CSA Newsletter

Tuesday morning 4/23

Greetings from the Garden!  This week's box has salad greens, braising greens, Chinese cabbage, the first lettuce, onions, potato onions, potatoes, carrots, and dried muskmelon.

Field Notes.  Wow!  The transplants are taking over the house, studio, and greenhouses.  Usually we dig parsnips and over wintered roots in late March, but this year not yet.  Usually Ken has transplanted all the onion family; this year - not yet.  Usually Ken has planted peas - not yet.  Usually Ken has transplanted many of the early brassica family - broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kohlrabi.  Not yet!  This is the first year he is planting the late season brassica seeds like fall cabbage and Brussels sprouts before he has the early season plants in the ground!  It has been the latest spring either of us can remember.  But after Monday night's snow, we hear it will warm up by the weekend.  We are ready.  Ken has lots to do, and I will try to help.

A few weeks ago when we had bare ground

Ken has been busy, though.  He has weeded, watered, and put out some transplants as time and weather has allowed.  We have had some sunny days, and we had to open hoopettes and green houses so the plants don't cook.  Other nights temperatures have dropped into the teens, so many of the seedlings and transplants are under fiber inside the greenhouse.  

Tuesday 7 a.m.

The maple sap season began late this year, but has been a very busy one.  Ken has been moving buckets of sap and cooking down the sap.  We have finished and bottled a couple batches, but I am told the next one will be BIG.  The bottles and caps are ready.  We sell syrup, and you can ask us to add a bottle to your box.

I have been weaving rugs and will have some rugs and place mats for sale this spring.  Once it warms up after Thursday I will be washing and pricing pottery for our Spring Opener the first weekend in May - new pots, some vegetables, rugs, and maple syrup will be available.  We are part of the Earth Arts art opener tour.  Hope you can stop by.

Tokyo bekana

From the Kitchen.  Greens have begun.  Ken has started harvesting from Mobile tunnel and hoopettes in addition to the window greens.  Greens are so welcome in the spring!  We often have greens in soup at breakfast or supper.  We usually have a raw tossed salad at midday.  
 They are starting more slowly than most years, but Ken has worked to have greens in every box - year around.

Cutting rib from leaf to cook rib a bit longer

Chinese cabbage and Asian greens are versatile - good raw or cooked.  I usually cook the outer leaves and cut the heart into ribbons for a tossed salad or slaw or an Asian salad with a dressing of sesame oil, tamari or soy sauce, hot pepper, a bit of honey and a bit of vinegar.  

Ribbons for stir fry or salad

I like to cook Asian greens in medleys.  As an example - saute onion, add some sliced carrots and stock.  Once the carrots are al dente, add the ribs of the Chinese cabbage to cook for a minute or two.  Turn off the heat, stir in the leaves, and dress as you please.  Sometimes I do vinaigrette, creamy or cheesy, or Asian - it all depends on the rest of the meal.








Dried muskmelon is a grab and go snack.  We usually only put items we have harvested withing a day or two in the CSA boxes, but this season the weather has prevented us from digging the over wintered roots, and the greens are slower than usual.  So we are sharing last season's bounty in these early boxes.  Enjoy!

'Til Next Week, 
Judith