This week your basket contains: broccoli (half shares), CELERY (full shares). SWEET PEPPERS, tomatoes,  zucchini, cucumber,  beans, RED ONIONS, PARSLEY, beets, and carrots.

BLACKBERRIES are ripe!  Last week I told you they would be ready soon and now they are!  Now is a great time for you to come and enjoy your fill of great blackberries that grow free from roadside contamination.  We welcome you to come out to the farm on your schedule (please email to let us know your plans so we can greet you and point you in the right direction).  You are welcome to pick as many berries as you like free of charge. 

This week we harvested the beets as much for the greens as for the roots.  Beets have a compound seed case that holds multiple actual seeds resulting in several plants sprouting in the same spot (if any of your beet roots have flat sides, it is because they were growing mushed together with other beets from the same seed case).  This means that to get good sized roots we need to thin the beds which is the other thing we are doing this week.  In any case, the beets and greens you have this week are perfect for the recipe below.

BEETS AND BEET GREENS WITH TAHINI SAUCE

1 bunch medium or large beets (3 to 4)

1 large bunch or 2 smaller bunches beet greens (about 3/4 pound)

 Salt to taste

1 plump garlic clove, cut in half, green shoot removed

¼ cup sesame tahini

2 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste

2 to 4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cut greens away from beets, leaving about 1/4 inch of stems. Scrub beets with vegetable brush. To steam beets, place in a steamer above 2 inches water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cover. Turn down heat to medium. Steam small and medium beets for 30 minutes and large beets for 40 minutes, until you can pierce the beet to the middle with a knife or skewer. Remove from heat and allow to cool. To roast, preheat oven to 425ºF and place beets in a baking dish (or lidded ovenproof casserole). Add 1/4 inch water to the dish. Cover tightly. Place in the oven and roast small beets (3 ounces or less) for 30 to 40 minutes, medium beets (4 to 6 ounces) 40 to 45 minutes, and large beets (8 ounces) 50 to 60 minutes, until they are easily penetrated with the tip of a knife. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the covered baking dish.  When beets have cooled, cut away ends and slip off skins. Slice in rounds or cut into wedges or half-moons. Blanch greens in salted boiling water for about 1 minute, just until they wilt. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out excess moisture, taking up the greens by the handful. Alternatively, steam for 2 minutes, using tongs to flip the greens over top to bottom halfway through, for 2 minutes, or until wilted. Rinse with cold water, squeeze out excess water and chop coarsely.  To make sauce, purée garlic cloves with a generous pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle, or put through a garlic press. Transfer to a bowl or measuring cup and whisk in sesame tahini. Whisk in lemon juice, beginning with smaller amount. The mix will stiffen up. Gradually whisk in up to 1/4 cup water, until sauce has consistency of thick cream or runny yogurt. Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice.  Line a platter with the beet greens and arrange beets on top and around greens. Drizzle on tahini sauce, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

We are excited to have sweet peppers for you this week (all the peppers in your basket are sweet, not hot, no matter their shape).  With the parsley, they are perfect for this recipe below.

LEMONY RICE AND PARSLEY SALAD

1 cup Arborio rice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 cup Italian parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

1/2 small sweet Italian pepper, diced

1/3 cup black olives, coarsely chopped

1 Tbs.capers

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Lemon wedges

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the rice and simmer over moderate heat until just tender, about 14 minutes. Drain thoroughly. In a large bowl, toss the rice with the olive oil and lemon juice. Stir in the parsley, pepper, olives, capers and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges.  Adapted from foodandwine.com.

IF YOU WANT HOT PEPPERS (when they are ready) please email us as we only give them to people who ask for them.  If you were on the list last year we still have you on the list and you don’t need to email again.