What’s in the Box Week #4

CSA WEEK #4

The farm is so dry! There’s no rain in the forecast, so we’ve been irrigating around the clock! The heat is speeding up a lot of our summer crops like zucchini and cucumbers…coming to the shares very soon!

Notes from the fields

We spent Father’s Day morning doing some family crop scouting. The cucumbers are about the size of my thumb, but the zucchini is just about ready to harvest! Zucchini plants produce their fruit daily, so it’s quite a feat to keep up with picking. When the zucchini are fully fruiting, you can expect to see them in the shares for many weeks in a row. Then we’ll give you a break before we start harvesting from the second planting. We should start the harvest for all of you by next week, so get your zucchini recipes ready!

This week’s harvest

Escarole
A member of the endive family, escarole is wonderful in soup and the inside leaves are perfect in a salad. It has a mellow bitter flavor that disappears when cooked.
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Raw or Cooked
When to use: Within 1 week
What I’m making: White Bean & Escarole Soup with the outer leaves, Escarole Salad with Gruyere with the tender inner leaves.

Red Kale
VIDEO: Watch how to remove the kale stem here!
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Raw or Cooked
When to use: Within 1 week
What I’m making: Kale smoothies, Tuscan Kale Salad

Mini Romaine Lettuce
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge
Uses: Raw
When to use: Within 5 days
What I’m making: Lettuce “boats”

Boston Lettuce
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge
Uses: Raw
When to use: Within 5 days
What I’m making: Perfect Green Salad

Beets
So excited for our first harvest of beets! Remember that the beet greens are delicious on their own. Separate them from the beet roots before storing. You can cook the greens like spinach – delicious gently steamed or sauteed and topped with butter and salt & pepper.
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge. Separate the roots from the greens.
Uses: Raw or Cooked
When to use: Within 3 days
What I’m making: Boiled and sliced with butter and salt. The greens steamed and served the same way.

Scallions
Green onions, or scallions, are so versatile in the kitchen. They can also be the star of the show if you grill them or make scallion pancakes.
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Raw or Cooked
When to use: Within 5 days
What I’m making: Scallion Pancakes

Kohlrabi
A member of the cabbage family, kohlrabi makes a delicious summer slaw!
Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge.
Uses: Raw or Cooked
When to use: Within 5 days
What I’m making: Kohlrabi Slaw or just sliced and snacked on!

BRIERMERE FARM FRUIT SHARE begins in August!