Week 4; June 30, 2016
What's in the box?
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Tendersweet or Savoy Cabbage (medium and large shares)
cucumber (medium and large)
spring onions
green top beets
zukes/ summer squash
salad mix
collards
garlic scapes (large and medium)
red romaine
Notes on the box.
The cucumbers, summer squash, and zucchini are just starting to come on, so you are getting just a taste of these Summer lovelies. Some of the cukes may need to be cut in half and have the seeds scooped out with a spoon, but they are quite tasty! More coming your way in upcoming weeks!
The collards are super beautiful and are still pretty tender and not bitter even though we've had some pretty warm temps. They are perfect for collard wraps. You can use them raw or blanch them quickly and then use them as a wrap.
Tendersweet and Savoy cabbage are bot great for fresh eating and we are big on coleslaw during the summer months.
The greens on these beets are so beautiful and are VERY yummy. I had a bunch from last week going limp in the fridge. I chopped them and wilted them in some butter with a pinch of salt and they were some of the best tasting greens we've had. Keeping it quick and simple is often the best way eat these veggies! Remember that the best way to store any root crop with greens still attached is to remove the greens from the roots. Both will store longer that way.
Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.
Moonglow is an Alpine recipe (similar to a Greuyere) I make one type of cheese called Moonshadow that is the same recipe, but made in the very early Spring when cows are still eating hay and the resulting cheese is much milder in flavor and more white in color since the cows aren't getting the green pasture. It's fun to taste the two next to each other. This season's Moonshadow is aging and won't be ready until late fall.
Also this week we have the first fresh cheese curds of the season! They are a tasty little snack. To get the squeak, let them warm to room temperature before you eat them. If you don't like them squeaky, let them sit in the fridge for several days and eat them cold. I had been cutting these little suckers by hand which took WAY too long. Making cheese curds is still a really long day for me since bagging them up takes quite a while, but I got a handy new tool called a curd mill. Most cheese factories have mechanical, motor driven mills. Mine is manual, but still makes this job a lot easier than cutting them by hand! Hopefully that means more cheese curds coming your way soon!
This isn't a picture of me using my curd mill, but it's not far off.
Recipes.
The Collards this week are perfect for wraps! You can use them in place of tortillas for a lighter meal. Here's a picture tutorial on how to blanch collards for using as a wrapper. You don't HAVE to blanch them. They can be used raw since they are still tender and not bitter. Fill them with beans, rice, salsa, and cheese. Or with hummus, feta, cucumbers, and lettuce. Or with beet burgers, or use this recipe for Roasted Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Rice Wraps. Otherwise, you can always de-stem them, roll them up, slice them crosswise into thin strips, and then cook them down with some bacon.
Beets are still popping and Miranda made an amazing farm lunch for us. She doesn't use a recipe, but this is roughly her practice for beet fritters. Shred unpeeled beets, zucchini/ summer squash for a total of about 4 cups of shredded veggies (mostly beets). Crack and whip three eggs. Mix eggs and veggies together. Season with your choice of spices. Miranda used a little paprika and cumin. Add some flour and breadcrumbs until they will hold together into a loose patty shape. Miranda made hers the size of hamburgers. Fry in oil, pressing down as they cook so that the edges get crispy. Fry for about 4 minutes on each side or until brown and crispy.
What to do with Cauliflower? Cauliflower Rice is pretty popular right now. To make it you just shred the cauliflower (using the shredder attachment on the food processor works great) then saute in oil of your choice for about 5 min. Serve where you would use rice.
I like to chop cauliflower finely and throw it into the pasta cooking water for the last few minutes when cooking boxed mac and cheese (which is a thing that we eat often now that we have kids and it is the most frequently requested meal). Drain along with the pasta and continue as normal. You can also do this with broccoli or kale or other greens, but the cauliflower is not often noticed or protested. Our kids are pretty good about eating veggies, but we joke that they are strict locavores. Once the veggies leave the field or the packing shed they are suddenly inedible to them! So sometimes we find ourselves hiding veggies in things like mac and cheese.
Cabbage Slaw with Green Onion, Mint, and Parsley
- 1/2 large head green cabbage
- 3/4 cup chopped parsley
- 2 Tbsp chopped mint
- 3/4 cup thinly sliced green onion (or more)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar, maple syrup,honey, or sweetener of your choice
- salt to taste (I used about 3/4 tsp. sea salt)
- freshly ground black pepper to taste (I used about 1/4 tsp.)
Thinly slice and coarsely chop slices until you have about 6 cups chopped cabbage. Wash and coarsely chop parsley and mint, and thinly slice green onions.
In small bowl or glass measuring cup, stir together the canola oil, white balsamic vinegar or white vinegar, sweetener, salt, and pepper.
Put chopped cabbage, chopped parsley and mint, and sliced green onions into salad bowl and toss to combine. Add just enough dressing to moisten salad, and toss again. (You may not need all the dressing.) Taste to see if you want more salt or pepper, then serve.
On the Farm.
Next Week
a break from cauliflower and broccoli
cukes
zukes/ summer squash
big head lettuce
fennel
beets
cabbage
carrots??