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
Beets are another crop that humans have been eating since prehistory. Shredded beets are great on salads, giving a beautiful pop of color. People will often roast beets, but I prefer to braise them in 1:1 ratio of water and vinegar. The acid really helps the sweetness of the beets pop. Don’t worry about peeling them before cooking, as they’re much easier to peel after being cooked (so easy I like to use a spoon for it).
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.
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.
We got a nice mix of frilly lettuce and broad leaf so that this will be a nice mixed greens. We have a recipe for a simple vinaigrette, although for a different salad. A light vinagrette like that would really make this lettuce pop, for a salad or on a sandwich.
We trim the broccoli up into nice florets for you all. This way they’re ready for snacking, roasting, or whatever ambitions a broccoli might have. Don’t skip out on the stems. We peel away the fibrous parts so they’re tender and perfect sautéed with other veggies (maybe in fried rice?).
Most people are probably more familiar with fennel seed than fresh fennel. With a characteristic anise or black licorice flavor and a surprising sweetness, fennel is crisp and refreshing when raw, but can also fit well into savory dishes. Fennel caramelizes really well, and benefits from high temperature cooking to develop color. Bulb, stalks and fronds are all usable. The fronds can be used as an herb for garnish or by the handfuls.
A member of the brassica family, collards have a deep savory flavor in comparison to kale. It’s hardy, and stands up well to long slow braising. Check out our recipe here.
These are the first carrots of this season. When I remove the tops from carrots, I like to leave a little bit on the carrot mostly because I think it’s super cute (it also makes the tops easier to clean, which we save to use for stock). I like to roast early season carrots whole to really lean into how adorable they are. There’s a bit of variety in sizes, so simply halve or quarter the larger ones lengthwise.
