This week your basket contains: potatoes, onions, parsnips, carrots, radishes, raab, salad mix (lettuce, arugula, endive), spinach, and mustard greens.

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

Fraga Farm cheese is available again! From chevre to feta to goatzerella, and even treats like goat’s milk truffles and caramels can be ordered on Fraga Farm’s online farm store (https://www.fragafarm.com/farm-store).  Select “Pumpkin Ridge Gardens CSA” as your shipping option at checkout. Complete purchase, and the items you purchased will be included in your next CSA basket. 

TULIPS AND DAFFODILS are available!  Polly will put together a beautiful bouquet of at least 12 stems plus greenery for only $10 (new price).  We can set you up as a standing order or do a one-time thing.  Just email us to order and let us know how many bouquets you would like.

Parsnip-palooza continues (though this is the last week).  For the first time in 32 years we have had parsnips so long that we are in danger of not getting them harvested before we need to plant the next crop planned for those bed.  These late season parsnips are perhaps best in something like a carrot cake.  This is a recipe we’ve given before, but it is really good.

PARSNIP CAKE

1 1/4 cups salad oil

1 1/4 cups sugar (or equivalent honey)

2 cups flour

1 Tb baking powder

1 Tb baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

3-4 eggs

3 cups grated raw parsnips

1 1/2 cups finely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or almonds)

Thoroughly combine oil and sugar.  Sift together dry ingredients.  Add to oil and sugar mixture, alternating with eggs and beating well after each addition.  Mix in parsnips, then nuts.  Pour into greased pans or spoon into muffin tin.  Bake in preheated 325 degree oven until cooked through (1 hr and 10 minutes for cake and approx. 20 minutes for muffins). From The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash.

We decided to give spinach on its own this week to give you more flexibility.  You can cook it on its own, make a spinach salad, or mix some in with your other salad greens.  This recipe below makes a large amount and can be cut in half and still make a good amount.  You can also use other greens in addition to spinach (mustard greens, endive, and/or radicchio for example).

LAMB SAAG

4 lamb shanks

2-3 Lbs. spinach

1 onion, chopped

4 Tbs. ghee (or butter and oil mixed)

1 tsp. brown mustard seed

1/8 tsp. asafetida

1/8 tsp. cayenne

½ tsp. ground coriander

¼ tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg

¼ tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. ground cumin

3 Tbs. water

3 Tbs. cream (or use sour cream or yogurt)

2 tsp. salt

Cover lamb shanks with water in a large pot.  Add 1 tsp. salt and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the lamb is starting to loosen from the bone.  If you have time, put boiled lamb shanks onto the grill to brown.  Chop lamb and set aside.

Meanwhile, wash spinach and strip leaves off of stems.  Chop coarsely.  Combine cayenne, coriander, black pepper, nutmeg, turmeric and cumin in a small bowl, add water, and stir well.  Melt the butter and oil (or ghee) in a 5-quart pan over moderate heat.  Add mustard seed and cook until it starts to pop.  Add asafetida and let it sizzle, then add spice mixture and onion.  Fry for about 2 minutes.

Add spinach to pan, sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt.  Cover and reduce heat.  Stir occasionally until spinach is all bright green and very wilted.  Add water if necessary.  At this point, the saag can be removed from heat and can sit if necessary.  Before serving, put spinach in a food processor and puree.  Return it to the pan, add chopped lamb, stir in cream and reheat briefly.  Adapted from The Best of Lord Krishna’s Cuisine by Yamuna Devi.