Birch Point CSA Week 3: The Aliens Have Landed

Q: "What IS that?"  (the most common response to encountering kohlrabi for the first time) 
A: It's the spaceship-shaped vegetable in your share this week-- either green or purple, a round or slightly flattened globe, a member of the broccoli/cabbage family, and soon to be one of your (and your kids') favorite veggies. 

In Your Share This Week

Kohlrabi- My fave way to enjoy: raw!  Peel off skin, slice into sticks or chunks, enjoy as is or with salt or dip of your choice.  OR grate onto salad/slaw. OR cook any way you do broccoli: steam, saute, roast, etc.  Leaves can be used just like kale; that's why we leave them on!

Beets-the first of the season!  You can expect a good variety of beets throughout the season-classic dark red, golden, Chioggia (red-white bullseye pattern inside), all kinds. Roots AND greens are delicious.  Roots: roast, boil, or saute (or GRILL whole beetroots wrapped in foil for a special treat).  Or grate raw into salad- yum.  Greens: saute or steam, or sub for spinach or swiss chard in any recipe.

Lettuce- more beautiful heads to make a salad, eat on sandwiches, etc. You know what to do with lettuce.

Either Arugula OR Baby Salad Mix- Some shares got baby salad mix, some got arugula.  We'll make sure everyone gets everything-- we'll keep the baby greens coming so you get a good mix throughout the season.  Note: all leafy greens have been washed to COOL and RINSE after harvest, but are NOT washed ready-to-eat (unless you don't mind a little grit) ;) If you're a fresh arugula person, excellent. If not, try it slightly wilted, tossed with hot pasta, or arugula pesto.  Note: this is VERY mild arugula-- not the high summer spicy stuff that only the hard core arugula lovers can handle. :)

Garlic Scapes- More!  hope you love garlic.  remember, you can use these ANY way you'd use fresh garlic- just chop/mince the whole thing. And they keep for weeks in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge. Try garlic scape pesto (Recipe below) for a pungent pasta sauce.

Turnips-Might be a new-ish thing for some people! If your only experience with turnips is the pungent purple-and-white kind, give these baby turnips a try-- you'll be delighted. The white ones are a Japanese variety called Hakurei, and the pink ones are called Scarlet Queen.  Both are more tender and mild than the old purple-tops, though the pinks are a little firmer and spicier than the whites.  Both can be used raw in salad (grated OR sliced, salted, and let "sweat" before tossing in) or on a crudite platter with salt or dip.  OR make a turnip-beet root roast (toss in the last of last week's radishes while you're at it), with a creamy bechamel sauce with blended garlic scapes.  Be sure to use the GREENS in any saute, soup, or pesto you might be making, too.

Peas -either sugarsnap (fat, sugary) OR snow peas (flat pods, more savory), both are for eating whole, NOT shelling.  We mostly just eat these raw as a snack, but they're delicious in stir-fries too. Hopefully last night's RAIN will crank up the next week's harvest..

Announcements

1. Market and CSA pickup (Wed and Sat) is still in the Old Town parking deck til Cherry festival is over. 

2. BREAD and COFFEE shares still available- please email or call for info if you're interested!

Recipes

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 bunch garlic scapes
1 c. olive oil
1/2 c. toasted walnuts, pine nuts, and/or toasted sunflower seeds- any combo works
1/4 c. grated parmesan (optional)
juice of 1/2 lemon
generous dashes salt and pepper
Optional: 1 c. any greens of your choice (kale, spinach, parsley, turnip greens, basil, etc)

In cuisinart or blender, process olive oil, lemon juice, garlic scapes, salt and pepper.  Add nuts, process til as smooth or chunky as you like (if you want it creamy not at all chunky, toss the nuts in with everything else and whiz away; if more texture is your thing, whiz til nuts are in tiny chunks, but not creamy- try different textures and see what you like best). Add cheese last and blend just to mix. Use immediately, refrigerate for at least a week,  OR freeze for up to several months.  This is a PUNGENT pasta topper, or dip for fries, or serious salad dressing, or sauce for roasted roots or meats.  To mellow it out a little (if you like), add other greens of your choice. Parsley is one of my faves, but any leafy green thing will do. Yes pesto IS adaptable to what's on hand! Check this blog post I found online for more garlic scape/etc. pesto suggestions.

Turnip-Beet-Any-Root Roast with Creamy Garlic Bechamel Sauce

Turnips
Beets
Kohlrabi (not technically a root, but goes GREAT in this dish)
Any other roots you have on hand

Scrub and chop roots into large bite sized chunks.  Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and roast at 375ish for 30-45 min (longer for larger chunks) or til edges are nicely browned and caramelized and centers are tender. 
Meanwhile, prepare this bechamel sauce (thanks Martha Stewart!), substituting 2-4 garlic SCAPES for the cloves in the recipe.

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, diced small
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• coarse salt
• 4 1/2 cups whole milk 
• In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is soft, 4 minutes. Add flour, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until mixture is pale golden with a nutty aroma, 4 minutes. Whisking constantly, add half the milk. Add the remaining milk and whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, until sauce comes to a boil and thickens, 10 minutes. Use immediately.

• Children's Corner

  By Ava Newell

  Hello! What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef!

   In the children`s garden, we previously have been planting in 5 different sections. Rainbow food garden, herb garden, three sisters garden (beans, squash and corn), Poncho`s pot pie garden and the flower garden. We`ve grown lots of vegetables, but not rhubarb. And I bring that up because my mom gave me a recipe for rhubarb custard cake. We made it for Fourth of July.
  Rhubarb Custard Cake
  *1 package yellow cake mix
  *4 cups fresh or frozen Rhubarb
  *1cup sugar
  *1cup heavy whipping cream
  *whipped cream and Mint, optional
• Prepare cake batter according to package directions. Pour into greased 13x9" pan. Sprinkle on rhubarb and sugar; slowly pour cream over top. Bake at 350 for 40-45 min or until golden brown.Cool for 15 min before serving; garnish with whipped cream and mint if desired. Refrigerate leftovers. Serves 12-15.
• MF note: sounds like we should plant some rhubarb in the children's garden!