In Your Share (Feb 3rd edition)

2008_0918_laura157BEAUTIFUL BEANS in your share this week! We have been increasing our acreage in dry beans for the last few years and had a bumper crop this season. The variety we have for you this week is called King of the Early and it is a very pretty mottled red borlotti type. It has been a productive and dependable variety for us to grow and it has great flavor.  It swells larger than most beans when cooked and is perfect for the Pasta e Fagioli in your recipe packet. In general, beans pair well with the winter crops. The leeks, onions, shallots, potatoes, greens and roasted root veggies are all perfect partners for the different types of beans we grow. There are almost as many variations on beans and rice as there are countries in the world – from to Brazilian Feijoada to Korean Kongbap.  Over the next few months you’ll see a variety of  different beans in your share including Black Coco, Kenearly Yellow, Jachob’s Cattle and Laura’s Big White with corresponding recipes coming along with them. Enjoy!

Thanks to everyone for your support through this challenging winter – we strive to offer the most bountiful shares possible but when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate we really appreciate our CSA Members for hanging in there with us!!

Lots of great ideas in the Recipe Packet this week!

This week your share may include…

  • Carrots: We’ve been able to harvest more carrots and they aren’t the prettiest, but wow do they taste good!
  • Garlic: There are many many varieties of garlic available, but it’s hard to beat Music. It has a nice sized, easy to peel clove with just a blush of pink. The flavor is classic – sharp and hot, but not overpowering.
  • Kale/Collards: We picked a little bit from several varieties of greens this week so you may see kale and/or collards in your share. This Miniera is a nice simple Brazilian way to quick cook very thinly sliced collard greens.
  • Leeks: We have grown King Richard leeks for many years and it has a beautiful long white shank that makes it great to cook with.
  • Onions: We’ve tried many red storage onions over the years and Redwing is definitely the best to date. It combines nice size, shape, flavor and long keeping quality into one perfect little red package.
  • Potato: Yukon Gold is such a terrific all-around yellow potato! This year we seem to be having a small problem with the BIG potatoes as some of them have developed hollow heart. If you chose large potatoes for your share this week just know that most of the potatoes will probably be good, but a few of them may have a small bad spot in the center.
  • Winter Squash: More acorn, delicata, & spaghetti squash to choose from this time.  If winter squash is piling up on your kitchen countertop check out the recipe packet for some simple tasty ways to cook it up.
  • Shallots: Conservor is a lovely red shallot that is mild enough to use in salad dressings but also makes a great batch of Pok Pok style crispy shallots.

Coming soon… We’re crossing our fingers that the Brussel Sprouts make a comeback!!