I was out this morning spreading cover crop seed in between the rows of tomatoes planted in plastic mulch. It was a good morning because it was… Read more “5/29 farm notes”
Month: May 2012
5/29 CSA week 2
In this week’s box: Kohlrabi Snow peas Head lettuce Red or green kale Garlic Scapes Arugula Cilantro Basil (The basil was picked this morning, but fresh-picked basil… Read more “5/29 CSA week 2”
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi is a large green leafed vegetable with a swollen round stem. The leaves and stem are both used. The leaves can be used in place of… Read more “Kohlrabi”
Sugar Snap and Snow Peas
Snap and snow peas are types of peas that are eaten whole, pod and all, when the peas are still immature. We recommend stringing them prior to… Read more “Sugar Snap and Snow Peas”
Arugula
What a flavorful salad green! Arugula has a peppery taste and is often used in salads as the main green or mixed with lettuce to balance the… Read more “Arugula”
Hakurei Turnips
These small white turnips are so crisp and have a sweetness to them that they can be enjoyed raw and are often called salad turnips. There is… Read more “Hakurei Turnips”
5/22 farm notes, “the crazy house”
Though it should no longer surprise us, the weather continues to throw us curve balls. After a winter that never got cold and a spring that dealt… Read more “5/22 farm notes, “the crazy house””
5/22 and 5/26 CSA week 1
Welcome to Mile Creek Farm’s 2012 CSA season!
In today’s box (click on linked veggies for more info!)
Broccoli Raab, all green with some florets
Hon Tasi Tai, purple stems with florets and yellow flowers
Head Lettuce, red leaf and green leaf
Bok Choi, we grew a purple leafed variety this year
Red or Green Kale
Garlic Scapes, thin and curly tapering to a point
Strawberries (grown chemical free by one of our neighbors)
Basil Plant
Today is the first week of the CSA so we are going to take minute to let our members know how to find information about their CSA box (don’t worry if you aren’t immediately familiar with everything in your box, we’ll tell you what everything is and give you ideas on cooking all of these great vegetables).
All CSA posts can be found in the CSA category link that you should see in the toolbar to your right. Simply click on the “CSA” link and you can find all posts related to the CSA.
If there is a veggie that you are not familiar with or are looking for new ideas on using less familiar veggies try typing it into the search bar or click on the veggie in the list of veggies in today’s box. Veggie notes can also be found under the “food notes” category.
We will also be posting farm notes with updates and information on what we are working on and how the crops are doing. These notes can be found under the “farm notes” category.
Hopefully all this info will help you get the most out of your CSA boxes and will give you a look into what we do to grow your veggies. Please let us know, either via email or by commenting on a post if you have any questions.
Finally, thanks for your support. We hope that you are as excited for the start of this season as we are!
Bok Choi
Bok Choi (or Bok Choy or Pac Choy) is also known as Chinese Cabbage and is in fact related to cabbage as it is a member of the brassica family. It is normally white stemmed with green leaves, and we usually harvest it when it is full grown. Like most greens, it grows well in the cooler months of spring and fall. You may notice the flowering stem of the bok choi beginning to form. This is fine as the stems are tender and the flowers edible. Bok Choi can be eaten raw or cooked. Stir fries and soups are the most common use of this nutrient dense vegetable, but you can also grill it or blanch the leaves and use them as wrappers. Full size Bok Choi can be used in place of baby Bok Choi in any recipe. Use both the stem and leaves. To store, wrap Bok Choi in plastic (zip lock or grocery bag work) and wash only prior to using.
Garlic Scapes
The green pencil thin curly stem like vegetable is the flowering head of garlic, called a garlic scape. We harvest the scape for two reasons. First, by cutting off the flower of the garlic plant we are forcing it to spend its energy making nice big garlic bulbs instead of flowers. Second, they taste great! When cooked they are like the texture of a green bean, but have a mild garlicky taste. You can mince the scapes and use in place of garlic or treat them like any other vegetable, cutting into green bean size peices and adding to quiches, soups, sautés, etc. and cooking until tender. You can also have them raw — garlic scape pesto is one of our favorite spring dishes.
Grilled Garlic Scapes