This week’s share is mostly leafy greens. That's always the case for the first few shares. If you think about the growth of a plant you'll recognize that the first things to appear are leaves. Next generally flowers appear, and then after they are pollinated, fruit sets. And finally, after that, seeds develop and harden in the fruit.
So, in the life of a garden, leaves are the first things ready for harvest. Later in the season you will notice more fruity vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers. Grains take longer still.
Greens are also a great place to start because of their nutrition. Eating a lot of greens can help cleans your system after a long winter. Back in time when people lived off heavy, repetitive storage crops all winter, this would be particularly important. In the modern day it is easier to keep nutrition high all winter, but a system cleans from time to time isn't a bad idea. Embrace the greens--let it happen.
Practically speaking, a ton of greens can be a challenge. Greens are versatile though, and easy if you can latch on to a few basic techniques. Last night we made a pasta dish in which we browned sausage with onions and garlic. We added cream and grated parmesan with salt and pepper to taste, then threw in any greens we had until they wilted. Greens shrink down immensely when heat is applied to them, so in this case, we put in about a pound of spinach. We then tossed this sauce with cooked pasta and served it with a lettuce mix salad.
You can wilt (aka lightly cook) greens and add them to almost anything.
Bite size greens as a salad is also an easy side dish.
We're also excited to have salad turnips in the share this week (the white roots). These turnips are something we have grown in the past but had trouble getting seeds for in the last few seasons. We're really pleased to have them again and we hope you enjoy them. They can be eaten raw (sliced or not) because they are so mild and smooth or lightly cooked.
Two other interesting items are the Rhubarb and Broccoli Raab (the small bunch of large leaves).
If you poke around on google, you will find that Rhubarb has a surprising underground cult fan base... don't fall into the trap of thinking it is only good in pies with strawberries!
And Broccoli Raab--this leafy green is an Italian green that we love. It has a little more bite then your lettuces and kale which makes it great mixed into other dishes for a new flavor. Using it in place of spinach or kale will result in a new twist for a a familiar dish. It's been challenging for us to grow and won't be around long so have fun!
Here's what's in your share this week:
Salad mix
Spinach
Baby Kale
Red Russian Kale
Broccoli Raab
Radishes
Salad Turnips
Rhubarb
