Hello Foodie Friends :)

Just a quick note about lettuce.  We've had a couple people ask what kinds of lettuce are in their boxes.  In general we have two categories of lettuce.  The first is "bagged" or loose leaf lettuce and the second is "head" lettuce.

We are growing several different kinds of loose leaf lettuce.  Usually the same variety doesn't go across all the boxes so some of you may receive one kind of loose leaf lettuce and some of you may receive a different kind.  The varieties of loose leaf lettuce are:  Black Hawk Red Leaf Lettuce, Malawi Red Leaf Lettuce, Simpson Elite Leaf Lettuce, Oak Leaf, Sangria Romaine Mix.

Those would be called Garlic Scapes. 

When most people think of garlic, they picture the white, misshapen bulbs that spend their entire life below ground before being plucked for use in almost every cuisine. But during the spring until early June sometime, the hardneck garlic plant offers another rare and fleeting find: the garlic scape.

This is the sprout of the garlic plant, a thin, green stalk that curls above the ground and is more tender and sweeter than the cloves that lie below. But there’s a reason the scape is not widely known, and that is because it must be picked within the first two weeks that it breaks the surface of the soil. If you wait too long and the stalk straightens out, the scapes become tough and unappetizing. These early spring gems have long been a part of Eastern European cooking. American farmers, however, have long cut these stalks off and discarded them, but some are just now starting to offer them up for sale in farmer’s markets.          

Scapes will store well, for a couple of weeks.  Naturally they are best when fresh and are very versatile, able to replace garlic, scallions, ramps or onions in most recipes.

If you’re daring, try a bite raw… you’ll notice the strong garlicky flavor. 

Some garlic scape recipes:

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 Bunch of Garlic Scapes (chopped into 1" sections)
¼ C Olive Oil
1 C Grated Parmesan Cheese

In a blender, combine the scapes and olive oil. Pour mixture into bowl and blend the cheese in by hand.

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic Scapes

2 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" pieces.
2 Tablespoons butter (can omit this if on a restricted fat diet/lifestyle)
1-2 Tbsp, olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped scapes
1/4 cup hot milk (or more)

Cook potatoes until very tender. Drain and return to pot. Over medium high heat, melt butter with olive oil in a small skillet. Add scapes and saute about 5 minutes. Add to potatoes and mash. Gradually add milk while stirring. Season with salt and pepper.

Garlic Scape Ideas:

Add sliced scapes to any stir fry recipe.
Slice and sprinkle over any pasta, or slice and cook them in almost any sauce recipe.
Add to guacamole and fresh salsa, too.
Chop & add to softened cream cheese.
Add chopped fresh scapes when serving a light garlic soup; can also add them to buttered, french bread floated on the soup. -Use them as you would green onions, they're just better.
Good in salads, on bruschetta, pizza.
Excellent addition to stocks....and much Asian cuisine.
Put in Thai chicken/basil/coconut soup.

Becky sent us this photo of the pizza she made with her spinach from her CSA box!  It looked so good we asked her for the recipe.  Thank you Becky!

Large bunch spinach, washed and torn
1/2 c water
1/2 c butter
1/4-1/2 c flour
4 ounces cream cheese
1-2 cups milk
1 pizza crust
1 c shredded mozzarella
other toppings, if desired
pinch of salt, if desired
fresh ground black pepper, if desired

Spinach:
Bring 1/2 c water to boil in a large saucepan.  Remove from heat, add spinach, and cover.  This wilts the spinach.

Sauce:
Melt 1 stick (1/2 c) butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4-1/2 c flour and stir until mixture starts to thicken (add more of the flour if this takes longer than a few minutes).  Add 1-2 c milk to mixture in small amounts (to avoid lumps), stirring continuously with a whisk.  Add 1/2 block of softened cream cheese cut into small blocks.  Continue whisking until cheese is melted and is the mixture is the consistency of very thick cream.  Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Assembly/baking:

Drain the wilted spinach (even squeeze out the water).  Add to sauce, stir well, and spread onto a partially baked pizza crust.  Sprinkle with 1 c shredded mozzarella and any other toppings you like.  Bake 10 minutes or until desired brown-ness.

The red cherry belle radish, one of the most commonly found radishes, can be served as hors d'oeuvres, as complements to salad or sandwiches, or as a garnish, adding a peppery hot flavor. Spring radishes are somewhat milder and are often enjoyed in foods as an ingredient or as a garnish. Winter varieties and are often used as a garnish for food dishes such as fish and poultry, sautéed and braised to be served as a vegetable dish, or diced and added to soups and stews.  You'll find a variety of radishes in your box as we go through Spring and Fall.  We have your familiar Cherry Belle Radish, the Icycicle Radish which is long and white and is sometimes mistaken for a turnip or parsnip and we also have Easter Egg Radishes which are just beautiful shades of pinks, purples and white. 

Radish Tip!  If the pungency of the radish is too strong, it can be reduced by salting and washing the radish to draw out the peppery flavor, by steaming the radish for 5 to 10 minutes, or by baking the radish with other vegetables.

Storage:  Store without the leafy tops and place in the refrigerator to keep fresh for four to seven days if they are the spring varieties, or two to four weeks if they are winter radishes. The larger varieties, such as the watermelon, are similar to turnips for storing and can be kept longer or stored in a cool dry area.

Radish Cooking Tips

• The process of cooking radishes tames the harshness.
• To enhance the red coloring of a radish while cooking, add a bit of lemon juice to the cooking liquid.
• Boil: Bring water to a boil, carefully drop in whole or sliced radishes. Simmer radishes until they become just tender, from 10 to 30 minutes depending on the type of radish.
• Steam: Steam whole radishes in steamer for 5 to 15 minutes, depending on desired tenderness.
• Roast: Preheat oven to 425º F. Toss sliced radishes with olive oil, and favorite seasonings. Spread radishes onto baking sheet or roasting pan.Roast for 30-45 minutes, until tender and browning.

I cut up my first chicken only eight years ago.  I recall being slightly intimidated.  If you’ve never done it before you’ll find there are several good reasons to learn and what better time to start than now?  Keep in mind, that with our fast, crazy moving society we need to take time every now and then to get more connected to our food… don’t let your children grow up believing that chicken comes in neat packages of breast meat. 

When you cut up your own chicken your cost per pound goes way down, your chicken will be cut into the pieces you can use best and you can use the leftover bones as superior stock.  We’ve had Chef’s rave not only about our chicken, but also our stock bones….”less fat, more flavor… outstanding!”

This is a basic method for cutting up and disjointing a whole chicken with the least amount of waste.

Radish Hot & Sour Soup

5 C Chicken Stock    

¼ C Rice Vinegar
2 T Sugar                          

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 ½ C Radishes                 

1 lb Raw Shrimp, Peeled

¼ tsp Ground Dried Ginger

1 ½ C Spinach Leaves, Shredded

2/3 C Thinly Sliced Green Onions

In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring stock to a boil. Stir in vinegar, sugar, cayenne and ginger. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp turn pink and curl, about 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat, stir in radishes, spinach and green onions. Cover and let stand 2-3 minutes before serving.

1 Whole Avalon Acres Farms Chicken
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried (or 2T Fresh) Herbs (equal parts thyme, rosemary or sage)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry. Rub with olive oil and generously sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper on all sides and inside. Place on a roasting rack in a roasting pan, breast side up. Quarter the onion and stuff inside chicken for added flavor. Your chicken is already trussed, this helps the chicken keep its shape and cook more evenly.

This technique for roasting our whole chickens works perfectly!  Place the chicken breast side up in a very hot oven (450 degrees) uncovered for 20-25 minutes.  This will sear the outside of the chicken, giving it a nice color and lock in juices.  Paprika also helps with a nice browning color. Remove the chicken and reduce heat to 350 degrees.  Turn the chicken over so the breast side is down and finish cooking at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until juices run clear or meat thermometer reaches 170 degrees.  Let rest for 5 minutes before carving.  Bon Appetit!

Elegantly simple.  Take your thawed pork chops and season.  We like to use salt, pepper and a garlic rub or garlic powder.  Heat a skillet (cast iron is ideal but use what you have) over medium high heat with a very small amount of oil (approximately 1 or < than 1 tsp).  When the pan is hot put the chops into the pan and cook on one side for approximately 2 minutes, when browned, turn over and cook on the other side just long enough to turn “slightly” or “very slightly” pink (approximately 2 more minutes).  Do not cover the pan while cooking.  Quick high heat will sear in the juices, you do not want to overcook pork chops.  You will find that the quicker you cook the chop or the LONGER (slow/baking) you cook the chop will yield the best and juiciest results.   Don’t leave in the pan after they are done or they will continue cooking!

If you're like me, you'll find yourself hard pressed to keep strawberries around at all, let alone have extras for freezing.  However, if you are well-organized and plan ahead (and think ahead) you'd be well-advised to freeze up some strawberries for the off-season.  The fresh ripe local strawberries are unlike anything you can find in the grocery store and have a fairly short harvest life.  Every year we make freezer jam and freeze whole strawberries, they make the absolutely best strawberry smoothies!

Individual quick-freezing will minimize “Mushiness".   

For long-term storage of individual berries individual quick-freezing is recommended. This will minimize the "mushiness" associated with freezing the berries. Strawberries can be frozen and safely kept for up to 1 year. Place the berries on flat trays in a single layer, well spaced out, and put into the coldest part of the freezer (the colder the better). Choose firm, ripe berries; wash in cold water. Carefully drain well on several layers of paper towels first. When frozen, store in quarts or pints containers or place in heavy freezer bags, tightly sealed. If freezer bags are used, try to suck out as much air as possible to minimize freezer burn.  Seal, Label and Date. This method will ensure you have a year round supply!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves 4 (smallish servings since roasted vegetables shrink so much)

1 1/2 pounds fresh kohlrabi, ends trimmed, thick green skin sliced off with a knife, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic (optional, to my taste)
Salt
Good vinegar

• When you're making mashed potatoes, throw some radishes in the pot. Then mash them right in with everything else and you've got mashed potatoes with a kick! Radished potatoes?

• Toss thick sliced radishes in a hot wok or skillet with a little oil until just tender. Remove from heat and add a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of your favorite vinegar. This creates a sweet, pickled taste that goes great with pork chops, lentils, couscous or a hearty rice.

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• Garlic infused olive oil, small amount of sesame oil, white vinegar, fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, honey and toasted sesame seeds.
• Garlic infused olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, S&P, sugar and lots of finely chopped flat leaf parsley and basil.
• Garlic infused olive oil (are you seeing a trend here?), balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, S&P, sugar and chopped toasted walnuts or almonds.

Welcome to Avalon Acres growing season 2009!!!  We are thrilled to be underway after the rough start we had with all the weather and flooding problems.  Make sure you check out the farm blog to look at our recent weather "issues" and just to keep up on what's going on on the farm in general. 

We are also so excited about this blogging tool.  Imagine… people had to GUESS at what was in their boxes… we would get these e-mails like “What’s the slightly round thing with bumps and purple specs on it?”  Then we’d write back and go “Big bumps or small bumps?”  Well… you get the idea... not a fun process.

No more!  Now we have this great tool and we can post PICTURES of all things.  Ain’t tekology wunderfool!? 

Now a few ground rules.  First off, I will not post every single thing in the box every week.  If I have covered it already, I may just mention it (or may not) and it will be found in previous posts.  Also, I may not mention really common things… like broccoli… pretty much everyone knows what that is and what it looks like.  I will try to tell you varieties of things so you can become familiar with them and learn, for example, all the different types of tomatoes. 

Also, just because an item is pictured here does not necessarily mean you were supposed to get it in your box.  Sometimes we don't have enough of one thing to give it to every group or share type.  So... as a result... we mix it up.  Even within the same group, your friend's box might be different than yours.  For example, not everyone will get all the four types of lettuce pictured below.  We expect that by serendipity, you will eventually get some of everything.  We have to have the ability to remain flexible, otherwise the system won't work.  Please do not flood us with e-mails saying "I didn't get cauliflower" because your friend may not have gotten brocolli.  Ask them... maybe they'll want to trade!!

PLEASE SEE OUR SEPARATE POST ON HERBS FOR HERB IDENTIFICATION.

We hope this really enhances your food experience.

Tim

Fresh Strawberries

Chandler, Honey O's,

Early Glows, etc.

Just eat 'em...

Speckled ButterCrunch Lettuce

(not sure of the seed)

 

 

 

 

Bok Choi

Wonderful in stir fry

 

 

 

 

Watercress

Look here for more info: Watercress on Wikipedia

Mustard Greens

Spicey, tangy green.  Good in salads sparingly.

More on Mustard Greens