Farmer's Market/CSA Reports for 2012

[Kim Shook]

Thought I’d catch up on our last two deliveries from our CSA. Week before last:

Spinach, elephant garlic, collards, red spring onions, chard, radishes and strawberries. All very good – I’m still working on the elephant garlic and the onions.

This past week:

Spring onions, sorrel, mustard greens, strawberries, Portobello mushrooms and sweet potatoes. I’m still working on most of this, except for the strawberries. Making sorrel soup tonight. The next delivery is Thursday – I’m starting to feel slightly overwhelmed!

[DanM]

Today I picked up two bunches of ramps, cooking spinach, and a bundle of chives with blossoms. I love this time of year.

Dan

[Kim Shook]

Our CSA delivery today:

Shitake mushrooms, Swiss chard, Tuscan kale, Romaine lettuce, turnips, turnip greens and bok choy. I am drowning in greens! I did the mushrooms and bok choy for Mr. Kim for dinner tonight and we had a salad with the Romaine. I’ll deal with the chard, kale and turnip greens this weekend and Mr. Kim’s mom with get the turnips. There is nothing you can do to them to make them edible to Mr. Kim and me and she loves them.

[Pierogi]

No pictures (I'm over my limit anyways....) but today's haul was "large-ish" baby artichokes (6), 2 avocados, a bunch of baby, multi-colored carrots (about 20), 2 bunches of dinosaur kale, about 10 small, but *VERY* sweet peaches, a large bunch of chives, 8 scallions, 3 medium to HUGE beets, with verdant greens, a bunch of collard greens (oh yay, more collards )and some very small Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes). Probably about 1/2 dozen of those.....I'm a happy camper. The peaches are early, but we've had SUCH a mild winter, I guess it's not all that surprising. The avocados have been spectacular so far, as have been the "normal" artichokes.

Sadly, no fava beans in this share, I guess the season has gone (we've had them for the last month and a half). But, I saw the fig trees are setting fruit......

[Kim Shook]

Roberta – peaches !!! Oh, I hope the stone fruits are as good this year as they were last year!

Our CSA basket this week:

Snow peas, lettuce, sweet potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini and a sweet baguette made with raisins, walnuts and cinnamon. The lettuce is huge (I doubt that we can finish it before it goes bad), the sweet potatoes are destined for ravioli, the zucchini for Ruhlman’s zucchini fritters. The bread was very good. I used it for a sandwich last night and toasted it for breakfast this morning.

[blue_dolphin]

That bread sounds yummy, Kim! Thanks for the thread.

My CSA runs year round but sticks mostly with produce. I've gotten honey (I guess that's really produce) and Sriracha (they grow the red jalapeños) but otherwise just veggies and some fruit. I love to see what others are getting (and what they are making with it).

My box this week had:

1 bunch Easter Radishes (in spite of the plea I spotted on the sign-off sheet last week: NO MORE RADISHES!!!)

1 bunch Arugula

1 bunch Gold Beets (already microwaved, marinated and into salad with the arugula + goat cheese)

1 Green Leaf Lettuce

1 pound Broccoli

1 bunch Round Carrots (annoying, take as long to peel as a regular carrot, but so little. Tasty, though. Very carrot-y)

2 Artichokes

1 Green Cabbage

1 Tub Strawberries

1 White Cauliflower (roasted with onions & garlic, tossed with pasta and olive oil)

I will snap a photo next week.

Edited May 18, 2012 by blue_dolphin (log)

[kayb]

I kind of like seeing what people are getting in other parts of the world.

I don't do a CSA, but buy all my produce from the Farmers' Market these days. Here was last weekend's haul:

Zucchini, green onions, yellow squash, carrots, blueberries, blackberries, snow peas.

The previous weekend, it was this:

Strawberries, cute little hybrid squash (tasted like a yellow crookneck, but had more texture about them) broccoli (there's a head of cauliflower under the broccoli), cabbage, quail eggs, a couple of tamales, a small foccacia, and four fried pies..

Things started coming in early this year, due to our exceptionally warm winter. We've had lettuces and such since late March/early April. May and June are the absolute best months for the market; I'm hoping for sweet corn in the next two or three weeks.

ETA: I do belong to a CSA, but it's a meat/dairy one. My share allows me to space a meat order equivalent to a quarter-cow out for six months, and essentially pick the cuts I want; I can also get milk, cheese, pork or lamb as part of my "share." I have another CSA membership for chickens, in which I buy five at a time and pick up on a determined-by-the-farmer date; I find I get those about every other month. Since I won't get any more until June (missed ordering for May!), I'm hanging on to the two I have left for barbecued chicken on Memorial Day weekend.

Edited May 18, 2012 by kayb (log)

[kayswv]

I'll deal with the chard, kale and turnip greens this weekend and Mr. Kim's mom with get the turnips. There is nothing you can do to them to make them edible to Mr. Kim and me and she loves them.

Kim, perhaps if you try the following for the turnips you might change your mind:

Vermont Style Maple Braised and Glazed Turnips

3 TBS unsalted butter

1 cup fat free chicken stock

3 TBS pure maple syrup

about 1 1/2 lbs small size white turnips, peeled

1 TBS Dijon mustard, grainy style

salt and pepper to taste

If turnips are very small cut in half. If larger, slice in wedges to equal approximate size of the halved turnips. Number of wedges will depend upon size of turnip.

Melt the butter in large covered skillet or other similiar pan. Add stock and maple syrup. Bring to a simmer. Add turnip pieces and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low and simmer, covered, until turnips are tender. This will take approximately 10-12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove turnips to a dish leaving the liquid in the pan.

Bring the cooking liquid to a boil and reduce it by at least half and it is getting syrupy. Stir occasionally while reducing. Once syrupy, whisk in mustard. Return turnips to the pan, turn to coat with sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Warm gently to serving temperature.

Garnish with parsley for serving. Serves 4-6.

Kay

[Kim Shook]

Kay - if they send them again (which is very likely), I promise I'll try that recipe. I've heard that the depth to which you peel can affect the flavor/bitterness. Have you ever heard anything like that?

[Pierogi]

Kim - Those peaches were ahh-mazing ! I could simply not believe how sweet and juicy they were for having been picked in early May. They were tiny, like ping-pong to golf-ball size, but sooooo yummy. Farmer Jimmy promised that we'll have buckets of them soon.

Kayswv - I'm copying that turnip recipe, since this weeks haul is overloaded with turnips ! Which I like just fine, but this quantity is a bit overwhelming.....Kim, have you tried them roasted? I love them that way, like beets.

Yesterday's share:

Yet more collards (a bunch about 14 oz. and I'm really getting done with collards...next time, into the share box). Blue_dolphin, I feel about collards the way one of YOUR members feel about radishes ! A bunch of oregano (we had a choice of oregano, thyme, chives, mint or epazote), 7 red/purple turnips, a bunch of rainbow chard, 4 yellow and 3 green zucchini (also very early), 3 medium-size beets with lovely greens, 8 oz. of scallions, 2 avocados (keep them comin' babe, they're about a dollar each in the stores, and I currently have 6 stashed in the fridge and one ripening), 6 white turnips and a head of cabbage. Other than the collards, I'm happy with this haul again.

[kayswv]

Kay - if they send them again (which is very likely), I promise I'll try that recipe. I've heard that the depth to which you peel can affect the flavor/bitterness. Have you ever heard anything like that?

Kim, I think that applies to older turnips and we prefer the fresher ones. Try it both ways and see what you think.

Kay

Kim - Those peaches were ahh-mazing ! I could simply not believe how sweet and juicy they were for having been picked in early May. They were tiny, like ping-pong to golf-ball size, but sooooo yummy. Farmer Jimmy promised that we'll have buckets of them soon.

Kayswv - I'm copying that turnip recipe, since this weeks haul is overloaded with turnips ! Which I like just fine, but this quantity is a bit overwhelming.....Kim, have you tried them roasted? I love them that way, like beets.

Yesterday's share:

Yet more collards (a bunch about 14 oz. and I'm really getting done with collards...next time, into the share box). Blue_dolphin, I feel about collards the way one of YOUR members feel about radishes ! A bunch of oregano (we had a choice of oregano, thyme, chives, mint or epazote), 7 red/purple turnips, a bunch of rainbow chard, 4 yellow and 3 green zucchini (also very early), 3 medium-size beets with lovely greens, 8 oz. of scallions, 2 avocados (keep them comin' babe, they're about a dollar each in the stores, and I currently have 6 stashed in the fridge and one ripening), 6 white turnips and a head of cabbage. Other than the collards, I'm happy with this haul again.

Roberta,

For collards have you tried this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Citrus-Collards-with-Raisins-Redux-352451

It is particularly good when you add 2 slices of bacon and half of an sweet onion cooked in the bacon renderings.

Kay

[thirtyoneknots]

Collards and ham make an awesome gumbo. Goes for any greens, really--Gumbo z'Herbes is a Lenten tradition but apart from that time of year I like to make it with chicken stock and add a healthy amount of ham, and I find the result much improved. One of my favorite gumbos actually.

[Pierogi]

Kayswv - thanks for the link. I'll take a look at it. I think the problem is that I never really was a fan of the so-called "hearty greens" before I joined this CSA. I was never exposed to them growing up, so they weren't something I learned to love. I've come to appreciate the more "tender" of them....chard, kale, etc., but collards are still a work in progress. Unfortunately, we get them almost year 'round in our shares, so the burn-out comes fast. The first round I ever got, I think I took one bite and tossed the rest. Now, I can handle one recipe of them, but coming every 2 weeks gets to be a bit much, if you catch my drift. An overload of anything (well, OK, *most* anything, I could handle an overload of Champagne and caviar and truffles and figs.....) gets tiresome. And it seems like, for the most part, however you prepare them, they taste basically the same. I even tried them creamed like creamed spinach and thought....yeah, collards.......again. But that recipe sounds different enough that it may challenge my taste buds.

Thirtyoneknots - I actually have toyed with the idea of using them in a gumbo z'herbes recently, but never found a good time to try it. That may be the solution for this batch. Cajun/Creole food is one of my favorites.

[blue_dolphin]

Here's this week's box, nothing I don't know what to do with:

Clockwise from top left:

Romaine Lettuce

Round Carrots

Zucchini Squash (first of the season)

White Cauliflower

Hass Avocado

Tatsoi

Japanese Turnips (I just quarter these little guys, toss with EVOO, S&P and roast; greens will be sautéed with garlic)

Sugar Snap Peas

and in front, a basket of raspberries, also the first of the season...already gone .

No radishes I've still got white icicle radishes, Easter radishes and French breakfast radishes in the fridge from recent weeks.

It's funny, Pierogi, we're not all that far apart - I'm up in Ventura Co. You get collards year round and I've never gotten any! I'll try Kay's recipe should they ever turn up. Sounds good.

[Kim Shook]

Roberta – I actually found some wonderful white peaches at the grocery store this week. We’ve had at least one a day since I found them – I’ve been back TWICE for them.

blue_dolphin – very nice haul. Now I have CSA-envy! Except for the inescapable zucchini. I would actually eat most of what is in your stuff. (Not a big vegetable person). I wish they had fruit CSA's!

This week’s CSA box:

Mushrooms, red leaf lettuce, mustard greens, English peas, broccoli, zucchini and tomatoes. We got these on Thursday and so far I’ve used some of the mushrooms, lettuce, mustard greens and both of the tomatoes.

[blue_dolphin]

Kim - the zucchini may be inescapable but you are clearly very capable of dealing with them - I saw your fritters (and the rest of that yummy Memorial Day spread) - mmmmm.

Here's this week's box:

Clockwise from top left:

• Japanese turnips - again, 4 weeks in a row now, I think, but at least no radishes.
  
• Bok choy
  
• Artichokes - they intimidate me
  
• Yukon gold potatoes - sort of unusual. Potatoes came only once or twice last year.
  
• Golden beets - will roast and marinate for lunch salads
  
• Red leaf lettuce
  
• Strawberries - sublime. They're a year round crop here but are at their peak now
  
• Leeks - maybe a turnip and leek soup? Just doesn't seem like soup weather. Maybe June gloom will set in...
  
• Carrots - proper orange, carrot-shaped ones!
  
• Swiss Chard - see below
  
• and in the center, Valencia oranges - I have 2 orange trees so this is rather unnecessary but I won't complain.
  

I get the "small box." This week, the large box peeps got larger amounts of the above items plus kohlrabi, sweet onions, summer squash and avocados. I live alone so plowing through even the small box in a week is a challenge.

I give myself a pep talk about the artichokes most mornings: TODAY, I will tackle these thorny things! Then I get home from work, tired and hungry and something like this turns into dinner:

Swiss chard bruscetta with smoked trout and a glass of wine. Too easy! Maybe there is hope for the artichokes on the weekend

[Kim Shook]

blue_dolphin – thank you! No zucchini this week, at least! Again, I’m envious of what you got – I guess it’s a grass is greener thing! I am tucking away your idea for what to do with the beets – Mr. Kim would LOVE that addition to salads.

Oh, God it’s Thursday again:

Cabbage, blueberries, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, dill, kohlrabi and fennel. The cabbage will be a batch of braised sweet and sour cabbage, the yellow squash will probably be more sautéed squash and onions for Mr. Kim, I’ll roast and freeze the sweet potatoes to go in the freezer with the other pound that is waiting in there for me to make ravioli, fennel will be a yummy shaved fennel salad on top of some fish that I have yet to buy. Don’t know a thing about kohlrabi and we both detest dill. (sigh)

[thirtyoneknots]

Kohlrabi can be treated as you might use turnips, and the greens can be cooked like collards. It doesn't seem to keep as well as turnips though--I'm kind of done growing them.

[blue_dolphin]

Two kohlrabi opinions...

Me: I like it - tastes like broccoli stems!

Fellow CSA member: It's awful - tastes like broccoli stems!

Kim, I think the kohlrabi I get are smaller than yours but I julienne it and add it to salads or use it in a slaw. I think if I had your box this week, I'd give this salad from Food and Wine a go: Kohlrabi, Fennel and Blueberry Salad.

Of course,if I had Kim's box, the blueberries would be long gone

[Katie Meadow]

Kohlrabi opinion number three: I love it, it's wonderful---does NOT taste like broccoli stems or any other part of broccoli, which I can't stand.

I like kohlrabi as an app with cocktails: slice paper thin, fan out the slices to look lovely, sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Also very nice on a plate with deviled eggs. I grew up thinking it was a particularly Jewish vegetable because my dad used to say it meant voice of the prophet (or song of the rabbi.) Apocryphal no doubt, since that would be kol, not kohl, but still an outstanding vegetable. It is plentiful in Chinatown; no idea how Chinese cooks use it, or if they eat it raw. I could imagine it being good in a stir-fry, but I've never tried it.

[Pierogi]

Ack ! I keep forgetting to snap a picture before I stash the goods away into the crisper. Next pick-up, I swear....

Anyways, yesterday I got a bunch of mint, scallions, dinosaur kale, beets, GARLIC (!!), about 2 heads worth, so fresh and pungent, avocados (yay, again !), turnips, zucchini (including one I could use to club a T. rex to death, I swear. That puppy must weigh over a pound.), and a HUGE head of red cabbage (THAT thing weighs in at over 3 pounds, 9 ounces. It's massive.) Left in the "share" box was yet another bunch of collards. I've decided collards and I need a vacation from each other.....

Blue_dolphin, do not fear the artichokes ! They are so marvelous. Simplest (and best) way to cook them is just to trim off the spikey tips of the leaves, cut off about the top 1/3 of the thing, trim the stem flush, and then snap off the lowest row of small, tough leaves. Rub the cut edges with a lemon wedge as you work, it'll keep them from oxidizing. Rinse them, sort of prying open the rosette of leaves, to ensure any little stow-aways are flushed out. Put them into a deep saucepan or stockpot (non-reactive), add water to cover, some mashed garlic, lemon slices and juice (toss in the one you were rubbing the 'chokes with as well), and, sorry, this is so ghetto, but it's the way I like them, a handful of dried "Italian Herb" seasoning that you crush a bit between your palms. Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a brisk simmer, cover, and let go until the 'chokes are tender. Large ones (baseball to soft-ball size) take about 45 minutes. Smaller ones about 1/2 an hour. From your pic, I'd say the ones you got should take somewhere between the 30 and 45 minutes. Start checking after 30, paring knife into the butt end where you cut off the stem. Mix together some mayo (homemade is best, but whatever is your favorite commercial brand works too), mix in some minced garlic, some lemon juice and more dried Italian herbs. Let that stand in the fridge while the 'chokes cook to blend the flavors. Pull the 'chokes out of the water, and turn them upside down to drain. Pull the leaves off, dip, scrape, and repeat. When you get down to the inner, purple leaves, pull them all off in one cone. Scrape out the choke (the hair), and cut the heart into bite-size pieces. Dip into the pseudo-aioli and smile. If the 'chokes you get are smaller than roughly tennis-ball size, most of the outer leaves will be too small and tough to yield any good results from the scraping action. Those, I trim down to the very inner leaves, boil/simmer until tender in the same seasoned bath, drain, and either saute or bake after cooking. Even then, many of the leaves will stay too tough to really eat. For those "babies", you're really after the heart, and not much else.

ETA --- Easiest way to trim the thorns is with a pair of kitchen shears.

Edited June 2, 2012 by Pierogi (log)

[SylviaLovegren]

Ack ! I keep forgetting to snap a picture before I stash the goods away into the crisper. Next pick-up, I swear....

Anyways, yesterday I got a bunch of mint, scallions, dinosaur kale, beets, GARLIC (!!), about 2 heads worth, so fresh and pungent, avocados (yay, again !), turnips, zucchini (including one I could use to club a T. rex to death, I swear. That puppy must weigh over a pound.), and a HUGE head of red cabbage (THAT thing weighs in at over 3 pounds, 9 ounces. It's massive.) Left in the "share" box was yet another bunch of collards. I've decided collards and I need a vacation from each other.....

Blue_dolphin, do not fear the artichokes ! They are so marvelous. Simplest (and best) way to cook them is just to trim off the spikey tips of the leaves, cut off about the top 1/3 of the thing, trim the stem flush, and then snap off the lowest row of small, tough leaves. Rub the cut edges with a lemon wedge as you work, it'll keep them from oxidizing. Rinse them, sort of prying open the rosette of leaves, to ensure any little stow-aways are flushed out. Put them into a deep saucepan or stockpot (non-reactive), add water to cover, some mashed garlic, lemon slices and juice (toss in the one you were rubbing the 'chokes with as well), and, sorry, this is so ghetto, but it's the way I like them, a handful of dried "Italian Herb" seasoning that you crush a bit between your palms. Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a brisk simmer, cover, and let go until the 'chokes are tender. Large ones (baseball to soft-ball size) take about 45 minutes. Smaller ones about 1/2 an hour. From your pic, I'd say the ones you got should take somewhere between the 30 and 45 minutes. Start checking after 30, paring knife into the butt end where you cut off the stem. Mix together some mayo (homemade is best, but whatever is your favorite commercial brand works too), mix in some minced garlic, some lemon juice and more dried Italian herbs. Let that stand in the fridge while the 'chokes cook to blend the flavors. Pull the 'chokes out of the water, and turn them upside down to drain. Pull the leaves off, dip, scrape, and repeat. When you get down to the inner, purple leaves, pull them all off in one cone. Scrape out the choke (the hair), and cut the heart into bite-size pieces. Dip into the pseudo-aioli and smile. If the 'chokes you get are smaller than roughly tennis-ball size, most of the outer leaves will be too small and tough to yield any good results from the scraping action. Those, I trim down to the very inner leaves, boil/simmer until tender in the same seasoned bath, drain, and either saute or bake after cooking. Even then, many of the leaves will stay too tough to really eat. For those "babies", you're really after the heart, and not much else.

ETA --- Easiest way to trim the thorns is with a pair of kitchen shears.

What you said. We had some in the market here (first time I've seen them in a year of living here) and I did exactly what you said except I put a bay leaf and some peppercorns in instead of your herbs. Delicious.

There's also a Greek stew recipe that I love that cooks the artichoke hearts with small potatoes, carrots and onions in a garlic/lemon broth. Sensational. You can do it with frozen artichoke hearts (the TJ ones work especially well), but otherwise just reduce regular artichokes to their tender inner leaves and scoop out the furry bits in the middle and toss 'em in.

Artichokes may be the most delicious vegetable in the world. Or avocados. One or the other.

[kayswv]

What you said. We had some in the market here (first time I've seen them in a year of living here) and I did exactly what you said except I put a bay leaf and some peppercorns in instead of your herbs. Delicious.

There's also a Greek stew recipe that I love that cooks the artichoke hearts with small potatoes, carrots and onions in a garlic/lemon broth. Sensational. You can do it with frozen artichoke hearts (the TJ ones work especially well), but otherwise just reduce regular artichokes to their tender inner leaves and scoop out the furry bits in the middle and toss 'em in.

Artichokes may be the most delicious vegetable in the world. Or avocados. One or the other.

Would this be similar to the Greek stew recipe you mentioned? http://sweetalmondtree.blogspot.com/2012/04/artichokes-la-polita-la.html

Thanks, Kay

[blue_dolphin]

First, thank you, thank you, Pierogi and SylviaLovegren for the artichoke pep talks! I gathered up all unused artichokes and made the artichoke, pepper and chickpea tagine with olives and preserved lemons from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Very yummy. Served it on couscous and drizzled chermoula (Moroccan green sauce) over the top. I have plenty more for lunches during the week. I'll absolutely make that again.

.....Kim, I think the kohlrabi I get are smaller than yours but I julienne it and add it to salads or use it in a slaw. I think if I had your box this week, I'd give this salad from Food and Wine a go: Kohlrabi, Fennel and Blueberry Salad.

Second, while rooting around in the bottom of the vegetable bin seeking stray artichokes, I found I had both kohlrabi and fennel so I went and got some blueberries and gave that salad recipe a try. Meh. It was OK, but nothing special. Everything was pale and thinly sliced so it seemed kind of boring. I didn't have any mint and perhaps that would have made a big difference over the parsley I subbed.

One winner, one loser. That's OK.

[SylviaLovegren]

What you said. We had some in the market here (first time I've seen them in a year of living here) and I did exactly what you said except I put a bay leaf and some peppercorns in instead of your herbs. Delicious.

There's also a Greek stew recipe that I love that cooks the artichoke hearts with small potatoes, carrots and onions in a garlic/lemon broth. Sensational. You can do it with frozen artichoke hearts (the TJ ones work especially well), but otherwise just reduce regular artichokes to their tender inner leaves and scoop out the furry bits in the middle and toss 'em in.

Artichokes may be the most delicious vegetable in the world. Or avocados. One or the other.

Would this be similar to the Greek stew recipe you mentioned? http://sweetalmondtr...-polita-la.html

Thanks, Kay

Yes, very similar! Constantinople Artichokes. My recipe is from Vilma Chantiles "The Foods of Greece" and is a little simpler. No celery, plain water rather than chicken stock, no peas, but otherwise pretty much the same. I'd be curious to do a side-by-side to see which I liked better. The chicken stock one might be richer but Chantiles' recipe has an intense purity of flavor that I love.

Incidentally, peas and artichokes stewed together is a very Greek thing to do.

ETA: And, I missed it, the Cantiles' recipe has potatoes. They come up deliciously, infused with lemon and artichoke flavor. Yum.

Edited June 4, 2012 by SylviaLovegren (log)