Hi everyone,
We hope you’re enjoying the beautiful weather! CSA Club members Kyra and Catherine are organizing a potluck picnic—a chance to share dishes inspired by this season’s bounty. If you’d like to join, please fill out this this availability poll so we can pick the best date.
Supporting local farmers is at the heart of Gard Mo’s mission. Farmers like Jarvi Schneider and Soraya Alem of Otter Oaks Farm not only grow nourishing food but also care for the land through regenerative practices. We’re thrilled to feature their produce in every share this year!
Every week, I get to visit their farm in Bronzeville to pick up our veggies, and chatting with Jarvi about what’s growing is a highlight of my week. Beyond their sustainable farming, Otter Oaks inspires and empowers queer, trans, and young farmers, helping build a more inclusive food system.
In honor of their work and Pride Month, we’re excited to include their vibrant Rainbow Chard in this week’s share!
We hope you love this week’s veggies, and as always, don’t hesitate to reach out.
—Ben
Nichols are calling these ‘spring onions’, but I would call them ‘early summer onions.’ Compared to the ones we got just a couple weeks ago, the bulbs have started to substantially form, and the top greens are a little more gnarly. We can attest that they are pungent (a few tears were shed trimming them).
Peas (Pisum sativum) are a long time staple crop of Europe (they’re featured in a lot of medieval art). However, it wasn’t until the 17th century that varieties for eating fresh began to be popularized, sugar snap being one of the most recent. The bright green flavor that peas have are thanks to the aroma compounds isobutyl methoxypyrazines, which are also prevalent in green bell peppers.
Napa is the variety of cabbage traditionally used for kimchi, but it definitely isn’t a one trick pony. It’s part of the Brassica rapa group (turnips, rapini, bok choy). It does really well sautéed, or you can shred it and use it in a slaw. You can use it just about anywhere you would green cabbage.
This rainbow chard from Otter Oaks is gorgeous. Swiss chard, or more generally, chard, are varieties of beet selected for large stems and broad leaves, rather than large tap roots (beets). The variety of colors is due to betain pigments, the same that give beets their color. Betains are water-soluble, so they will fade when cooked. You can use it pretty much any way you would spinach; in a salad, on a sandwich, or quickly sautéed. We included the stems as well. I like to pickle them to use as a crunchy garnish, but you could use them just like celery and toss them into just about any vegetable medley.
Oh boy, are we lucky to get these. Last season, Nichols experienced significant pest pressure on their strawberries and weren’t able to include them in the shares. Despite the slow start, the strawberries are looking great this year. You’ll notice how deep red these strawberries are. That’s because Nichols doesn’t irrigate them. Overwatering strawberries (all berries really) just waters down the berries themselves. Industrial ag does this because it increases yield, essentially just selling water in berry packaging (mind you, usually from water scarce areas: California, Texas, Mexico). These strawberries from Nichols are concentrated deliciousness.
The mild varieties of lettuces that we eat today are descended from an inedible bitter weed that grew in Asia and the Mediterranean. Thanks to 5,000 years of cultivation and improvements by thoughtful growers, we’re able to enjoy these varieties that are tender with only a pleasant touch of bitterness.
From On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee:
“After their domestication in Mexico (their name comes from the Aztec term for ‘plump fruit,’ tomatl), and a period of European suspicion that lasted into the 19th century, [tomatoes are] eaten all over the world… In the United States they’re second in vegetable popularity only to the potato, a starchy staple.”
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.
