Third CSA Pick-up

It was a hot hot hot harvest day today here on the farm. The black flies were so bad that I had to wear bug pants and jacket and it felt like I was breathing through a plastic bag. I had been lucky the last two weeks that the harvest days ended up being cloudy and cooler so I didn't need to worry about the veggies wilting but today with the high heat and sun out in full strength it wasn't taking long for the freshly harvested vegetables to start wilting. So there was alot of running around from the field to the wash station to cool the veggies right away and then directly into the cooler to try and retain the fresh qualities that we require for veggie pick-up day. This weeks share includes: lettuce head, baby beets, baby carrots, arugula, tatsoi, onions, cilantro, kale, radish and spinach.


Sweet, summer onions


Baby beets


Farm fresh baby carrots


Kale


Boston Bib Lettuce


Zucchini are in full blossom


View of the growing garden

Recipe Ideas

Spinach Strawberry Salad
4 cups packed torn fresh spinach
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
½ cup finely diced red onion
¼ cup slivered almonds
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Curry Salad Dressing
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon curry
In a large salad bowl, toss together the spinach, strawberries, mushrooms, onion and almonds.
In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the dressing ingredients: shake well. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top and serve immediately. Serves 4.
The dressing is tangy. If you prefer a milder one, raspberry vinaigrette or poppy seed would work well.

Fresh Beet and Cilantro Salad

One bunch of beets
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
Juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove or 2 scapes, chopped
¼ cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar shopping list

Directions
Wash beets and slice. Place sliced beets in pot, add enough water to cover. Add sugar and salt and allow to come to a boil. Reduce heat and cook on a medium simmer until they are just fork tender – between 5 -10 minutes depending upon how thickly sliced the beets are. Drain.
Place cooked beets into bowl and cool completely in the refrigerator. Once chilled, take out and add lemon juice, chopped garlic, chopped red onion, chopped cilantro, vinegar and stir till combined. Add additional salt if necessary and serve. Keeps well in fridge.

Pasta with Greens and Feta

olive oil
2 chopped onions
2-3 cups (packed) greens (kale, spinach, tatsoi or any combination thereof), coarsely chopped
penne, shells
feta cheese, crumbled
pepper, salt and parmesan cheese to taste

Heat olive oil and cook onions over med. heat for 10 minutes. Add greens, stir until greens begin to wilt. Cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat. Cook pasta, drain, then add along with feta to the sautéed greens. Mix to combine, season with salt* and pepper to taste, then serve hot accompanied by parmesan cheese.

*the feta is salty already, so you may not need additional salt

The arugula can be a "i love it" or an "i hate it" green. It can be quite spicy and is best mixed with other greens like lettuce or spinach or one of our favourites, served on barbecue steak.