Green Garlic
I think you can never have too much garlic. A fun shift in the green garlic from when we had it our last shares is that the garlic scape is now more developed and included as well.
Season: Late Spring
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi translates from German to “turnip cabbage” and I think that is perfect. Kohlrabi is like one big broccoli stem. Its peel is fibrous and can sometimes be pulled off like an orange. Try out this Sweet and Sour Kohlrabi recipe from last year if you’re looking for inspiration!
English Peas
Shelled like this, peas are super easy to add to just about any dish. These ones are firm and sweet and do well quickly sautéed. Peas also freeze really well. Best practice is to blanch first before freezing, but in a pinch you can just toss them in the freezer raw.
White Joi Choi
Joi Choi is a brassica very similar to bok choi. The stems are tender and juicy, and the leaves are broad and flat. The flavor is zesty with a woody perfum-y flavor that I love. They do well quickly grilled over high heat, or as a stir-fry with a touch of garlic.
Cherry Tomatoes
Lisa and I use our broiler a lot. Broiling is pretty much upside down grilling. These cherry tomatoes would probably be nice broiled until charred (~5 min), and then tossed into a salad or pasta.
Sugar Ann Snap Peas
Peas have been cultivated for over 9,000 years, mostly as dried legumes. Fresh varieties weren’t developed until the 17th century, initially seen as a luxury. Snap peas, with a thick-walled and round body are an even more recent development. A bright light green, these are crispy and extremely sweet.
Earliglow Strawberries
Last year’s spring weather was dramatically different than this year’s. Between drought-like conditions and a mite issue, Nichols produced very few strawberries. This year, the farm reports that the mite issue is lingering a bit, but there will be enough for us all to enjoy. They are a deep red and very delicate.
Mixed Head Lettuce
A nice mix of crispy, refreshing lettuces. This mix is pretty similar to what you would find in those plastic clamshells at the grocery store. A little bigger than they were last week though.
Rhubarb
If you’ve cooked with rhubarb it was likely because you’re neighbor had way too much of it. Strawberry rhubarb is the classic combo but I think rhubarb can stand on it’s own. We like to use it like we would celery, thinly sliced into a salad or as an aromatic in a braise. When we […]
French Breakfast Radish
These are the fingerlings of radishes. Skinny and long, they look nice thinly sliced into cute little discs or quartered for something like radish home fries.
Hakurai Turnips
I’ll probably say something is my favorite thing a couple times during the season so don’t hold me to it, but these are my favorite. They’re adorable with the cute little green hat of stems, and have a nice crunch to them if you’re brave enough to eat them raw. Roasted or sautéed they shift […]
Spring White Onion
Similar to the spring red onions we had in the last share, just white. They’re starting to get a little bigger and bulb-ier. I’ve been frying up a small amount of onion until nice and crispy as the first step to sautéing greens recently. It’s very tasty.
Heirloom Tomatoes
Last share we had cherry tomatoes from the greenhouse. This week; these heirlooms. The slicing tomatoes we’ll see later in the season from the field will have a little more oomph than these from the greenhouse. Still, definitely not bad.
English Cucumber
The same sort of cucumbers we received in the last share. English cucumbers are long, slender and thin skinned so no need to peel. A funny problem this year with half shares is that when each full share receives one really large cucumber, we have to cut them in half for the half shares.
Mixed Baby Lettuce
A nice mix of crispy, refreshing lettuces. This mix is pretty similar to what you would find in those plastic clamshells at the grocery store.
Rapini
Rapini or broccoli rabe is a leafy variety of broccoli. It will never form the large head that broccoli does, instead only putting out small florets. It’s popular in Mediterranean cuisine simply sautéed with chile flake and often served with pasta. We like to quickly char it over over a ripping hot grill or broiler […]
Baby Spinach
In the last share we had overwintered spinach. This baby spinach was planted in the spring and has had the perfect weather to be bountiful (maybe too good; it’s nearing teenager spinach).
Asparagus
The second time we’ve been able to enjoy asparagus this year. I’m not sure that we will see it again in our next share as the warm weather recently has slowed it down a bit so enjoy it while you can.