CSA Week 3
Please bring back last week’s bag when you pick up your share!
In your share this week:
Fennel
Carrots
Baby Turnips
Green Onion
Fennel
Salad Mix
Full shares only:
Baby Bibb Lettuce
Broccoli or Basil
Cucumber or Zucchini
New items are trickling in, and the harvests are definitely picking up! I’m happy to finally have salad mix for everyone this week, and hopefully we’re back into regular production there. If you haven’t had our salad mix before, it’s a blend of baby lettuce, nutty greens like bok choy, and some spicy mustards. Unlike salad mix you buy in the store, it keeps well for a week or more. Just keep it in its plastic bag in the fridge and eat it by itself, with your favorite dressing, or on sandwiches or wraps.
The new item for everyone is fennel (except Saturday pickup folks, who got it instead of kohlrabi last week). Fennel has a refreshing, sweet anise flavor and can be used just about anywhere you’d use celery. I think of it as an aromatic vegetable, and it’s a great addition to soups, stuffings, and braises or roasted with potatoes and other veggies. It’s also lovely raw, especially shaved on a salad, added to coleslaw, or made into a salad with orange and cinnamon. The best part is the white bulb at the bottom, the stalks have good flavor but can be tough. The leaves add color and contrast to a salad, but don’t have a lot of flavor in themselves. Keep it in the fridge in a bag.
Today’s carrots are the first from the field and the first of our usual “Nelson” variety. See if you notice a difference from the greenhouse ones you’ve been getting: I think Nelson is more floral and has a lighter texture. Turnips today are fresh, sweet, and lovely. You’ll be seeing lots of green onions in your share in the next few weeks, since we have lots coming on in the field. Remember that you can substitute them for bulb onions in a recipe, they’ll be a bit milder but very tasty!
Full shares are getting a bit of a preview of summer produce (don’t worry half shares: there’s more coming). You may have the first of our “Piracicaba” broccoli. This will look different than broccoli you are used to seeing in the stores because it is a non-heading type. This means that it makes a looser head and lots of side shoots, all of which in my opinion are much tastier than the standard hybrids. The stems especially make good eating, so use the whole thing! If you didn’t get broccoli, you got the first basil, which is finally taking off and should provide all of us with lots of pesto all summer. Store basil in a plastic bag on the counter (at room temperature). Use the leaves in pesto, salads, pastas, curries, or cocktails.
And full share folks, enjoy these beautiful little baby bibb lettuces! They have become a favorite of mine, so buttery and tasty and just the perfect size for a salad (okay, I usually eat 2 or 3 at a time).
Fennel and Quinoa Salad with Parsley and Dill
From Marth Stewart Living, November 2007.
Quinoa — a quick-cooking grain with a mildly nutty flavor and a texture not unlike couscous-anchors this cool salad of crisp, thinly shaved fennel, pungent parsley and dill, and a squeeze of fresh lemon.
- 1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Prepare an ice-water bath. Cut fennel bulb in half lengthwise. Using a sharp knife, slice lengthwise as thinly as possible. Place in ice-water bath.
- Toast quinoa in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add water, raise heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate, uncovered, until cool, about 1 hour.
- Drain fennel, and pat dry. Add parsley, dill, lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper, and toss. Divide quinoa among bowls. Top with fennel mixture.
Sweet and Sour Carrot and Turnip Salad
Recipe adapted from www.cookthink.com.
3 medium carrots, peeled and grated
3 turnips, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 cayenne pepper
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
Peel and coarsely grate the carrots and turnips and toss together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lime juice, oils, sugar, and cayenne pepper until the sugar dissolves. Drizzle the dressing over the grated vegetables, tossing to coat. Sprinkle with the cilantro and sesame seeds.
Wonderful!! I have a recipe on my menu calling for fresh fennel. Turnips and greens for dinner. 🙂 Barb.