West Hartford Delivery June 26th

June 26, 2014 at 10:06 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Harvest Notes June 26^th 2014

Lettuce Heads We inundated members with lettuce last week because we had two varieties ready for harvest at the same time. This week, we’ll slow it down a little with just two heads of lettuce which will be a more typical quantity. These butterheads are tender and soft. Their center leaves fold in on themselves to produce a beautifully blanched (whitened) head.

Salad Mix A triple washed mix of baby beet greens, baby lettuce and baby mustards that make eating salads super simple!

Salad Turnips (also called Hakurai Turnips) and Greens Unlike the storage turnips that many people are used to, these are very juicy and delicious raw. Try them as a snack on their own, on salad, as a conduit for hummus or dip, roasted, or sauteed. Some of the turnips have a bit of pest damage in the form of brown marks that can easily be cut out. The greens are also delicious and a bit spicy raw or cooked.

Red Russian Kale This cooking green has become a staple of many healthy diets. Toss it into just about any soup, stir-fry, casserole, or salad. You can also try making it into kale chips or using it in a smoothie.

Escarole This may look like lettuce but it is actually a type of endive from the chicory plant family. Common in Europe and at Shabbos dinner in the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center dining hall, escarole can be sauteed simply, made into soups, used as a stuffing for dumplings or bakes, or eaten raw in salad.

Sugar Snap Peas The whole thing is edible- both pea and pod! If you don’t devour these sweet snacks on the car ride home, they can make a crunchy addition to salads or stir-fries. You will want to remove the string from the back of the pod before cooking.

Snow Peas These peas are commonly used in stir-fries but are delicious raw as well. You can eat both the peas and the pods! If you don’t use them all this week they can be frozen.

Scallions It is easy to tell from the taste that these come from the same plant family as onions and garlic. They are often called spring onions because they are the first alliums to be harvested each season. Their delicate flavor works well raw in salads or in stir-fry but can be used in most recipes instead of onions. You can expect garlic scapes as the next alliums in your shares with garlic heads soon to follow. Leeks will come mid-summer and onions should bulb up by later summer or early fall.

Dill A common addition to potato salads, pickles, and soups, dill can easily be dried when hung upside down if you aren’t ready to use it this week.

Zucchini We grow a number of zucchini and summer squash varieties to keep things interesting. Yellow, green, and light green all taste pretty similar and you will have an opportunity to try each kind during the season.

Storage Guide for This Week’s Share

CROP	SHORT STORAGE LIFE (eat first)	MED STORAGE LIFE (4-10 days)	LONG STORAGE LIFE (2-6 wks)	STORE IN FRIDGE IN BAG	STORE ON COUNTER	FREEZES WELL
Lettuce	*			*
Turnips			*	*
Turnip Greens	*			*		*
Kale	*			*		*
Dill	*			*		*
Escarole	*			*		*
Peas		*		*		*
Zucchini		*		*		*
Salad Mix	*			*
Scallions		*		*		*