In Your Share (July 2nd edition)

Hope you have a happy 4th of July!! This holiday has many happy memories for me including good times with family & friends, usually celebrated outdoors, and always with lots of good food. If you want to celebrate with summer salads, the fennel in your share this week adds a nice touch!

You’ll find recipes for fennel and everything in your share, at Cook With What You Have. If you’re a CSA member, you will find your password in your most recent email. Enjoy 24/7 access to recipe inspiration!

This week your share may include…

• Joi Choi: A beautiful and tasty brassica, it is classified as a B. rapa var. chinensis. This species also includes a wide variety of other roots & greens from tatsoi to turnips to napa cabbage. This choi is one of my favorites! It has broad white stems that are mild and crunchy with tender dark green leaves. It makes a terrific addition to stir fry or try this Soba Noodle Salad with Choi.
• Fennel: Try this Fennel & Salad Turnip Slaw with tacos or sauté chopped bulbs with onions into a tasty cartelized Soffrito.
• Lettuce Heads: So happy to have summer salad!
• Mustard Greens: Beautiful purple Dragon’s Tongue greens make a spicy addition to salad and have less heat, but still plenty of flavor when sautéed.
• Dried Cayenne Peppers: We grow a variety of hot peppers in the summer time, but this is the best one by far for drying. It has a thin skin and the meat of the pepper is flavorful and spicy. You can add a whole one to a pot of soup or stew – or grind it up and make your own DIY Hot Pepper Flakes.
• Pea Shoot Microgreens: These little treats make a nice topping for soups, salad or sandwiches.
• Summer Squash: This recipe for Courgette Gratin from Lulu’s Provencal Table is one of my favorites. I’m also fond of adding diced & sautéed summer squash to bean chile, scrambled eggs and quesadillas.
• Hakurei Turnips: More tasty salad turnips this week. Don’t forget to cook the greens too!

Coming soon… Rainbow Chard!