Week 4: June 22nd
Wow, can you believe it's already week 4 of the CSA! It's been really awesome getting to know everyone and slowly remembering member's names and faces (or eyes?)! Produce just keeps on getting better from here, so here's the goodies for this week:
Share Information
Half Share:
Spicy Mix
Iceberg Lettuce
Kale
Turnips
Snap Peas
Scallions
Basil
Garlic Scapes
Full Share (everything in the half plus):
Lettuce Mix
Chard
Butterhead Lettuce
Cilantro
Remember that we accept Venmo @fisheyefarms, cash, or credit for add on produce. Please email us what you would like by noon on Monday, so we have some time to harvest extra if necessary. We just ask that you try not to do substitutions unless you have an allergy!
Garlic Scape Season!
Garlic Scapes are the stem of the garlic plant when it shoots up its flower to go to seed. However, the scape should be removed from the plant before the flower blooms so that the plant puts its energy into root growth instead of reproduction. And we get a delicious bi-product! Garlic scapes are less pungent than a bulb and thus work well served raw in dips, sauces, or salad dressings were you want a garlicky flavor without so much burn. You can also use the garlic scape in place of the bulb for cooking too! It saves very well in the fridge, so it's great to have to tide over until the bulbs are ready in July. How nice that we get two harvests out of one crop!
Recipe Time
This week's recipe is from fellow CSA member and chef of Mabel Gray, James Rigato and features garlic scapes:
One of my favorite sauces in the world is Italian Salsa Verde. It goes with pretty much everything. Grilling some fish? Add it. Roasted potatoes? Yup. Porchetta? Oh yeah. Now, if you're vegan just omit the anchovy and maybe add a little nutritional yeast or black garlic to try to replenish some of the umami. Last week, my girlfriend Sam charcoal grilled the onions, kohlrabi, cabbage and turnips and made a tahini vinaigrette to drizzle over them. The Italian salsa verde would've worked there too. It will last about 4-5 days in the fridge, but you'll probably eat it before then. Cheers!
Italian salsa verde
1 red onion, minced and rinsed
16 anchovies
10 slices of preserved lemon (we shave lemons thin, deseed, salt/sugar/shallot/chile flake them for 3 days and then chop. You can use dried preserved lemon from the market or google a few recipes to make your own. I know Martha Stewart has a "quick preserved lemon" recipe out there.
10 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon red chile flake
2 lemons, zested & juiced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cup parsley
¼ cup oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 – 1 ½ cups olive oil
salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste
Seasonal addition: 1/2 cup blanched and thinly shaved garlic scapes
Combine everything in the food processor except for the olive oil, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Start to mix and slowly add the olive oil. You are looking for a thick sauce, but still textured. Season to your liking.
Field Notes
You may have noticed that many of your veggies are bunched together with a twist tie that says, "Certified Naturally Grown." What does it mean exactly? CNG is a grass-roots alternative to USDA Organic Certification, meaning we have to follow all the same safe and sustainable growing practices as a certified organic farm but are evaluated by our peers instead of a government official. We do not have to do the tedious paperwork and record keeping that Certified Organic requires, but did have to complete a lengthy application. After our application got accepted, we were required to contact another farm who is CNG to come visit our farm and send in an evaluation. We were reviewed by some amazing farmers (and now friends!) from Leamington, Ontario and were able to be officially certified in February. People always ask us if we are an organic farm, which legally we are not allowed to say we are, but now we can say we are Certified Naturally Grown. I personally think it's even better: no bureaucracy or government involvement, a review by an expert, and supporting a grassroots movement for autonomy of our farm practices!
We hope you all have been enjoying the variety of produce! We realize that sometimes it gets a little repetitive, but there are lots of summer veggies coming in great. Cherry tomatoes are probably only two or three weeks away, we ate our first eggplants the other night so those should be productive enough soon, and fennel bulbs are sizing up for those to be in both share types too. But there is still kohlrabi to be had and plenty of salad greens to be eaten! Enjoy this weeks' bounty!
Share Information
Half Share:
Spicy Mix
Iceberg Lettuce
Kale
Turnips
Snap Peas
Scallions
Basil
Garlic Scapes
Full Share (everything in the half plus):
Lettuce Mix
Chard
Butterhead Lettuce
Cilantro
Remember that we accept Venmo @fisheyefarms, cash, or credit for add on produce. Please email us what you would like by noon on Monday, so we have some time to harvest extra if necessary. We just ask that you try not to do substitutions unless you have an allergy!
Garlic Scape Season!
Garlic Scapes are the stem of the garlic plant when it shoots up its flower to go to seed. However, the scape should be removed from the plant before the flower blooms so that the plant puts its energy into root growth instead of reproduction. And we get a delicious bi-product! Garlic scapes are less pungent than a bulb and thus work well served raw in dips, sauces, or salad dressings were you want a garlicky flavor without so much burn. You can also use the garlic scape in place of the bulb for cooking too! It saves very well in the fridge, so it's great to have to tide over until the bulbs are ready in July. How nice that we get two harvests out of one crop!
Recipe Time
This week's recipe is from fellow CSA member and chef of Mabel Gray, James Rigato and features garlic scapes:
One of my favorite sauces in the world is Italian Salsa Verde. It goes with pretty much everything. Grilling some fish? Add it. Roasted potatoes? Yup. Porchetta? Oh yeah. Now, if you're vegan just omit the anchovy and maybe add a little nutritional yeast or black garlic to try to replenish some of the umami. Last week, my girlfriend Sam charcoal grilled the onions, kohlrabi, cabbage and turnips and made a tahini vinaigrette to drizzle over them. The Italian salsa verde would've worked there too. It will last about 4-5 days in the fridge, but you'll probably eat it before then. Cheers!
Italian salsa verde
1 red onion, minced and rinsed
16 anchovies
10 slices of preserved lemon (we shave lemons thin, deseed, salt/sugar/shallot/chile flake them for 3 days and then chop. You can use dried preserved lemon from the market or google a few recipes to make your own. I know Martha Stewart has a "quick preserved lemon" recipe out there.
10 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon red chile flake
2 lemons, zested & juiced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cup parsley
¼ cup oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 – 1 ½ cups olive oil
salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste
Seasonal addition: 1/2 cup blanched and thinly shaved garlic scapes
Combine everything in the food processor except for the olive oil, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Start to mix and slowly add the olive oil. You are looking for a thick sauce, but still textured. Season to your liking.
Field Notes
You may have noticed that many of your veggies are bunched together with a twist tie that says, "Certified Naturally Grown." What does it mean exactly? CNG is a grass-roots alternative to USDA Organic Certification, meaning we have to follow all the same safe and sustainable growing practices as a certified organic farm but are evaluated by our peers instead of a government official. We do not have to do the tedious paperwork and record keeping that Certified Organic requires, but did have to complete a lengthy application. After our application got accepted, we were required to contact another farm who is CNG to come visit our farm and send in an evaluation. We were reviewed by some amazing farmers (and now friends!) from Leamington, Ontario and were able to be officially certified in February. People always ask us if we are an organic farm, which legally we are not allowed to say we are, but now we can say we are Certified Naturally Grown. I personally think it's even better: no bureaucracy or government involvement, a review by an expert, and supporting a grassroots movement for autonomy of our farm practices!
We hope you all have been enjoying the variety of produce! We realize that sometimes it gets a little repetitive, but there are lots of summer veggies coming in great. Cherry tomatoes are probably only two or three weeks away, we ate our first eggplants the other night so those should be productive enough soon, and fennel bulbs are sizing up for those to be in both share types too. But there is still kohlrabi to be had and plenty of salad greens to be eaten! Enjoy this weeks' bounty!