Week 4

small share (above)

medium share

full share

Happy 4th!

We hope you all had a great Independence Day! The 4th fell on a harvest and packing day for us this year, a big thanks to the crew for coming in and working on the holiday.  We had a nice little grill-out over lunch to celebrate and Maybelle has been running around asking us to sing stars and stripes forever-over and over and over.

Maybelle running off with the flag buntings

Things are really starting to become flush in the fields these days. Tomato plants are getting big, the squash are vining out, and the first succession of sweet corn is tasseling.

tassels popping out on the first wave of sweet corn!

thats where I was sitting before I hopped off to pick up some big rocks and look at the sweet corn

Silks forming on what will be an ear of sweet corn. Pollen from the tassels will catch on the silk, allowing the ear of corn to be fertilized. 

Heather and Maybelle checking on the crops. (Fennel in front). Don’t leave Lamby in the kale, Maybelle!

 

What’s in the box:

Broccoli: 1 lb small, 1 1/2 lb med and full

Napa Cabbage: 1 head

Gunsho (Choi Sum): 1 bunch 

Spring Greens: 1/2 lb 

Thai basil: 1 bunch

Green Onions: 1 bunch med and full

Head Lettuce: full only

Beets: full only

 

Gunsho  Also known as Choy Sum, Chinese flowering cabbage or Hon Tsai Tai, gunsho has asparagus-like stalks and tender leaves, plus tiny little florets. The entire plant is edible, to prepare them for cooking just trim a small amount off the bottom of the stalks, then cut into desired size or use the stalk and leaves whole depending on the dish. Also excellent for snacking raw. Visit our recipe page to see a few simple, tasty ways to cook this nutritional powerhouse.

Napa Cabbage is making its first appearance in the boxes this week. We love it for its mild, sweet flavor and irresistible crunchiness. We like to make slaw out of it since you can substitute it for European cabbage in any slaw recipe, or make a more exotic slaw like this one. It’s indispensable for most East Asian cuisines, and is the base for many a kimchi recipe. Here’s a link to a quick kimchi. This versatile veg would be the perfect candidate for any picnic salad, and can also be sauteed for a side dish.

Snap Peas If you’re running out of things to do with your third week of snap peas, this would be the perfect time to start freezing some of your excess produce. Cut off the stems, blanch, pack into zip lock bags and stow away in the freezer to have a taste of summer during the depths of winter.

Next week’s sneak peek:

Summer Squash

Spicy Salad

Beets

 

All the best from all of us,

Heather, Brandon, Maybelle and the crew