I hope you all had a relaxing week and were able to stay cool during last week’s heatwave. With all the sun and humidity we’ve had on the farm, it feels like the season’s accelerating right into summer: all of a sudden, there’s spring onions bulbing out, sugar snap peas are weighing heavy on their vines, and the first of the potatoes have been dug up.
New Roots has been busy weeding and planting successions to ensure that they have a steady amount of produce available throughout the season. They’ve also been harvesting pound after pound, bunch after bunch, and head after head for the various markets we sell to, including CSA, local food pantries, and small groceries and shops.
A few storage tips: Since we are still heavily in greens season, I wanted to remind you that if your baby greens are wet when you get them, please add a paper towel to the bag. This will help absorb the extra water and help your greens last longer. Herbs are usually best kept in a jar in the fridge with a little bit of water in the bottom of the jar (except for basil, but we’ll talk about that later).
Some customers have been sharing pictures of their meals made from their CSA vegetables. Check out Caitlin Pow’s (of Portland) Vietnamese summer rolls below. She made them with the chard, cilantro, beets, lettuce, and kale from her CSA share and served it with a home-made peanut sauce. Yum! Thanks for sharing, Caitlin!
One of the great things about CSA is you get to explore new vegetables and new foods. A CSA share forces you to expand your comfort zone in the kitchen. A friend of our farm says that the easiest way to use up a lot of CSA vegetables when you are not sure what to do with them is cook them in a summer stir-fry. Your can substitute any of the below items with any vegetables you have sitting in your fridge. Be creative!
Start with a little bit of oil and onion and garlic. Saute until the onions are soft. Add your harder items first, like carrots, beets, and potatoes. Those take the longest to cook down. Cook for a while, tossing frequently, until they start to get soft. Then add the the medium-soft items, like chard stems, kale stems, peppers, cabbage, eggplant, beans, and peas. Let those cook down a little, still stirring frequently so everything cooks evenly. Zucchini is a middle-of-the-road item that you can add after the second group of vegetables but before the leaves. Last add the greens – your kale, chard and spinach leaves. This is also where you should add any fresh herbs or green onion tops you might have on hand. Cook until the greens wilt. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with a melted cheese of your choice on top.
Radishes are a great summer item that can be eaten raw in a salad or sauteed in butter and garlic (for those who don’t like the spicy bite). Here is an amazing chopped salad recipe that you can use your peas, onions and radishes in. Remember to experiment and substitute items if you need to!
QUINOA SALAD WITH RADISHES, SNAP PEAS, SCALLIONS, AND MINT
INGREDIENTS
- 3⁄4 cup quinoa
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1⁄4 cup olive oil
- 1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 8 oz. sugar snap peas, thinly sliced on the bias
- 8 oz. radishes, trimmed and julienned
- 1⁄4 cup roughly chopped mint leaves
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small saucepan, bring 1 1⁄3 cups water to a boil. Stir in the quinoa and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered, until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover the quinoa, fluff with a fork, and then scrape into a large bowl to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil with the lemon juice and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the quinoa, add the peas, radishes, mint, and scallions. Toss to combine before serving.
Recipe from: https://www.saveur.com/radish-recipes-salads-spring/