THIS WEEK YOUR BASKET CONTAINS: mustard greens, salad mix (claytonia, endive, & spinach),  GREEN ELEPHANT GARLIC, shallot and/or onion, RADISHES,  and Purple Sprouting Broccoli.

TULIPS ARE READY!  Polly can send along a gorgeous bouquet of 10- 12 blossoms plus filler for only $12.  You can order one time or as a standing order.  Just  email to order (with flowers as the subject) and we’ll add them to your veggie basket. Now that it is finally feeling like spring will actually happen this year, IT IS TIME TO ORDER GARDENS STARTS!  You can order from our full lineup of vegetable, herb and flower starts (including varieties we don’t grow on our farm) from our website PUMPKINRIDGEGARDENS.SQUARE.SITE.  We update the site regularly so that plants are available at the best time for planting in your garden.  You can also visit our farmers’ market stand at the Beaverton Farmers’ Market any Saturday starting April 5^th!

For a while there it seemed like spring was never going to happen. However, the earth continues in its excentric path around the sun, and the season do inevitably turn.  Almost everything in the baskets this week are “new” crops.  Some have been in the gardens a long time (Purple Sprouting Broccoli is seeded in June and transplanted outside in July!) but are known to only produce as the days start getting longer after a period of short cold days.  On the other end of the spectrum are radishes.  We seeded those at the beginning of February in a hoophouse.  While radishes are well known to be a 28-day crop (seeding to harvest) at this time of year they are closer to being a 60-day crop.  When we harvest the first radishes, we know we have definitely turned the corner into spring!

Green Elephant Garlic can be used in any way you would use a leek and is prepared in the same manner.   In fact, while regular garlic is considered to be closely related to onions, Elephant Garlic is more closely related to leeks.  Using it in potato leek soup is killer!  We also like the way it works with various greens like in the recipe below.

GREEN GARLIC AND GREENS

1 to 2 Tbsp. olive oil or other cooking oil

1-2 green garlics, chopped

1/8 tsp. salt plus more to taste

2 slices prosciutto, sliced (optional)

1 bunch mustard greens, kale, or Swiss chard thinly sliced or chopped

Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Fresh lemon juice (optional)

Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add oil. Swirl and add green garlic and salt. Cook, stirring, until wilted, about 1 minute. Add prosciutto, if using, and cook, stirring, until it loses its bright pink tone, about 1 minute. Add greens, stir to combine, add 1/4 cup water. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and cook until greens are well wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir, cover, and cook until tender. Depending on the greens used (chard will take a shorter time than the others) and your taste, this will take anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste, as you like.

While your radishes may go immediately into your salad, the recipe below is a great vegetarian option.

ORANGE & RADISH SALAD

2 navel oranges

1/4 packed cup radishes, very finely sliced (use a mandoline, if you have one)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground roasted cumin seeds

1/16 teaspoon chili powder

2 small sprigs of fresh cilantro or mint

For the radishes:

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

Generous pinch of salt, or to taste

1/8 teaspoon ground roasted cumin seeds

A few sprinkles of chili powder

Peel the oranges in such a way that you remove all the white pith. Slice off a good chunk of the top and bottom (I just eat these bits) and cut the remainder crosswise into circles 5 inch thick. Set aside in a single layer. Put the sliced radishes into a bowl and set aside. Half an hour before you eat, sprinkle the oranges with the salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder as evenly as you can. Just before you eat, sprinkle the radishes with the lemon juice, pepper, salt, cumin, and chili powder. Toss lightly. Lay half the orange slices on a salad plate. Put half the sliced radishes to one side of them and garnish with a sprig of coriander or mint. Serve immediately.  From Vegetarian India by Madhur Jaffrey,