potatoes & Onions 
  • Organic Fruit: Blood Oranges, Cara Cara Navel Oranges, Meyer Lemons, Bananas, Limes, & Lemons.
  • Olykraut, Essential Baking Co. Artisan Breads, Grounds for Change Coffee
  • Jody's Honey--in stock!
  • Dates, Ginger, Nuts, Sweet Potatoes and Dried Fruit

SEASONAL RECIPES

TURNIPS WITH YOGURT AND TOMATOES
Excerpted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian by Saveur

1 1⁄2 cups plain yogurt
Salt
6 medium turnips, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1⁄2" cubes
3 tbsp. peanut or canola oil
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
1⁄2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped (Katie's note--canned perfectly acceptable when fresh are out of season for this recipe)
1⁄4 tsp. cayenne

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

KALE AND PARSNIP QUINOA BOWLS
Dishing up the Dirt

2-4 medium sized parsnips, cut into 1/4 inch pieces, 
1 bunch of curly kale (or any type of kale/green) tough stems removed and cut into bite size pieces
1 yellow onion, diced
1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Oil of choice for cooking (I used grapeseed oil)
Salt and pepper

For the dressing:

1/4 cup tahini
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 TBS pure maple syrup
1 TBS low sodium tamari
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup water

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP
Melissa Clark, NYT Food

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion or 2 leeks (white and light green part only), chopped
2 to 3 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 rosemary or thyme branches
2 bay leaves
3 ½ pounds mixed root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, celery root, turnip, rutabaga, sweet or regular potato), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 teaspoons fine sea salt, more as needed
½ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
 Juice of 1/2 lemon, more for serving
 Extra-virgin olive oil
 Flaky sea salt
 Crushed Aleppo, Urfa or other chile flakes, optional
 Grated Parmesan or pecorino, optional

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

BLUEBERRY DUTCH BABY PANCAKE
Averie Cooks

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups frozen blueberries (add them frozen, do not thaw first; fresh may be substituted, possibly reducing baking time by a few minutes)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 to 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch salt, optional and to taste
confectioners’ sugar for dusting or jam for serving, optional

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

VEGAN DUTCH BABY
WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES & PEARS
Heart of a Baker

tablespoon coconut oil
⅓ cup almond milk
7 ounces silken tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping:
1 apple, sliced
1 pear, sliced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Powdered sugar, for dusting

CONTINUE TO RECIPE

SKILLET ROAST CHICKEN
WITH PARSNIPS, FENNEL & SCALLIONS
Bon Appetit

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 3½–4-lb. chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 fennel bulb, sliced lengthwise ½” thick
2 large parsnips, peeled, sliced ½” thick on the diagonal
1 bunch scallions
3 wide strips lemon zest
Lemon wedges (for serving)

CONTINUE TO RECIPE