This week your basket contains: spring onions, snap peas or snow peas, lettuce, zucchini, broccoli or Asian broccoli, new potatoes, kohlrabi, BASIL, CUCUMBERS, and beets.

We hope to see you this SUNDAY FROM 11:00 TO 3:00 for our SUBSCRIBER DAY POTLUCK.  We will be serving pizza from our wood-fired pizza oven, leading farm tours, and, best of all, hanging out with all of you to get to know you all better!

The gardens are making a quick transition to summer.  The summer squash is very happy, cucumbers are coming on, and it looks like beans will be following peas in short order.  We are also in the process of seeding and transplanting the crops that we will be harvesting all the way through March and April of 2023.  On top of all that, we are working hard to keep on top of the weeds that absolutely adore the weather we’ve been experiencing of late.  I guess that is along way to say things are starting to feel normal again!

I was skeptical of the recipe below when Polly first suggested it.  However, after my first taste I was an enthusiastic convert!

BEET ORANGE AND OLIVE SALAD

2 to 5 beets

half a small onion

2 tablespoons vinegar

sea salt or kosher salt to taste

Pinch of sugar

2 to 3 oranges

2 tablespoons olive oil

handful of black, oil-cured olives, pitted and halved

Place beets in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then cook at a gentle simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or even longer, depending on the size. Just cook them until they are tender — when you stick a small knife into each beet, it should go in smoothly. Let beets cool in the water, then drain them and peel them. Cut each beet into wedges or small cubes and place on a serving platter. Season all over with salt.   Meanwhile, mince the shallot or onion and place in a small bowl. Cover with the vinegar. Season with a pinch of salt and sugar and set aside. Trim off the top and bases of the oranges, and with a sharp knife, slice down along the flesh of the orange to remove the peel. Remove the segments by slicing between the membranes. (Alternatively, cut the oranges into slices, then cut the slices again so that the oranges are in bite-size pieces.) Squeeze the membrane and any orange peels with flesh still attached over the bowl with the macerating shallots. Pour half of the shallot-vinegar-orange mixture over the beets and drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil. Scatter the oranges over top. Pour the remaining shallot mixture over top as well as the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Scatter olives over top. Let sit a few minutes before serving. As you serve, spoon the dressing pooling at the bottom of the plate over the beets and oranges. You could, of course, give everything a toss, just know that the beets will color everything red.   Adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi.

We normally don’t like to give the less common crops we grow two weeks in a row, but the kohlrabi was starting to look like we would lose them if we didn’t use them, so here they are again.  The recipe below is perfect for warm weather dinners.

KOHLRABI AND BLACK QUINOA SALAD

1 14 oz. can light coconut milk

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 cup black quinoa

3 medium kohlrabi, peeled

2 green oions, thinly sliced

¼ cup cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

2 Tbs. lime juice

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

½ cup roasted cashews

¼ cup unsweetened grated coconut

Place 1 ½ cups of coconut milk in a saucepan, reserving the remainder for the dressing. Add 1 cup of water and the salt and bring to a simmer.  Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until half the liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes).  Cover and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the the quinoa is tender (about 10 minutes)  Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and let stand until cooled to room temperature.  Cut the kohlrabi into matchsticks and add to the quinoa along with the green onions, cilantro, and jalapeno (or red pepper flakes).  In a small bowl, stir the remaining coconut milk, lime juice and ginger to blend for the dressing.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.  Stir in the cashews and grated coconut and serve.  From Salad For Dinner by Jeanne Kelley

We trimmed our young basil to help them bush out and eventually be more productive.  Enjoy this tiny taste of good things to come!

With the holiday weekend and our scrambling to catch up in the gardens, this month’s billing statements will wait until next week.