Early Spring CSA Week 4

This Week’s Veggies:

French Fingerling potatoes                Red Russian Kale*
Parsley                                             Japanese Turnips—Tokyo Cross*
Chives                                              Beet Greens*
Red Mustard                                    Spinach*

Kale Raab                                        *”Large” share items; not included

Salad Mix                                         in the “small” share.

Please Remember to Wash Your Vegetables Carefully and Thoroughly.

This Week’s Recipe:

Ditch Digger’s Noodle Lunch

This is what Antonia cooked on Monday: I was starving, and it was perfect.

For two:

½ package whole wheat spaghetti noodles

1-2 bunches greens (we used red Russian kale)

1 shallot or onion

1-2 sprigs of lovage

2 veggie bullion cubes

¼ cup sour cream

~1/2 cup milk

Nutritional yeast, to taste

Sharp cheddar cheese, to taste

Cook the noodles like the box says to.  While they’re minding themselves, chop the shallots and start them sautéing in the bottom of a wok or large frying pan.  Chop the lovage and throw that in; when the shallots are cooked, add the sour cream and milk, stir in the bullion, and let that simmer a bit while you chop up the greens.  Mix in as much nutritional yeast as you like, then add the greens without delay.  Stir until the greens have cooked—add more milk if it looks like the sauce has all disappeared—then mix in the cheese and the noodles.  Serve with a garnish of more grated sharp cheddar cheese.  After eating this, you’ll be ready for more ditch digging. 

News from the Farmers:

            What an exciting week we’ve had!  Opening day at Bayview Market was great—big crowds, and lots of complements on our veggies.  The first day of market is always the hardest—we spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning not only harvesting, but searching for and organizing all the market stuff: the whiteboard pens, the bungee cords, the wooden rails that keep the bins from sliding off our tables, the business cards, the spray bottle to mist the veggies, copies of all the market paperwork (food handler’s license, organic certificate, health department forms, business license, etc.), the banner, the thumbtacks, the big bags, the little bags, the twist ties to close the salad mix bags, the rolls of quarters…. By Sunday, when we packed up the stationwagon for the Tilth market, it already seemed a little easier—all our gear was organized, at least.  Tilth was quieter, but also fun—we have a lot of new vendors this year.  Molly is organizing a Sheep to Shawl fiber demonstration at Tilth this year—every second Sunday, she and her crew will be showing off another part of the process.  May 13^th will be sheep shearing, so come by the market and check it out, from 11AM-2PM. 

            After the weekend of excitement, we settled in on Monday to get some work done.  We dug ditches (why, you ask?  I ask that, too), mowed down the overwintered kale and collards, spread compost, and felt very on top of things until we noticed the cow running through the vegetable fields.  Oops.  So, we called Jordan, and chased the cow, and then he chased the cow, and then he strung up more electric fence.  In other news, Walter the Jack Russell Terrier has decided that the cows are electric and can kill him with their eyes.  Before Jordan turned on the fence, Walter ran through it a couple times chasing bunnies, so he’s pretty sure the fence is just a normal fence.  However, he’s tried stalking the cows twice now, staring them down while they stare him down, and every time he gets within about 20 feet of them, they unleash their terrible telepathic powers and he gets a shock.  Surely it’s just a coincidence that this happens exactly when he reaches that innocent white fence.