This week your basket contains: potatoes, BABY TURNIPS, radishes, raab, salad mix (lettuce, arugula, endive, and radicchio), and cooking greens (kale & Swiss chard)

The baby turnips were thinned out of our hoop house bed to allow the remaining turnips room and light to grow to full size.  They should be ready for you in a week or two.  In the meantime, they are mostly a green, though there are tasty tender little roots to enjoy, too.  In combination with the radishes and their greens, this unusual sounding soup is a perfect way to use them.

RADISH TOP SOUP

4 Tbsp butter

1 cup chopped onions or leek

8 cups loose packed radish leaves

2 cups diced peeled potatoes

6 cups water or stock

salt

1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Fresh ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan, add onions or leeks and cook until golden, approx. 5 minutes.  Stir in radish tops and cover pan.  Cook over low heat until wilted, 8-10 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook potatoes until soft in stock along with 1 tsp. salt.  Combine with radish tops and cook, covered, for 5 minutes to mingle flavors.  Puree finely in food processor or food mill.  Add heavy cream if desired.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve hot or cold.  Note: less butter can be used and cream is unnecessary.  We add whole radishes to the potatoes for more radish flavor.  Serves 4-6.  Adapted from The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash.

This is another way to use your radishes in a different way.

ASIAN RADISH SALAD

15-20 radishes, with greens

1 small shallot or onion, minced

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or lime juice

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. fish sauce

½” knob ginger, peeled and grated

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. sugar (optional)

½ tsp. toasted sesame oil

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Soak chopped onion or shallot in vinegar or lime juice while preparing the rest of the salad. Slice radish roots and greens thinly. Whisk remaining ingredients into onion-vinegar mixture. Taste for balance and add radishes. Serve.

While we don’t have sorrel this week, any of the greens in your basket would work well in this recipe.

GRATIN OF SORREL AND POTATOES

3 cups sorrel leaves

2 oz. butter

3 lbs yellow Finn potatoes

salt and pepper

nutmeg

2 cups milk, stock, or combination

¼ cup grated Swiss cheese

2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 and butter a large baking dish.  Remove stems from sorrel, rinse, and spin dry.  Melt half of butter in sauté pan, add sorrel and cook until completely wilted.  Set aside. Peel and thinly slice potatoes.  Layer half of the potatoes in the baking dish and season with nutmeg salt and pepper.  Spread the sorrel over the potatoes, layer the remaining potatoes on top, and then pour the liquid over it all.  Cut the rest of the butter into pats and distribute over the top of the potatoes and sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake for 1 hour, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the top is brown.  From Shepherd’s Garden Seed catalog.

TOMATO STARTS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE! Right now they are primarily early types and cherry tomato varieties, but more will be coming as the weather gets warmer. Our list of available plants is updated weekly as more items are ready for your garden. Make sure to check in regularly. We are happy to deliver plants to your door for your friends and neighbors too! Have them note that they would like delivery to you in their order. We will box and label their plants separately. Check us out at pumpkinridgegardens.square.site