Harvest Notes - Week 2

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!