Lettuce Heads You have two varieties in your share this week. The redish one that you also received last week is called Magenta and it is a summer crisp, which means that it falls somewhere between a romaine and a leaf lettuce on the crispness spectrum. The other is a green romaine lettuce called Jericho that is very crunchy.

Salad Mix This is the last week for salad mix until the fall as the baby greens turn bitter in the heat. This week’s mix is heavier on baby lettuce than mustards.

Red Russian Kale Early season kale is the most tender so it cooks quickly and is perfect for raw salads too.

Garlic Scapes Before putting its full energy into making a bulb, a garlic plant sends up a delicious stalk called the garlic scape that can be harvested a full month before the garlic bulbs. Use them in place of garlic in any recipe when chopped small or sautee them like a garlicky green bean. These store well and we'll be distributing them for several weeks.

Basil  Basil turns black when it gets wet or cold, so store it out of the fridge, use fresh, and wash it right before using.

Carrots These early season carrots are particularly tender and sweet! The greens are gorgeous and if you are ambitious you can use them to make soup stock.

Kohlrabi The beautiful purple vegetable that makes everyone wonder if they are in outer space. Peel the bulb and slice it raw for salads or just to snack on plain. The greens cook up just like kale does.

Salad Turnips This unsung crop is bafflingly uncommon in grocery stores but one of our favorites. The tender white turnips are juicy raw in salad or in stir-fries or roasted veggies. The greens are also amazing! Unlike radish greens, which are a little tough and spiny, turnip greens are tender and perfect when lightly wilted or chopped up for salad.

Feeling overloaded with salad and cooking greens? Its all part of the evolution of the season! I like to imagine a bear emerging from winter slumber to start off the summer with tender greens before the fruits and roots develop. Consider balancing out the heaping piles of salad with nuts and chick peas or rounding out the cooking greens by putting them in bean soups or cashew stir-fries. We promise, the season will advance with heavier crops as we go along:)

Lettuce Heads You have two varieties in your share this week. The more upright is called Magenta and it is a summer crisp, which means that it falls somewhere between a romaine and a leaf lettuce on the crispness spectrum. The other is a butterhead called Merveilles des Quatre Saisons. It makes a head like a cabbage and is incredibly tender and “buttery”. The flavor is very mild and the lime green color of the inner leaves offsets the dark red color of the out leaves for a beautiful salad.

Salad Mix This weeks salad greens were gently triple washed and should last better than last week’s salad. It is a mix of baby mustard greens and baby lettuce greens.

Rainbow Chard These gorgeous bunches of colorful swiss chard can be used much like spinach. The leaves are tender and cook down quickly.

Scallions Also called spring onions, these young alliums are a fresh green way to incorporate onion flavor into salads, sautés, miso soup or just about any dish you might otherwise use onions in.

Kale This variety makes amazing kale chips when roasted to a crisp in the oven. You can also make raw massaged kale salads, steamed or sautéed kale side dishes, or kale soups.

Spinach These large leaves are best for cooking but are also nice as salad.

Mint  We’ve included a few sprigs of mint in your shares so you can freshen up your ice water on these warm days days, mince and add it to stir-fry, infuse hot tea in the evening or just enjoy the smell:)

French Breakfast Radishes This is the last of the spring radishes since they start looking a little funny after the weather warms. Enjoy, and we’ll see them again in the cool days of fall!

Salad Turnips This unsung crop is bafflingly uncommon in grocery stores but one of our favorites. The tender white turnips are juicy raw in salad or in stir-fries or roasted veggies. The greens are also amazing! Unlike radish greens, which are a little tough and spiny, turnip greens are tender and perfect when lightly wilted or chopped up for salad.

Salad Mix This week our salad greens were accidentally handled a bit roughly during washing. You may find that it doesn’t last as long as our greens usually do. We apologize! It is still delicious and healthy. We hope you can find a way to eat them first among the salads of this week’s share, ideally in the next couple of days, since I’m sure the arugula, spinach, lettuce and bok choi will last longer in your fridge.

Lettuce Heads This variety is called Magenta and it is a ‘summer crisp’, which means that it lies somewhere between a romaine and a leaf lettuce on the crispness spectrum.

Arugula This mustard green has a sharp flavor that you can tone down with a sweet dressing if its too much for you. It makes a perfect salad with walnuts, goat or blue cheese, and raisins. You can cook arugula down into a mustardy pesto. It is also an awesome pizza topping and is great in soups or stir-fry if cooked lightly.

Bok Choi This Asian green is perfect for stir-fries, braised greens or marinated raw salads. The dark green leaves cook or marinate similarly to kale while the white ribs are crunchy like celery and can either be cooked or eaten raw, perhaps with a dip.

Spinach These large leaves are best for cooking but are also nice as salad.

Kale This smooth leaved variety is called Red Russian Kale. This is the first harvest on these plants and the spring weather has made the leaves especially tender. They are easily succulent enough for raw salads but can also be steamed, sautéed, or added to just about any cooked dish.

Oregano  Mince this fresh herb and add it to savory dishes or sauces. Hang it upside down in a well ventilated area and dry down for weeks until it flakes for oregano that will store for months.

French Breakfast Radishes I’m not sure how many people in France eat these for breakfast, but they’d add a lot of color and sharp flavor to any time of day. The greens are a bit tough but brave chefs do find uses for them.

Popcorn on the Cob We grew these last fall and they popped perfectly in our “trials” (excuses for popcorn snack time). Press firmly on the kernels over a bowl to detach them. Heat a few teaspoons of oil in a pot with three test kernals. When those kernels pop, you’ll know the oil is hot enough. Add the rest of the kernels and remove from heat for thirty seconds, shaking them around a bit to get them all coated with oil. Put the pot back on the heat and wait until most of the kernels are popped. Then salt and enjoy!

Salad Mix This is a mix of triple washed young lettuce and mustards.

Cabbage These purple cabbages will store for months in a bag in your crisper so there is no rush to eat them! They are delicious as a simple raw chopped salad or cooked.

Butternut Squash These squash sweeten in storage so there is also no rush to eat these. They make such creamy soups and roast well when cubed but they are also perfect when simply sliced in half, roasted, and scooped out to eat as a side dish.

Curly Kale We apologize, last week your harvest notes listed curly kale but it wasn't in your share. Here it is! This variety makes amazing kale chips when roasted to a crisp in the oven. You can also make raw massaged kale salads, steamed or sautéed kale side dishes, or kale soups. It stores a little better than some of the thinner leafed kales but you should still eat it sooner rather than later for optimum nutrition.

Red Potatoes These gorgeous white fleshed potatoes would make a beautiful potato leek soup, mashed potatoes, hash browns, or anything else you are excited about! Store these in a dark cabinet.

Beets My favorite thing to do with beets is to parboil them, cube them, and then roast. This maintains the moisture and concentrates the sugar. Then I add them to salad greens with walnuts and a creamy dressing.

Leeks These big leeks are incredible. Saute them very slowly on low heat and then let add them to any dish you might otherwise use onions for.

Salad Turnips These are called salad turnips because they are tender and juicy raw, unlike storage turnips. You can also roast or sauce them. The greens are incredible as salad or very lightly cooked.

Parsley This herb handles cold weather quite well and is still abundant. Use in soups or salads or dry it down for use later in the winter.

Tomatoes Its fun to still have a small amount of tomatoes in this cooler weather!

Salad Mix This is a mix of triple washed young lettuce and mustards.

Arugula This spicy mustard green can be toned down with a sweet salad dressing or zinged up when wilted into pesto with garlic, salt, and nuts.

Spaghetti Squash When you roast these in the oven the flesh separates into spaghetti like strings. You can put sauce on it for a healthy pasta  alternative or you can get creative with it in all kinds of dishes from quiche to stews. These store well so there is no rush to use them.

Curly Kale This variety makes amazing kale chips when roasted to a crisp in the oven. You can also make raw massaged kale salads, steamed or sautéed kale side dishes, or kale soups. It stores a little better than some of the thinner leafed kales but you should still eat it sooner rather than later for optimum nutrition.

Carrots The greens are beautiful but quite bitter eaten straight as they are.  I love to slow cook them with onion peels and whatever other veggie scraps I have around and then strain for soup stock.

Broccoli You may find a green worm or two in your broccoli or cauliflower. They can easily be washed off and are not harmful. They are just big fans of these crops, as we all are, and they are proof that we do not spray the veggies
with any harmful chemicals.

Cauliflower These gorgeous cauliflower are perfect for roasting, steaming, soups, stir-fries, or even raw!

Onion Get out your handkerchief when you chop these!

Salad Mix This is a mix of triple washed young lettuce and mustards.

Spinach The fall weather is beginning in earnest with our first spinach harvest! Wilt it lightly on its own, add it to a curry, stuffed squash, stir-fry or any other veggie mix. It is also tender enough to eat as raw salad.

Pie Pumpkin These are perfect fall decorations that are also delicious for making pie! Keep them from freezing outside in the cold if you plan to cook them eventually. The seeds can be roasted and the flesh is creamy and sweet as a pie filling or soup.

Salad Turnips These are called salad turnips because they are tender and juicy raw, unlike storage turnips. You can also roast or sauce them. The greens are incredible as salad or very lightly cooked.

Cauliflower These gorgeous cauliflower are perfect for roasting, steaming, soups, stir-fries, or even raw!

Carrots The greens are beautiful but quite bitter eaten straight as they are.  I love to slow cook them with onion peels and whatever other veggie scraps I have around and then strain for soup stock.


Slicing Tomatoes Tomatoes are definitely winding down due to the cooler weather but we hope to have small amounts to give out all the way until we get a frost. Some tomatoes in the share may be riper than others. If yours is under ripe, wait a few days for it to soften while storing it at room temperature. If you need to store a ripe tomato for a few days before you are ready to eat it, you can out it in the fridge but keeping them at room temperature is best for their flavor.

Onion Get out your handkerchief when you chop these!

Jester Acorn Winter Squash This specialty acorn squash has a unique pattern to the skin but taste as sweet as any acorn- if not sweeter. The simplest way to prepare it is to slice it in half and roast in the oven at 350 with a drizzle of olive oil. Eat it plain or stuff with a mix of other veggies, grains, and herbs.

Eggplant This really is the very last of the eggplant for the season! I recently learned a tip for low oil eggplant that still achieves a tender texture and great flavor. Parboil it first (put it in a pot of water and bring it to a boil, then remove the eggplant) then use it however you otherwise would (fried, roasted, sauteed) but you won’t need as much oil.

Salad Mix This is a relatively mild mix of triple washed young lettuces and mustards.

Spinach The fall weather is beginning in earnest with our first spinach harvest! Wilt it lightly on its own, add it to a curry, stuffed squash, stir-fry or any other veggie mix. It is also tender enough to eat as raw salad.

Pie Pumpkin These are perfect fall decorations that are also delicious for making pie! Keep them from freezing outside in the cold if you plan to cook them eventually. The seeds can be roasted and the flesh is creamy and sweet as a pie filling or soup.

Garlic This garlic is cured, so it will store well.

Broccoli These heads of broccoli are super fresh so the stalks and leaves are as delicious as the buds.

Potatoes These store best in a dark cool place.

Slicing Tomatoes Tomatoes are definitely winding down due to the cooler weather but we hope to have small amounts to give out all the way until we get a frost. Some tomatoes in the share may be riper than others. If yours is under ripe, wait a few days for it to soften while storing it at room temperature. If you need to store a ripe tomato for a few days before you are ready to eat it, you can out it in the fridge but keeping them at room temperature is best for their flavor.

Onion Get out your handkerchief when you chop these!

Jester Acorn Winter Squash This specialty acorn squash has a unique pattern to the skin but taste as sweet as any acorn- if not sweeter. Just like the delicate squash from last week, Jester squash is delicious and simple to prepare. Slice it in half and roast in the oven at 350 with a drizzle of olive oil. Eat it plain or stuff with a mix of other veggies, grains, and herbs.

Eggplant Its fun to have iconic hot weather crops like tomatoes and eggplant while we are starting to have squash and greens. We really are wrapping up eggplant season but lets enjoy them while they last!

Napa Cabbage These gorgeous Asian style cabbages will store for longer than the kale will so you may want to use that first. It makes delicious raw slaws and salads and is also wonderful when very lightly sautéed or stir-fried.

Fennel This will be the only week of fennel. We decided to grow one succession of it this season since some people love it and others are more challenged to find the anise flavor palatable. Both the greens and bulb are used, often in the same dish. Try simply trimming the greens from the bulb, chopping both and tossing in a lemon dijon dressing. You can also roast fennel bulbs or make a creamy soup out of the greens and bulbs. There is some soil caught in between the layers of the bulbs because of the way they grow. To get it out, separate the layers.

Red Bell Pepper The peppers continue to ripen despite the cooler weather!

Yellow Italian Frying Pepper These long thin sweet peppers are incredibly delicious raw, roasted or sauteed.

Cherry Tomatoes We are so glad that the cherry tomato plants are continuing to produce through the cooler weather.

Slicing Tomatoes Tomatoes are definitely winding down due to the cooler weather but we hope to have small amounts to give out all the way until we get a frost. Some tomatoes in the share may be riper than others. If yours is under ripe, wait a few days for it to soften while storing at room temperature. If you need to store a ripe tomato for a few days before you are ready to eat it, you can put it in the fridge. Keeping them at room temperature is best for flavor.

Paste Tomatoes Also sometimes called Roma tomatoes, these more narrow, long tomatoes are less juicy than the slicing ones so they cook down into sauce more quickly. You can also use these tomatoes raw for salads or salsas.

Garlic This garlic is cured, so it will store well.

Onion Get out your handkerchief when you chop these!

Eggplant We hope to have another small surge of eggplant for the fall as we often due but you never know how the heat loving plants will fare.

Kale Cooking greens are back for the fall season! This tender young Red Russian steams up beautifully.