Summer CSA Newsletter: Week 2
Our potato field is coming along nicely!
Week 2
We are currently working out the kinks and getting back into the swing of things before the explosion of produce that will be coming in the next few weeks. Employees are finding their groove and settling into their new roles and Matt and I are pushing hard to make 2025 our biggest and best year. Lots of cultivating, seeding, transplanting, harvesting, field scouting and a few last minute projects going on around here!
The weekend before the start of week one of the summer CSA was quite eventful for us. Our son attended prom, while our two youngest children experienced their very first dance! This past weekend was equally busy, featuring Mother’s Day, the graduation ceremony at Marshall High School, and various graduation parties. While, our middle son was caught up in high school festivities, celebrating with his friends who were graduating Matt and our youngest kids participated in what I affectionately call “Whatever Mom Wants Day!” We took some time to pick out new shrubs to replace a few plants that didn’t survive the winter, and we dedicated a significant portion of the day to completing the assembly of a large swing set we had purchased for the kids. Matt jokingly declared that he would never attempt to assemble another swing set again, having tackled several over the last 15 years! To be honest, I do hope that is the last swing set we have to put together.
WHATS IN YOUR BOX THIS WEEK AND HOW TO USE IT
STRAWBERRIES - Airtight containers are always best, preferably glass. DO NOT wash your berries until you plan to eat them. Please keep in mind these berries are outside and may have a little dirt with the storms we have had recently, which resulted in some splash back on the plants and fruit. $7.50
-OR- (if you received strawberries last week you will get asparagus this week.)
ASPARAGUS - Place them upright in a jar or cup with water, and cover the top with a plastic bag before refrigerating. This method mimics storing fresh flowers and helps keep the asparagus crisp and fresh for several days. $7.50
LETTUCE MIX - Store in a plastic bag loosely in your refrigerator. The ideal temperature for storing lettuce is at or near 32 degrees. Wash prior to use. Lettuce stores normally for UP to two weeks. $5
SPINACH - Maintain loosely in a bag in your crisper drawer. Wash well prior to use. Stores normally for one - two weeks. $5
RADISH - Remove the greens from the root. If you choose to keep the greens, wash them and then store wrapped in a damp paper towel in a bag. Place in the crisper of the refrigerator. The root can store up to two weeks in the fridge in a plastic bag. Wash before use. $5
SPRING ONIONS - Store in the refrigerator crisper drawer for up to one week. You can peel off layers that become dry or slimy if used after one week. $2.50
HERBS - Dill: Trim a little off of the bottoms of the stems so that they can take in more water. Fill a jar or glass partially with water and set the dill inside. An inch or two of the stems should be submerged.: Cover the jar of herbs loosely with a plastic bag. Store in the refrigerator. Change the water when it becomes cloudy (every few days). The herbs should stay fresh for 1 to 2 weeks. $2.50
HEAD LETTUCE: Whole heads of lettuce are perfect for stacking on sandwiches or serving as the foundation of salads. Leave the heads intact and do not wash until you’re ready to use them. Whole heads of lettuce will stay fresher much longer than chopped pieces or individual leaves. Place in a lightly vented bag and store in your crisper drawer. Can store for up to 7 days. $4
VEGGIE OF THE WEEK
Photo Credit: Johnny Seeds
SPRING ONIONS
This is a revamp from last year's recipes and newsletter. I find if I write a brand new newsletter I want to keep adding the same recipes as last year, so I left those recipes again and added a few new ones. I guess my taste buds haven’t changed!
I LOVE green onions. I love the smell; I love the taste and I love using them as much as I can, fresh from the garden. I always look forward to a few certain easy recipes when certain produce comes in from the fields. Green onions are so easy with a small amount of cream cheese, wrapped in a thin slice of ham or prosciutto. YUM YUM YUM. A great cool and easy snack in the warming months. My grandmother would make these at Easter as an appetizer and I was more into chocolate bunnies then ham and onions but, 30 years later those chocolate bunnies are the last thing I want. Funny how our taste buds change and develop as we get older.
Photo Credit: Joy Filled Eats
Ham Roll Ups - Easy Appetizer Recipe (joyfilledeats.com)
Green Onions are great because you can use the entire plant, minus the tiny roots. The tops are perfect as a garnish or just to eat. I use the tops (chives/scallions), in eggs or omelets, salads, on top of bean dip or tacos, in compound butter, in dips, soups, on top of baked potatoes, salsa, potato salad, the list is endless. The onions have a nice crisp taste and are sweeter rather than spicy. I use them in much of the same way as the tops.
Photo Credit: In the Kitchen with Matt
Perfect Baked Potato Recipe | In the Kitchen with Matt
We are fast entering grilling season and a great baked potato is always easy and delicious. For simplicity I always use my pressure cooker to make baked potatoes and I love a good Yukon Gold. They are creamy, soft and tick all the boxes for me. However, their skin isn’t crisp like this bad boy is in the picture. A nice crispy skin russet with butter, sour cream, cheese, green onions and rock salt…..again you know I’m going to say YUM YUM YUM. You can also make this a meal instead of a side dish and make it a loaded potato with pulled BBQ pork or chicken. Also, a favorite in our house.
A few others to try:
Easy Stir Fry Vegetables – A Couple Cooks
You can substitute the red onion for green onions instead.
Air Fryer Breakfast Frittata - Recipes From A Pantry
This recipe uses spinach too and is in an air fryer!
Green Onion Dip - A Dash of Megnut
Easy summer dip.
I have not tried this but, I had a customer tell me it is a weird combination but super good.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS
If your week has been crazy and you haven’t had time to do a thing with items in your bag, focus on these three tasks:
Make sure your strawberries are still good and if you absolutely must - freeze them. You can do this whole if needed and later use them for a quick strawberry jam or make ice cream topping for ice cream! Fresh local berries are super sweet and we don’t add any sugar when we make ice cream topping. Smash them up until your desired consistency and add on top of vanilla ice cream.
Asparagus will store for quite a while in your fridge with no additional requirements.
Lettuce, spinach will store for at least 7 days. We rinse and spin dry your greens one time. You should rinse and dry again before consumption. The best way is with a hand crank salad spinner. Keep in mind moisture leads to spoilage. You can wait to wash your greens until you plan to consumer them. Place greens in an airtight container such as a bag or Tupperware. Greens will hold for 9-14 days.
Parsley wash and dry thoroughly. You want to make sure no excess water is present as that can cause freezer burn. Cut the lower part of the stems. Place cleaned and dried parsley in a large freezer bag and push it down to the bottom
You can freeze green onions including the leafy green tops, the white bulb end, and the stem in between. After freezing, the texture changes somewhat. Stem and bulb portions become soft, while the green parts sometimes become tough.
Make sure the greens are removed from the root vegetables. Your roots will store for a good while, your greens from your root vegetables need to be used or lose them.
Next Week’s Possibility’s
Your bag next week will include 6-7 of the following depending on availability and if it’s ready to harvest.
Strawberries
Kale
Green Onions
Carrots
Herbs
Asparagus
Lettuce (head or mixed)
Spinach
Radish
Beets
Wishing you a fantastic week ahead, see you next week!