In Your Share (June 1st edition)

IMG_0100The garlic scapes are at their peak! These tender tasty treats are the flower stalks of our hardneck garlic varieties. Also known as garlic whistles, they emerge from the growing tip of the plant, grow in a corkscrew shape, and eventually straighten out. When fully mature, the stalk gets almost woody which is why those varieties that form a flower stalk are called hardneck garlic. If left in the field long enough, the flower bud of the garlic will bloom and form seed. Most garlic seed is sterile, but there is increasing interest in growing garlic with true viable seed.  Of course we’re not growing for seed, we’re growing them to eat! So we pick garlic scapes at their most tender – while the curl is still in the stalk. When cooking them, the immature flower bud can be eaten or snapped off. Some of my favorite ways to cook them are below, and CSA Members can access lots more recipes for garlic scapes and all the other veggies in your share at Cook With What You Have. Check your email for the password to the site and enjoy your 24/7 access to recipe inspiration!

We still have a few shares left in our Summer CSA so if you know folks who might be interested send them our way!!

This week your share may include…

  • Arugula: This is one of my favorite spring salad greens. Also good lightly sautéed
  • Green Garlic: The short stocky stalks are starting to bulb already – love that fresh garlic taste! Chop up the white end and use it fresh or sautéed. The tops make great soup stock.
  • Garlic Scapes: Chop them up and sauté with anything that calls for garlic. Or rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & roast them under the broiler. I put them about 6″ below the broiler for 5 min then turn the scapes over and cook for approx 5 more min. You want them to start to brown & caramelize, but check them often so they don’t burn. This makes for awkward but fun finger food!
  • Sugar Snap Peas: Not much more to say except yum!
  • Dragon Tongue Mustard Greens: This variety comes to us via our friend and seed breeder extraordinaire Frank Morton at Wild Garden Seeds. We’re excited to hear what you think of this strikingly beautiful not-too-hot purple mustard green? I’m loving them mixed in with other salad greens and also sautéed!
  • Napa Cabbage: The smaller heads in your share this week will work best in recipes as a cooking green. I’m going to make Okonomiyaki – I love these Japanese Cabbage Pancakes! In a few weeks the napa will have the dense, blanched inner leaves more like cabbage and at that point they’ll also be great for salad, slaw or kimchi. Here’s a few more recipes from the NY Times.
  • Onions: Some folks are inclined to take this modest culinary workhorse for granted. Not me! Very few other vegetables are such a staple in the kitchen and have such staying power. The Copra onions in your share today were seeded 16 months ago, we harvested some as spring onions, others grew large & beautiful last summer and have been in storage without complaint for months.  Many conventional crops are sprayed multiple times in the field, and again to keep them from sprouting in storage. These have been treated organically every step of the way. When you slice and sauté them, just take a moment to appreciate this unassuming & awesome onion.
  • Radish: We should have a few different varieties – Easter Egg is round, pink & purple, French Breakfast is long with red on the bottom & white on top. Both are refreshing & not too hot.
  • Spinach: The cool weather this week is making for happy spinach!

Coming soon… sweet walla onions!