THIS WEEK YOUR BASKET CONTAINS: Purple Sprouting Broccoli, winter squash, WATERCRESS, radishes, BABY BOK CHOY, and salad mix (lettuce, spinach, arugula, mustard greens, and endive)

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.

IT IS TIME TO ORDER GARDENS STARTS!  You can order from our full lineup of vegetable, herb and flower starts  from our website PUMPKINRIDGEGARDENS.SQUARE.SITE.

RHUBARB is also ready!  We can add a bunch (approximately 1 Lb.) to your basket for $4.  Email to order

WATERCRESS is a relatively new crop for us.  It has a distinctive peppery flavor that we really like, especially when added to salads.  It can also be used as a green on sandwiches.  Cooking  mellows the flavor so throw it in soups or stir fry.   We also used it as an herb like you would parsley in the cashew sauce below which came to us from a Substack we like called What to Cook When you Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers.

WATERCRESS CASHEW SAUCE

2 cups roasted cashews

1 cup fresh watercress

2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

½ cup hot water

1 clove garlic

1 tsp. Kosher salt

Cover the cashews with hot water and set aside for 10 minutes.  Drain the cashews and place in a blender or food processor.  Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until completely smooth.  If needed add 1 tbs wam water at a time until a thick drizzle-able sauce is achieved.  Serve over roasted vegetable and/or grains.

We’ve also used the sauce above on ROASTED PURPLE SPROUTING BROCCOLI.  We simply put the whole purple sprouting broccoli on a baking sheet, sprinkled  it with olive oil and salt then roasted it at 425⁰ until the leaves on the shoots were crispy (about 15 minutes).  Turn the broccoli over at least once about half way through.

Baby bok choy is most often prepared whole (if small), or cut in quaters lengthwise.  It is a staple of Asian cuisine.  We particularly like the recipe below. 

BABY BOK CHOY IN OYSTER SAUCE

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

3 tablespoons chicken stock

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with

1 tablespoon chicken stock

1 bunch baby bok choy, stalks left whole

In a small saucepan, combine oyster sauce, stock, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch mixture.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sauce bubbles and thickens; remove from heat.  Blanch bok choy in a saucepan of boiling water for 1 1/2 minutes; remove from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a serving plate.  Pour oyster sauce over it and serve. Adapted from Food.com.

This week is the end of our winter squash.  We feel really good about having them into April.  You could use the cashew sauce above on roasted wedges of your squash or, for something completely different, use your squash in the recipe below.

SQUASH CORNBREAD

¾ cup yellow cornmeal

¾ cup flour

4 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. allspice

½ tsp. salt

½ cup soft butter

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 ½ tsp. lemon juice

1 cup pureed cooked winter squash

¼ cup milk

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, spices and salt.  Cream the butter, add sugar and beat until light.  Add eggs, lemon juice, squash and milk.  Beat together, then gradually add dry ingredients until well combined.  Pour batter into a buttered, medium-sized loaf pan.  Bake in a pre-heated 350⁰ oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean.  Cool in pan for ten minutes, remove and cool on rack.  From The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash.