Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for joining us for the season! It’s going to be a summer filled with delicious produce.
This year is the second season of the CSA Club and we’re hitting the ground running. We’re grateful to have those of you returning from last year and thrilled to be welcoming many new members, so let us give a quick introduction.
We’re a three person team this year: myself (Ben), Lisa, and Azziza. Azziza is new to the team and we are so excited to have her joining. Ironically, we all began our food journeys by studying food science, but we’ve come to understand that industrial food isn’t capable of fixing the many problems our current food system faces. Instead we believe that answers lie closer to home. We believe that a local food system made up of diversified, regenerative farms is not only the answer, but possible. We hope that Gard Mo can help fill gaps on the way to that system.
The CSA Club starts two weeks earlier this year which will ensure we’ll see a healthy portion of the asparagus crop, in addition to an abundance of greens, spring onions, and greenhouse goodies. We hope you’re all ready.
-Ben
Believe it or not, these potatoes were harvested last fall. While 6-month old potatoes might not initially seem appetizing, I promise they still taste great. With the right storage conditions, potatoes keep extremely well over the winter which allows us to enjoy them this time of year before new potatoes begin to be harvested.
Spinach benefits from cold temperatures to develop sweetness. By overwintering (planting in the fall and covering), this spinach has had plenty of time and cold weather to sweeten up. It’s some of the tastiest spinach of the year.
We love radishes, but know they aren’t for everyone. The french thing to do is to eat them raw with a liberal smear of butter (so tasty). If you don’t like radishes, try roasting or sautéing them until soft and translucent (but not too long). The spiciness mellows and allows their sweetness to shine.
When you can’t wait until fall for onions, you get spring onions. These are the exact same thing as the red onions we’ll see later in the season, just harvested early and small. You can use them the same way you would green onion or scallion or just the white/red part like you would any onion.
Asparagus is the spring veggie. At the peak of the season, the asparagus is so sweet that I like to eat it raw. Simply diced and tossed with a zesty vinaigrette, something pickled and thinly sliced radishes makes for a great salad (look out for a full recipe to be posted next week).
The peppery bite of arugula is intoxicating. We love it in salads with a tart dressing and a little bit of shaved hard cheese. It can be a little strong for some people though. A quick sauté will mellow it out. All you need to add is some onion or garlic.
Chard is a nice mild green. You can use it pretty much any way you would spinach; in a salad, on a sandwich, or quickly sautéed.
Over the winter, Nichols Farm added a couple greenhouses to their already impressive amount. In these greenhouses, they plant directly into the earth giving them the both the protection of a greenhouse and the amazing soil they have cultivated over many seasons. With this, they are able to perform the magic act of having cucumbers and tomatoes available in the middle of May.
Nichols also does a slicing tomato in the greenhouse that I find to be a little lacking compared to field tomatoes that come in season. These cherry tomatoes though…they’re pretty close to the real deal.
