Every week we'll send you snapshots of veggies in your share. You can always find more recipes and storage info on our
blog and
website.
Mesclun: This week's mix includes two types of lettuce, baby kale and mustards, spinach, arugula, and cress. Keep the greens cold once you get home; if they warm up, they'll start to deteriorate.
Radishes: Here for all! All shares are receiving a bunch of fresh spring radishes. The Easter egg variety is the round, solid colored bunch and the French breakfast are the elongated, white and red ones. You can eat the crispy, fresh bulb, which ranges from mildly peppery to slightly sweet and the greens, which are a little bitter. It took me a long time to love radishes and now I adore them; I've been craving them for the last few weeks to be honest. They are delightful when sliced on toasted bread, particularly if you saute them in butter ever so slightly first (and with your ramp butter... oh my!) and sprinkle on a little pinch of sea salt and scallion. A simple, yet classy breakfast! You can also enjoy them raw on a salad or cooked in a stir fry or ramen bowl . For longevity, store the greens separate from the bulb.
Rhubarb: A sure sign of spring and summer is rhubarb! Many years we have to buy this item from other farmers, but after a few years of bulking up our rhubarb plants, we have enough to include rhubarb for all CSA members! Rhubarb is a very old plant, and has been harvested by people for over 4000 years. Only the stalks of rhubarb are eaten, the leaves of the rhubarb plant are not edible. This are not huge bunches yet, but we'll be harvesting more in the next few weeks. Rhubarb is perfect for pie or a crisp! Store in your fridge in the crisper drawer until ready to use. The rhubarb is delivered OUT OF THE BAG. Please take ONE bunch!
Beet Greens: The tender young beet greens in your share today are best eaten cooked. They are related to Swiss chard and may be used exactly the same way. Many people love them sautéed with a bit of oil and vinegar (balsamic or apple cider) and salt & pepper. You can also toss them into most recipes that call for other greens (mustard greens, spinach). They are milder in flavor than mustard greens, but a bit stronger than spinach. They are delicious. When I crinkled my nose at beet greens, our greenhouse manager Matt said, "You've never had my beet greens!" His cooking suggestion for tasty beet greens: start by sautéing the bottom third of your bunch first, in butter, then add the stems, then when those cook down a little, toss in the greens. Saute, then add apple cider vinegar towards the end. Then enjoy as a side dish to your main course.
Flowering Upland Cress: I found some sites with good info on cress: "Upland Cress is both delicate and petite geometrically shaped lime green leaves and razor thin stems' featherweight composition is married with flavors full of pepper and spice. Upland Cress becomes more pungent, often acrid and less succulent with maturity. Maturing plants will produce fragrant yellow flowers with the same delicate texture and overt flavors. The entire plant is edible. For the simplest preparation, use upland cress the same way you would watercress. Left raw, the leaves can be chopped and mixed into a sald, tucked into a sandwich, or strewn over broiled fish as a garnish. Use a food processor to blend a handful of upland cress with a cup of Greek yogurt and a garlic clove or two for a lively accompaniment to grilled meats (or try as a spread on turkey sandwiches). Take note that the green's spicy bite may be too much for those with a more delicate palate." Store as you would other bunched greens - in plastic, in your crisper drawer.
Green Garlic Scallions: Green garlic is garlic that is still fresh, and not cured. It is actually the result of thinning out our garlic rows! Keep this in your fridge and use as you regularly would use garlic.
Scallions: often referred to as green onions, are a young onion with a small, white tip and a bright green, tall stem. You can use the whole thing in a recipe but I usually chop off the very bottom of the bulb, and then keep chopping up the stem until the chopped parts become less moist/crisp and more fibrous/leafy. The remaining parts make an excellent addition to soups or salads bringing a mild onion flavor and nice hint of color.
Featured Recipes
Easy Basil Garlic Aioli
1 cup extra virgin sunflower oil
2 eggs
4 cloves garlic, peeled
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup fresh basil leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
Pour oil and eggs into wide mouth Mason jar. Add peeled garlic cloves, lemon juice, & basil. Put the immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the jar and turn it on and draw blender up and down at least 2 or 3 times to draw air into sauce. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Refrigerate and enjoy with meats, sandwiches, chips, fries, etc.
Sesame Ginger Beet Greens
Here's a fun recipe for your beet greens or kale.
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
4 cups loosely packed beet greens
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp grated gingerroot
1 pinch salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
In small skillet over medium heat, toast sesame seeds until golden, about 3 minutes; set aside.
Trim stems from small young beet greens or remove centre rib from larger mature beet greens.
In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beet greens, garlic, ginger and salt. Cover and steam until greens are wilted, about 3 minutes. Drizzle with sesame oil; sprinkle with reserved sesame seeds.
Rhubarb Dream Bars
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups finely chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup flaked coconut
In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour and confectioners' sugar. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Pat into a lightly greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 13-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
In a bowl, combine the sugar and remaining flour. Add eggs; mix well. Stir in rhubarb, walnuts and coconut; pour over crust. Bake 30-35 minutes longer or until set. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.
Glazed Radishes
1 bunch radishes
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp white vinegar
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Cut radishes in half. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan heated over medium-high heat. Cook until the liquid evaporates and radishes are tender.
Rhubarb-Lemon Squares
An amazing recipe. Recipe from spring 2015 Edible Green Mountains.
Shortbread
¾ cup butter, diced
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
⅓ cup sugar
Rhubarb-Lemon Filling
¾ pound rhubarb, washed and diced
¼ cup maple syrup
4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter, diced
For the shortbread: Preheat oven to 350° and butter a small gratin dish (any variation on the 8- by 8-inch size will do). Place all of the ingredients for the shortbread in a bowl and knead the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers. When it has the consistency of moist breadcrumbs and all the butter is incorporated, pour into the gratin dish and press down into the bottom. Put in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until it just begins to brown. Remove from the oven.
For the filling: Put the rhubarb in a saucepan with the maple syrup and place over medium heat. Let the mixture simmer and break down until the rhubarb has “melted” into a purée and most of the liquid is boiled off. Set aside.
In a medium-sized pot put the yolks, sugar, zest, juice and butter. Stir with a whisk over medium-low heat until the sugar has dissolved and it starts to thicken (about 5 minutes). Add the rhubarb purée and cook an additional 3 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly, being careful not to let it scorch. Pour the mixture over the shortbread and return to the oven for 8 minutes. Remove when the rhubarb purée has just begun to set.
Let cool, cut into squares and dust with some confectioner’s sugar if you wish.
Rhubarb Basil Smash
Because I'm partial to vodka and it's a great time to enjoy a fresh cocktail on the patio, here's one more cocktail to make with your rhubarb...
6 basil leaves
1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce rhubarb syrup
1-1/2 ounce vodka
3 dashes Fee Brothers rhubarb bitters
For rhubarb syrup:
4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
In a cocktail shaker add basil leaves, lemon juice and rhubarb syrup. Gently muddle to bruise basil. You do not want to rip the basil apart in the shaker. Just gently release the delicious basil flavor.
Add in ice and vodka. Add shaker lid and shake until cold.
Pour into short cocktail glass and add more ice if needed. Add rhubarb bitters and give a quick stir.
For rhubarb syrup:
Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil.
Lower to a simmer and cook till thick, about 20 minutes.
Pour through a fine strainer, gently pushing the fruit to extract all the juice. I like to press a little firmer on my fruit so my syrup is more cloudy because more solids make it into my syrup. If you want a clearer syrup make sure to not press any of the solids through the strainer. Store refrigerated in a jar.
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