In Your Share (June 11th, 2018 edition)

Let the sugar snap peas begin! We seeded peas early this spring, cultivated them several times with the electric tractor and horses to keep the weeds at bay, then built a sturdy trellis for them. The vines have been climbing vigorously up the trellis and flowering profusely and now we have the first plump ripe pods ready for share this week – yay!

The sugar snap peas we grow have a sweet crunchy edible pod with tasty sweet peas inside. The whole pod and peas are meant to be eaten together. They are usually eaten raw, but can also be steamed or sautéed. Like sweet corn, these peas are best eaten asap otherwise the sugar in the peas will turn starchy over time. Don’t confuse your sugar snap peas (sweet peas, plump sweet pod) with shelling peas (tasty peas, pod is not edible, aka green peas) or snow peas (undeveloped peas, flat pods, often found in asian cuisine). I’m not opposed to the other kinds but sugar snap peas are my favorite and I hope you enjoy them too : )

Last week my friend Walt Bernard from Workhorse Workshops in Dorena, OR delivered my new horse drawn plow! He helped me get it set up and we started plowing up a field with some thick cover crops on it. I’m really looking forward to integrating this tool into the farm fieldwork rotation. I posted some photos of the team in action on the website and on Facebook.

You’ll find recipes 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…

  • Baby Lettuce Heads: Let the summer salads begin!
  • Spring Garlic: Lovely plump fresh garlic bulbs for you in the share today. Spring garlic is harvested after the bulbs have formed, but before the cloves are individually wrapped. Left in the field, it will become storage garlic – but it isn’t there yet. Use these in any recipe that calls for regular garlic but since they do not have the dried wrapper around the bulb if needs to be stored in the fridge and eaten sooner rather than later.
  • Spring Onions: These are tender and tasty! We call them spring onions to differentiate them from storage onions. This time of year the spring onions have beautiful greens on them which can be used like just like a green onion. You may see red, yellow and white onions – or a mix of all three – in your share this week
  • Zesty Daikon Microgreens: These little treats make a nice topping for soups, salad or sandwiches.
  • Red Round Radish: These are super tasty this time of year. Later in the season they can get pretty spicy, but these just have a little zing to them. Great in salads or as a snack on the crudite plate. Or try this Radish Butter spread.
  • Spinach: This crop likes the cool weather we’ve been having and the leaves are thick, succulent and deeply savoyed. This would make a beautiful spinach salad or can be sautéed.
  • Hakuri Salad Turnips: These look like giant white radish, but the flavor is sweet crunchy and mild. As the name implies, they can definitely be eaten raw or roasted. Greens are good too – cook them up alone or with other greens like spinach.

 

Coming soon… more Sugar Snap Peas!