This week your basket contains: kohlrabi, radishes, NEW POTATOES, peas (full shares only), ZUCCHINI (full shares only), lettuce mix, DILL, BOK CHOY, garlic scapes (half shares only), Asian broccoli, carrots,

OUR FIRST SUBSCRIBER DAY OF THE YEAR WILL BE THIS COMING SUNDAY, JUNE 11^TH FROM 11:00 to 3:00.  This potluck event is a great way to connect to where your food is grown, meet Polly & James, and connect with other families who subscribe to our service.  We will contribute home-made, wood fired pizzas, and lead farm tours.

Sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing.  For a couple of reasons, our hoophouse carrots we seeded in February were extremely crowded resulting in smaller than ideal roots.  This week dug everything and gave you bunches with their greens attached.  Even though the roots are small, they are very tasty. All those greens can be used, too.  I used to think of pesto as a basil and pine nut only recipe, but have come to think of it more as a technique that can be applied to any green, using any nut.  With that in mind (and inspired by a recipe in Joshua McFadden’s cookbook Six Seasons) Polly made pesto last night using carrot tops and almonds!  It was great.  Below is the basic pesto recipe we use.  When using carrot tops, be sure to remove the thickest stems and rinse the greens first.

PESTO

4 c. fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

½ c. pine nuts

½ c. olive oil

¼ c. melted butter

3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

Put basil leaves, garlic and nuts in bowl of food processor.  Process until finely chopped.  With machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil and melted butter.  With a spoon stir in the cheese, salt and pepper.  This can be stored in the fridge for up to three weeks.  We have also had good luck freezing pesto in ice cube trays, which gives you quick easy pre-portioned pesto cubes.

Having new potatoes for the first time in the year is an event to be celebrated!  Harvesting the tubers while they are still developing gives you potatoes that are sweet and have soft, thin skins.  The recipe below (written several years ago) would be perfect with carrot top pesto!

EASY ROASTED NEW POTATOES

Last night Polly roasted new potatoes in a very simple way.  While I was grilling other things on the barbecue, she made a simple tray by folding up the edges of a small (1 foot square) piece of aluminum foil.  She poured in 2 –3 Tbs. of olive oil then placed halved new potatoes face down on the improvised tray.  She sprinkled them with salt, pepper, chopped scallions (green onion tops would work well, too), and dill.  We placed the tray on the lower level of the barbecue and turned it occasionally to insure even cooking.  When the spuds were tender to a fork, they were easy to pop off the foil and they came out with a nicely crisp cut face and a light fluffy center.  Yum!

The recipe below is perfect for your bok choy.

SAUTÉED BOK CHOY WITH CASHEW SAUCE

1/2 cup cashews, roasted
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. ginger, minced
7 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 Tbsp. basil, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. mint, finely chopped
1 1/2 lb. bok choy, washed and dried
1/3 cup peanut oil

Puree the cashews, vinegar, water, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, Tabasco, basil and mint in a blender. Separate bok choy leaves from stalks, and cut stalks into 1-inch long pieces. Sauté bok choy in a large pan over high heat (oil should not be smoking). Stir briskly for 1 – 2 minutes until it is bright green and well seared. Remove from heat and drape with cashew sauce. Serve immediately.   Serves 4

FLOWERS ARE AVAILABLE Now that summer flower season has begun, Polly is making beautiful mixed bouquets that can be delivered with your basket for $10.  You can order occasionally or as a standing order.  Just email to let us know!