CSA Box Update

We had a couple changes from the newsletter to this box. Each Sunday we walk the garden and field and estimate what will be in its prime to harvest on Wednesday.

Some crops grow at unexpected rates. This week the cauliflower did not look close to harvest Sunday, but was in its prime Wednesday. And in the heat, the cilantro began to bolt - send up a flower stalk. After the cilantro flowers it loses its punch.

And since we have had requests for a newsletter ahead of harvest so people can plan their weekly menu, I get the newsletter out before we harvest. We harvest the same day you get your box. We do not harvest into a cooler and take vegetables out of a cooler to pack into your box; your vegetables were in the soil at 7 a.m. and rinsed as picked to chill and clean them.

Last winter Ken read that spinach loses nearly all its nutrition eight days after harvest. WE are committed to getting vegetables from soil to you in as little time as possible so you can have optimum nutrition and flavor. We hope that makes up for any discrepancy in the newsletter.

And now for some cauliflower and cilantro ideas -

Cauliflower is a member of the brassica or cabbage family - high in vitamins A, C and E and several minerals. Cauliflower is versatile - good raw to preserve vitamins C and E or cooked as you would broccoli. I often cook millet and cauliflower separately and then run both together through a food mill for a delicious alternative to mashed potatoes. Great for people who want to eat fewer potatoes - some diabetics and people with arthritis. Cauliflower is great in quiche, cream soups, curry dishes, and even pickled. We add turmeric when pickling as cauliflower alone will turn a bit grey and less appetizing than a golden color from the turmeric.

Cilantro is a great herb found in Asian and Hispanic cooking. Cilantro is also used by many alternative health care practitioners to assist in elimination of heavy metals from the body. It is usually in salsa - and you have the peppers, green onions, and tomatoes in this week's box. Or whip up a stir fry and add the cilantro just before serving.