I stopped by the Occidental Farmers Market yesterday for some ripe apricots and peaches. And good thing, too, I picked up a loaf of bread from Raymond’s because our CSA email which arrived last night noted that Revolution Bread won’t be making an appearance this week.
The Newsletter
This Week’s Harvest
Garlic Scapes, Scallions, German Butterball Potatoes, Fennel, French Breakfast Radishes, Hakurei Turnips, Dino Kale, Summer Squash, Arugula, Spring Salad Mix, Spinach, Komatsuna, Rosaine Red Little Gems, Red Butter Lettuce
U-Pick
Albion Strawberries, and all the herbs from last week with the addition of three kinds of basil! And more flowers, including ornamental amaranth, strawflower, and sunflower.
Thoughts
I love it when we get something in the harvest we don’t find in the stores, and Garlic Scapes certainly fit that bill. According to Serious Eats, they are harvested “at this time of year so that they won’t drain nutrients from the garlic bulbs that will be dug up in a couple of months, plump and glorious and ready for drying.” If we’re lucky, they’ll be available in enough quantity to make a pesto.
I’ll assuredly be doing some smushing with the German Butterball Potatoes – whole in the Instant Pot for six minutes, then smushed and into the oven with some oil, salt and herbs to brown them up.
More Hakurei Turnips sound great. The turnip greens are mellow and tasty, and the turnips themselves function as pretty much any vegetable you can roast. We only got a small taste of the Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) in Week 1, and more of that would be divine.
Plenty of lettuces, Dino Kale and greens – good thing we like that stuff! I’m all about that Red Butter Lettuce with a nice vinaigrette.
And the Albion Strawberries from Week 1 are incredible. Can’t wait to head up to the U-Pick and gather our allotted three pints this week. Plus more flowers, which are bringing joy to our home.
Harvest Time!
June 23rd, 2020
It was hot at 3pm, but quiet. Anna was tending to the veggies in the barn. We put together a bag well-balanced with Hakurei Turnips, Fennel, German Butterball Potatoes and a remarkable amount of greens, plus Garlic Scapes, French Breakfast Radishes, Scallions and more. What abundance.
We U-Picked our three pints of Albion Strawberries from the farm. Absolute perfection, bursting with flavor, still warm from the sun.
Three varieties of Basil this week, along with thriving Cilantro, Italian Parsley and some gorgeous Shiso. Came home, steamed some homemade butternut squash and kale tamales and made a big sauté of Dino Kale and Arugula.
What’s Cooking
After dinner, I made a Pesto with French Breakfast Radish Greens, Shiso and caramelized garlic. For the nuts, I used homemade almond meal, made from the pulp leftover from almond milk. The pesto is delicious, although not as buttery and sweet as that from fresh basil.
Throughout the week, everything we eat has green and herbs. It accompanies omelettes, roasted potatoes, lentils, wild salmon and more. Sautéed kale, arugula and spinach. Fresh salads with mustard greens, butter lettuce and more arugula. Basil on top of almost everything.
Turkey burgers topped with pan fried Scallions, manchego cheese and a big mound of Dino Kale, with roasted German Butterball Potatoes and Sage, Garlic Scape & Miyoko’s Vegan Mozz Polenta. Yummy.