Early Spring CSA Week 3: April 24th

This Week’s Veggies:

French Fingerling potatoes
Green onions
Scarlet Queen Turnips
Collard Raab
Blue Vates kale
Spinach & friends

Shallots*
Garlic*
Pea shoots*
Lovage*
Sea Kale*

*”Large” share items; not included in the “small” share.

Please Remember to Wash Your Vegetables Carefully and Thoroughly.

This Week’s Recipe:

Japanese Turnips with Miso

Gourmet | September 2009

by Maggie Ruggiero

The small, round, mild turnips known colloquially as Japanese turnips are at their most delicious when simply cooked with their greens. A last-minute swirl in miso butter (which is fantastic on pretty much any vegetable) gives them an almost meaty underpinning.

Yield: Makes 2 servings

  1 tablespoons white miso
  1 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided
  1 pounds small (1 1/2-to 2-inch) Japanese turnips with greens
  1/3 cup water
  1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)

Stir together miso and 1 tablespoon butter.

Coarsely chop leaves. Halve turnips (leave whole if tiny) and put in a 12-inch heavy skillet along with water, mirin, remaining tablespoon butter, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then boil, covered, 10 minutes.

Add greens by handfuls, turning and stirring with tongs and adding more as volume in skillet reduces. Cover and cook 1 minute. Uncover and continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until turnips are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in miso butter and cook 1 minute.

News from the Farmers:

            This week we are transplanting onions, leeks, and shallots.  We are also planting the last row of potatoes-- we ordered some seed potatoes from Moose Tubers in Maine; due to their cold weather, they don't start shipping until early April.  Alas, we didn't get our shipment until the 23rd of April, which is pretty darn late for us to be planting potatoes, so I don't think we'll be ordering from them again next year.  The carrots, spinach, and beets that we planted in the Forest garden have all germinated and are ready for their first weeding-- so this is the day that we pick up our hoes, and don't set them down again until September.  In the mean time, the Bayview and Tilth Farmer's markets both start this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, respectively), so wish us good luck and good weather