In Your Share (May 16th edition)

Welcome old friends and new members to our twentieth anniversary summer CSA! In 1996, I talked a few of my friends into “joining” my garden to try out this crazy idea called Community Supported Agriculture. That summer launched the 47th Avenue Farm and 20 years later we’re still going strong!

What better way to start the season than with fresh garlic scapes & bulbs!! The scapes are the flowering stalk of the garlic plant. They start to poke their little heads out in late April and grow both up and around to form a curlicue. This becomes a loop in the stem which eventually straightens out and the tip opens up into a pretty, but sterile purple flower.  They are most tender (and cute) in the curlicue stage as you can see from the photo. Roast, broil or grill them whole with just a bit of salt and olive oil. Or chop and sauté then add them to any dish that calls for cooked garlic.

Amazing recipes for everything we grow on the farm – including garlic – are available to members at Cook With What You Have. If you joined our Summer CSA you will find your password in the member email. Enjoy 24/7 access to recipe inspiration!

This week your share may include…

• Arugula: This is the best time of year for these tender slightly spicy greens! The flavor is just perfect – not too hot – and the greens are beautiful.
• Heirloom Dry Beans: What a treat to have these in the share! The varieties this week will be… Calypso which has a beautiful yin-yang pattern and can be cooked like a black bean  & Good Mother Stallard which is a pretty maroon pole bean covered in a pattern of white concentric circles which makes an extra-ordinary baked bean.
• Spring Garlic: This spring garlic brings us all the flavor of a full sized bulb and comes in months ahead of the regular garlic harvest. The whole thing can be sautéed just as you would a garlic clove or use the white bulb and tippy tops raw to spice up your salad or soup.
• Garlic Scapes: see above
• Rainbow Chard: Amazing vibrant colors! The color may disappear when sautéed, but happily the hearty flavor remains. I find chard a very versatile cooking green that can be substituted for almost any recipe that uses cooked spinach. One of my favorite things to do for breakfast is chard with a poached egg on top. And many long time CSA members already know about my Grandmothers Chard Bisque, but I’ll pass it along again for new folks.
• Mizuna: A lovely mild flavored asian green that goes well in salad or stir fry.
• Cayenne Pepper: These are hot! I like to use 1-2 in a pot of stew. Or finely chop or grind them up for homemade red pepper flakes.
• Amish Butter Popcorn: Real popcorn with real flavor! We were first introduced to this variety by Ayers Creek Farm. The seed is now available from Uprising Seed and it is surprisingly versatile – can also be ground into polenta, cornbread or made into masa. Pop it on the cob in the microwave (in a brown paper bag, max 3 min) or take the kernels off the cop and pop it any way you choose.
• Radish: Choose from Red Round Radish or elongated French Breakfast red & white radish. It’s totally decadent but I love this new twist on an old favorite – french radish & fresh butter – especially good on a warm baguette

Coming soon… 23 more weeks of beautiful veggies!