Week 2 Lists

A couple of reminders before we get started with the shares. First, David reuses the boxes, so please stack them neatly at your dropoff and remember to return them each week (or leave them behind by bringing bags for your produce). Second, David can reuse the clamshells that contain your microgreens, so return those in your share box if you remember. Third, there are two Saturdays left until the Farmer's Market starts, and there's an informal invite for both the 28th and the 4th to come help at the farm. Come see how the farm operates, lend a hand planting starts, and put a face to your food, this and next Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Here are the second week's share lists!

SMALL
honey (produced on the farm)
sunchokes
spinach
young garlic
purple asparagus
green asparagus
onion scapes
garlic chives
microgreens
wheat grass
mung bean sprouts

MEDIUM
shungiku
amaranth greens
red giant mustard
green mustard

LARGE
baby bok choy
soy bean sprouts (for cooking, don't eat raw)
micro dill
micro chervil
micro peas
micro basil
chinese snow broccoli
chinese broccoli
extra asparagus
extra microgreens
extra mustard greens
extra spinach

Nothing too crazy this week that wasn't there last week. That said, you're going to need some help getting rid of some of these -- they're building up or they're giant bags. If you haven't finished last week's sunchokes, don't worry. Place this week's sunchokes UNWASHED in a paper bag in the bottom of your fridge -- they should keep at least several weeks before starting to sprout. Also, be religious about chopping those young garlic, scapes, and chives into whatever you're cooking each night. The flavor is more subtle than their full grown big brothers, but soon we'll be overwhelmed with piles of them that keep well in the fridge.

Honey
David has hives on the farm. The honey is this week's apology for spring rains making field access to the salad greens impossible. A $12 value, if you're trying to check on getting your money's worth out of the shares.

Asparagus
Purple and green varieties of the stuff you find in the store, but actually harvested fresh and in season for your locale.  As asparagusy as it gets.  Can't cook it tonight or tomorrow?  Put them upright in a bowl of water in the fridge.  Risky on the spill factor, but they'll stay crispy.

Wheat Grass
Basically another microgreen.  If you're a juicer, juice it.  Add small amounts to salads, muffins, smoothies, and pestos.

Mustard Greens
A slightly spicy green that holds up to sauteing and boiling.  A classic Southern ingredient, also integral to South Asian cooking.  Saute with ham / bacon / seitan / tempeh, or boil and serve with a crispy fried tofu (especially the smoked variety).  I'll try to get some recipes out of my friends from India to expand beyond the heavy East Asian bent here.

Amaranth Greens
Not green but red.  Also called Chinese spinach, these are super healthy.  These will hold up well to the sesame sauce I introduced last week (gomaae), and can be treated like most any boiling/sauteing green. When in doubt -- heat olive oil in skillet, add garlic, add greens, stir, eat.  Also popular in Indian cuisine.

And a few reasons to consider the large share next summer.... seriously, this is plush kitchen living....

Micro-herbs
David recommends the micro-chervil on any white fish.  I can't wait to throw the micro-dill on some fingerling potatoes or white fish.  These would take a salad to the next level with tiny additions.

Soy Bean Sprouts
These have been problematic for David, with some going bad faster than he expects.  He never eats them raw -- blanch them or saute them.  He highly recommends sauteing these in olive oil with a touch of salt and pepper, adding the micro pea shoots to the pan at the last minute.  Earthy and fantastic -- I made this dish tonight.

Chinese Broccoli
There are two varieties this week:  regular and snow.  The snow broccoli was planted in the fall and grew through the winter, has slightly sharper leaves and veins on the back, and is slightly darker.  The regular variety was planted this spring.  Use it all -  leaves, stems, flowers.  This is a slightly spicy, broccoli flavored green.  Saute it with some stock (are you sensing a trend in spring veg yet?), make a spicy version of cream of broccoli soup, add it to stir fries.

As always, comment with ideas and email with questions.  I'm trying to get these up earlier in the evening on Tuesdays, but the family is hungry before I can get the posts up a lot of nights.  Bear with me and I'll streamline the process.  As the summer weather becomes more predictable, I can at least get the list and suggestions up on Monday night, with pictures to follow.