Week 2, 2015 CSA Newsletter (June 11th)

Welcome to week 2! You can download the full PDF file here

For a picture of the box with labled veggies see https://www.facebook.com/stoneyacresfarmandpizza

In your box: Bok Choy, Green garlic, arugula or spinach, lettuce heads, kohlrabi, turnips, radishes, lettuce heads (fulls only). 

News From the Farm: 

 Next Week’s Best Guess: Lettuce, carrots, kohlrabi, swiss chard, bok choy, radishes, spring turnips, snap peas, Chinese cabbage. 

Recipes: and cooking tips

Bok Choy- we have bok choy on the CSA menu for this week and one more (at least). While the heads look big they cook down a lot and have a texture that is wonderful in cooked and raw dishes. To store wrap loosely in a plastic bag in the fridge. Bok choy can be thinly sliced and steamed, sautéed with green garlic and olive oil, added to tuna salad in place of celery, marinated in ribbons with a simple acidic dressing. It is great served with rice, in homemade fried rice, in spring rolls and has a mild flavor so many kids love it.

 Grilled or hot roasted bok choy From Tide and Thyme

4 heads of baby bok choy (or 1 head of full-sized), 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon Sriracha or chili sauce (optional but wonderful), 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat for 15 minutes, and lightly oil the grate. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, Sriracha, and black pepper. Slice the bok choy in half, lengthwise (if large quarter can work better). Brush the =with the soy sauce mixture on the cut side, letting the vinaigrette fall into the grooves. Lay the bok choy on the preheated grill, cut side up. Cook until the stalks show grill marks and the leaves are crisp at the edges, about 2 minutes. Turn the bok choy, brush with remaining soy mixture, cover, and grill the other side for about 2 more minutes. Remove to platter and serve. You can create the same effect by using a hot oven of 400-450 degrees and cooking on a baking pan and turning.

 

Easy idea- Spring Veggie tuna or egg salad – use a familiar recipe but add 1 cup of finely chopped  or grated bok choy stems, radishes, turnips, and spinach for every 3 cups of egg or tuna salad. Works for mayo and mayoless versions. Any easy egg salad version is 6 hard boiled eggs, ¼ cup mayo or 1/6 cup olive oil, 1 cup mixed vegetables, salt, pepper, lemon zest and dill. 

 

 

5 meal ideas for eating during the greenest weeks of the year

Stir Fry- You could literally use 80% of your box for stir fry. Here is a link to a basic resource for stir fry technique http://lifehacker.com/how-to-cook-any-stir-fry-in-six-easy-steps-508172336 and recipes for several sauces. If you would rather not make your own sauce there are many premade stirfry sauces out. Serve over rice (white or brown), rice noodles (use extra sauce), or as a side vegetable.

Choose 3-5 of the following veggies - peeled and diced kohlrabi discarding the large stem but saving and cutting leaves into ribbons, boy choy (use the leaves and the succulent stem), turnips and their greens, radishes and thier greens, 3 cups spinach chopped. Dice 1 stalk of green garlic (slice all of the steams and leaves), 2 Tbs higher heat vegetable oil. Heat a large pan until hot on medium high. Add garlic followed by most crunch vegetables working your way to the most leafy. This should take 3 minutes. Add sauce (choose one below or premade) and cook 1-2 minutes more until greens are wilted and roots are cooked but still have aa crunch.

Basic Simple Sauce I.  1 tsp garlic (use as an ingredient in cooking), 2 Tbs Soy Sauce, 1 Tbs Sesame oil.

Basic Sauce II. 1 tsp garlic, 1 cup water, ½ cup rice wine (or white wine), 2 tbs tomato paste or 1 pureed tomato, 1/8 cup soy sauce, 1 tbs sugar or honey.

Caesar Salad- For this meal of a salad use lettuce, spinach, arugula or grilled bok choy interchangeably or together. Kale is also wonderful when rubbed (yes use your hand to rub it once it is sliced) with the dressing. Top with a simple protein like grilled chicken, tofu or steak or use as a side dish for a bigger meal.

Traditional: Combine 6 anchovy fillets packed in oil, 1 small garlic clove, and a pinch of kosher salt. Mash with a mortar and pestle or make it in a food processor. You can hand Whisk in 2 large egg yolks*, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Adding drop by drop to start, gradually whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil, then 1/2 cup vegetable oil; instead of whisking a food processor works great. whisk until dressing is thick and glossy. Whisk in 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Can be made 1 day ahead. 6 anchovy fillets packed in oil, 1 small garlic clove, 2 large egg yolks, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

If raw eggs freak you out you can use regular mayonnaise instead of the egg and oil combo. You can also use one whole hard boiled egg in place of the egg. If you don’t eat fish you can leave out anchovies altogether or substitute tamari in place

Kale chips- a great way to use kale as part of a grilled meal or a midday weekend snack! See our favorite variations below. Make sure if kale is washed it is very dry. Don’t use damp kale. Remove stems and tear into large pieces throwing in a bowl, massage with olive oil (add enough to lightly coat leaves but not drench them (adding a little at a time works well 9start with 2 Tbs for a whole bunch), spread in a single layer (really don’t overlap!) on baking sheets or plan to bake batches. We bake 3 baking pans at a time and then refill. Cook at 350 for 3-5 minutes checking frequently. You can top kale chips with the traditional salt or more unique toppings like nutritional yeast, paprika, chili powder, chocolate powder, seasoning salt, or dill. Ted’s favorite combo is sea salt, pepper, paprika, nutritional yeast.

Hummus plate- Many local restaurants feature amazing hummus plates. In fact our veggies might been found on Sconnies hummus plate this week or next. You can buy hummus or make it (see recipe). You can use pita chips or warmed fresh or store bough pita bread alongside vegetables and some pickles or nice olives and you have a simple meal. This week the turnips can be washed and quartered or halved, radishes washed and halved, and you can use kohlrabi sticks (peel and cut into sticks), and a few bok choy stems (cut the upper part of the leaf off and halve). Then dip! You can also use the same concept alongside a dressing as part of a meal like a creamy yogurt ranch. Basic Hummus Recipe - 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 clove garlic, crushed (or use 1 tsp green garlic), 1/2 teaspoon salt. Other recipes with the traditional tahini addition can be found online too.

 Cole and other Slaws – a great dinner or lunch side, a great way to incorporate leafy and shredded root veggies, slaw is famous because it is simple and historically can be made with a variety of vegetables. Kim Casey slawed her turnips last week (see recipe below) but boy choy, radishes  and kohlrabi are al great in slaws and any type can be made (creamy or vinegary) to great effect. For a traditional coleslaw from Kim Casey’s mother combine equal parts red wine vin and sugar, a little mayo; add chives and dill and salt and pepper to taste. A cup of dressing covers about 5+ cups of veggies. Another recipe I (Kat) like is ½ cup olive oil, ½ cup apple cider vinegar with 2 tsp sesame soil, 2 Tbs soy sauce, and 1 bs maple syrup with 1 tsp minced green or other garlic.