Here are Judi’s recipe suggestions for this week’s share. Check out the purslane soup!
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Thanks Barbara for creating the newsletter!
What’s in the Bag — Week 3
Dear CSA Member
I have been posting new photos on the farm facebook page. You might like to take a look. I try to keep them updated on a weekly basis and you can keep up with what is going on in the field and around the farm through the photos.
A week for salads. The rain has been persistent and you will need to give the greens extra attention, but the cool, wet weather has kept the lettuces very tender and sweet tasting. Lettuces in all colors and shapes. There is also Golden Purslane this week. It is a succulent plant that adds a different taste and texture to a salad. Purslane is widely eaten in other countries and has just started to gain popularity in this country. The lettuces will yield to the hot weather so enjoy the salads while the lettuces are abundant.
The first Spinach and Bright Lights Swiss Chard. What a treat. Garlic Scapes for the share this week as well. Kohlrabi for the first time in many years. The variety is Kossak which yields a larger Kohlrabi. They look like they should be a root crop but really grow on top of the soil on a short stalk. They can be eaten raw or cooked. They taste a bit like broccoli stems. Peel them, slice and add to a salad. Or cube and roast. The greens are edible as well. Wash, slice and boil.
I wanted to make a note about the Fall Farm Festival. Seems like a long time until September but mark your calendars. This year the Fall Festival will be on September 7, the first Saturday in September. Much more to come.
Marketplace orders can be placed by logging into your account and then selecting Marketplace on the upper menu bar. Honey, Coffee by the pound, Maple Syrup and Mushrooms in larger quantities are all available for order. The Shiitake and Oyster Mushrooms are from a smaller mushroom farm, The Hill Farm, Wiltbank family. They are just beautiful. You might like to try them from the Marketplace.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm
What’s in the Bag — Week 4
Dear CSA Member
Sugar Snap Peas. They consume all of our time when they ripen and the week arrives that we are picking them for your share. Such little bits of delicious flavor take an army of workers to pick from their vines. They are worth it all. Sugar Snap Peas are a edible pod pea and the entire pod and the peas inside are eaten. Snap the end and strip the string from the edge of the pea. Use the entire pod. Quickly sauteed they turn a bright green color and the sweet flavor is intensified. This will all depend on first getting them from the CSA pick up to your kitchen. Sugar Snap Peas are also delicious fresh.
There are still lettuces for salad. New this week is Golden Purslane. Golden Purslane is a relative of the garden purslane plant many weed from their gardens. For others, it is a prized addition to a salad. From https://botanical.com/ -” The succulent leaves and young shoots are cooling in spring salads, the older shoots are used as a pot-herb and the thick stems of plants that have run to seed are pickled in salt and vinegar. Purslane is largely cultivated in Holland and other countries for these purposes. From Johnny’s Selected Seeds, “Flavor is crisp and mild. Known as “verdolaga” in Latin America.”
Escarole, Summer Spinach, some Summer Squash and Summer Savory. The dramatic changes we have been experiencing in the weather have essentially stopped the Summer Squash in its tracks. Plants respond to the weather with more or less growth depending on the stress level.
Summer Savory is also known as Annual Thyme. The flavor and aroma are like Thyme and will make a wonderful salad dressing.
Market Place Orders will be delivered with the Vegetable Shares. This is also the last chance to add a Fruit Share. Please do so this weekend if you would like to add one to your subscription.
Enjoy the Vegetables
Deborah
For everyone at Stoneledge Farm