This week your basket contains: Lettuce, CABBAGE, snap peas, kohlrabi, Asian broccoli OR European broccoli, beets, and new potatoes To make the ordering easier Fraga have created an online cheese shop for you.  You can place orders 24 hours a day at fragafarm.com. When placing your order please select the “Pumpkin Ridge CSA” as a pick up location. The cheese of course will be delivered to you on your regular CSA schedule day. Please indicate Tuesday or Friday in the special instructions field. And for all of you that have waited for this: the raw aged Feta is back in stock & aged to perfection. They can also include young Camembert in your order. Typically, you want to enjoy it between 4 and 6 weeks of age. They mark the cheese with the “make date” so you’ll know how long to wait.  They sell it young because it travels better before it becomes soft.  Some things are worth the wait.

Our spring broccoli is looking very good!  One of my favorite things to make at this time of year is a salad with broccoli and beets.  It can be made with either Asian broccoli or European broccoli.  You can also add chopped kohlrabi if you like. 

BEET AND BROCCOLI SALAD 

A great salad can be made with beets and broccoli. We steam the broccoli and beets together with the sliced beets on bottom.  Generally, when the broccoli is done (i.e. just turned dark green and starting to get tender) the beets are also done.  We then toss them in a simple vinaigrette and serve them either warm or cold.  This vinaigrette is the one we use:

VINAIGRETTE

1 clove garlic

1 tsp salt

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 tsp wet mustard

5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

black pepper

Press garlic into the bottom of  your salad bowl.  With a fork, mix well with salt until it forms a paste.  Mix in vinegar and mustard until salt is dissolved.  Whisk in olive oil to make an emulsion.  Add black pepper to taste.  These proportions are in no way set in stone.  You should experiment to find the proportions you prefer.  Also, other spices, herbs and vinegars can be used to vary the dressing. 

The recipes below are a couple of our “go to” dishes for the sweet early summer cabbage.  We love them. 

INDIAN MEDLEY

3 new potatoes

1 c. snap peas

1 kohlrabi or peeled broccoli stems

2 turnips

small head of broccoli

1 apple

¼ cabbage

2 Tbsp.vegetable oil

tamari

fresh lemon juice

1 15-ounce jar of Curry Simmer Sauce

Chop all the vegetables and saute in vegetable oil.  Season with tamari and lemon juice.  Add simmer sauce.  Serve with fresh cilantro and cashews.

ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

½ cup thinly sliced onion

3 Tbs cider vinegar

2 Tbs sesame seeds

1 head cabbage

1/3 cup cilantro

2/3 cup fresh mint

2 Tbs roasted unsalted peanuts

3 Tbs sweet and sour fish sauce

In a 5-qt saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add chicken and when water returns to a boil, cover the pan and remove from heat.  Let stand until chicken is white in the thickest part (cut to check).  This should take 12-15 minutes.  Combine onion and vinegar and let stand 15 minutes.  In a heavy frying pan, stir sesame seeds until golden brown.  Remove from pan.  Shred chicken by hand. Shred enough cabbage to make 6 cups.  Drain the onions and combine in a large bowl with chicken, cabbage, onion, cilantro and mint.  Add peanuts, sesame seeds and fish sauce and mix well.  Makes 4-6servings.

FLOWERS have (finally) come on strong!  For the first time this spring Polly was able to get every bouquet order filled.  If you were expecting flowers and didn’t get any today, please let us know so we can correct our list.  If you want to order flowers (one time or standing order) just email and Polly will make you a beautiful bouquet of approx.. 20-25 stems for only $7.