CSA Week 7

In your share Week 7:

Cabbage or Napa Cabbage
Carola Potatoes
Romaine Lettuce
Green Onion
Italian Parsley
Green Beans
Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumber
Zucchini (Half Shares only)

Full Shares Only:

Tomatoes
Salad Mix

We’re hitting the point in the year where it’s hard to fit it all in the bag! For full shares, that’s mostly because of the giant head of napa cabbage, but the big romaine, extra potatoes and tomatoes, and tons of cucumbers are taking up their share too!

Napa cabbage, also called Chinese cabbage, is mild flavored and extra tender, and it is great raw, cooked, or fermented into kim chi. Raw it’s great as a green salad, as a base or crunchy addition to noodle salads, or makes a good coleslaw. Cooked, it’s most often used in stirfries, but I use it in lots of dishes. I’ve been eating a lot of it recently, stir fried with rice, shredded on tacos, and in a simple soup with chicken stock, ginger, and noodles. It keeps extremely well in the fridge, you can just peel off as many leaves as you want to eat at a time and leave the rest in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Usually we don’t have napa cabbage until fall, but I started some earlier this year and it is some of the nicest we’ve grown. These are monsters, averaging 4 or 5 pounds each, so we decided to give the half shares a smaller head of green cabbage instead. Hopefully we’ll have some smaller ones in the next rotation, or else we’ll split some in half.

Time to switch up the weekly salads: everyone has a lovely head of romaine lettuce today. These are sweet and crunchy with just a hint of bitterness, they make a great caesar salad or the leaves can be used as wraps for chicken, tuna, or other fillings. Too many salads? Try splitting the head into halves or quarters and grilling it, as suggested by crewmember Sam.

Today’s potatoes are carolas, the last of this variety we’ll have for the shares this summer. They’ve gotten a lot bigger since the last time we put them in, and they have started the curing process so the skins are drier and thicker. These would probably be okay left in a paper bag on the counter or in a cupboard, they don’t need to be in the fridge anymore. These are a great all purpose potato, we’ve been enjoying them roasted with fresh pesto recently.

Tomatoes are really taking off, and we have another pint of cherries for everyone today. Full shares are getting the first of the heirloom slicers, and I expect to have enough for everyone soon. We grow several kinds of slicers, with pink, red, and orange varieties. We try to pick them just before they’re ripe for maximum flavor but still a little bit of shelf life. Tomatoes store best at room temperature, I’d recommend eating them within a few days.

Napa Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing

From the March, 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times.  This would work with green cabbage as well! Feel free to add your favorite veggies.

Dressing:

3 Tbs. smooth peanut butter
3 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbs. brown rice syrup
1 Tbs. roasted sesame oil
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Salad:
4 cups shredded napa cabbage
1 small red bell pepper, sliced (about ½ cup)
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
3 green onions, sliced (about ¼ cup)

To make Dressing: Whisk together all ingredients in bowl.

To make Salad: Toss all ingredients with dressing in serving bowl.

Roasted Potato Bacon Salad

Chef KJ Konink made this a Farm to Fork dinner we held back in 2012.  I recommend using Walker Farms bacon: it’s fantastic!  Find them at the Neskowin Farmers Market.

1 lb potatoes

3 strips bacon

½ lb green beans

1 tsp minced pickled jalapenos

2 Tbsp minced Italian parsley

Salt

Bake bacon at 400 until crisp.  Reserve the fat.  Allow the bacon to cool, then dice it. 

Wash and cut potatoes to bite sized pieces and toss with half the bacon fat and the salt.  Roast in a 350 oven until they begin to brown on the outside. 

Tip and tail the green beans, cut them in half, and blanch in a pot of boiling water.

Toss roasted potatoes, green beans, jalapenos, bacon, and parsley with the remaining bacon fat and salt to taste.