CSA Newsletter July 11, 2020

Cheers for Garlic!

This hot week was garlic-digging time and the crew went at it with digging forks and good spirit! 

And now IN YOUR SHARE YOU HAVE:

GARLIC!

Garlic posing with her cousins in the Lily family

CARROTS! new this week!

Bunched below - ready for bunching above!

BEETS! new!

Many shares have red and golden beets

 SCALLIONS - not new, but not much longer

Ashleh still smiling after a long hot day!

KALE - curly

The best kale for kale chips!

CHARD - rainbow chard, multi-colored stems

Edible art!

KOHLRABI 

Peel then slice for a hummus dipper

ZUCCHINI/SUMMER SQUASH - easily identifiable!

DILL

Getting ready to pick a long row of dill!

STORAGE TIPS: Beets and carrots store best with the greens removed. But save those beet greens - they are loaded with vitamins and minerals - more than the beets themselves. Toss them into a stir-fry, cook on their own as a side dish, or even blend some into a smoothie for a nutrition boost. It's tempting to use those carrot greens as well, but read up on the potential toxicity here first.

Everything else does fine with a quick dunk, dried and put in a plastic or vegetable-keeper bag for the fridge.

Dill freezes easily and retains its flavor better than when dried. After rinsing and drying, chop the dill, place in small plastic bag and into the freezer. 

RECIPE IDEAS:

GARLIC Seeds of Wisdom - Cook fresh garlic quickly over high heat for a sharp, pungent flavor. Cook it slowly over low heat for a soft, warm taste. Or serve it minced and raw for a real bite. *

With those suggestions in mind, we can "cook fresh garlic quickly over high heat" with our Simple Summer Squash Saute, p. 69 in Recipes from the Holler, your Frog Holler recipe book. Uses your zucchini, garlic, scallions and even dill if you're inclined!

To cook garlic slowly, try roasting the whole head to achieve a soft, creamy, caramelized result. 

And as for "minced and raw for a real bite" there's always hummus, p. 84 in your Frog Holler recipe book or click the link.  Lately, however, we have been roasting garlic before adding it to hummus. It softens the bite and adds a bit more complexity to the garlic element.

For BEETS we would be remiss if we didn't point you to Kazakhstan Beet Caviar in your Frog Holler recipe book, p. 83. It also calls for garlic - you decide if you want a real bite or if you want to roast first. There are many ways to appreciate this unique approach to beets - on crackers, as a side dish - and the recipe really did come from an intern who stayed in Kazakhstan. You can probably find variations on the web. 

KALE - is kale "over"? A response from one of our favorite food blogs, Oh She Glows:

I know some people are eager to claim that kale is “over” due to its popularity in recent years, but seeing as it’s still rated number #1 (along with Mustard/Turnip/Collard Greens) on the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI), I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon. At least not in my diet. Kale for life!

Hopefully that inspires you to appreciate the kale that will appear in just about every share this summer! For a change from stir-fry, an excellent Kale Chips recipe is linked in the caption for Kale. 

CARROTS - First carrots of the season? Have a munch! Or pair them with your kohlrabi and hummus for a nice color-contrasting dipping experience! Gingered Carrots, p. 73 in the Frog Holler recipe book, are also a favorite way to prepare.

*https://joansbolton.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/garlic-the-stinking-rose/

NOTES FROM THE FARM: the week of the "stinking rose'!

Garlic has been called the stinking rose for nearly a century, thanks to a French writer and physician, Henri Leclerc, who in 1918 roughly translated garlic’s ancient Greek name, scorodon, to skaion rodon, and then to rose puante, or stinking rose. *

Although garlic is in the Lily family (along with tulips and, of course, lilies), roses are not in the Lily family. But the "stinking rose" nickname has been affectionately embraced by garlic lovers; there is even  a popular California restaurant named "The Stinking Rose" and renowned for including garlic in every dish. (now temporarily closed )

Garlic, like many garden crops, requires patience and delayed gratification. We plan and we plant; we weed and we wait. Garlic, however, might win the delayed gratification prize, requiring planting in the year before harvest!

Since Cale and Ashleh were on the team right to the end last year, here they are planting the garlic last November, along with their helpful friend Kirk, and the King bros.

A sunny day in November

And now Cale and Ashleh get to dig that garlic on a sunny day in July!

Ashleh digs while Cale gathers the loosened garlic bulbs

Next step is to bundle and hang the garlic for drying. It's still not ready!

Cale, Ashleh and Milan bundle the garlic for hanging. Photo taken from atop the scaffolding where we hang the bundles high in the rafters of the pole barn.

Garlic must dry and cure to become the helpful culinary addition to meals throughout the winter. So why do you have garlic in your share now? We knew you couldn't wait! And we have enough garlic to dry and store as well as harvest and share. Use fresh garlic just as you would dried garlic; you can keep it on your counter if you use it in a week - otherwise refrigerate.

Well, a "stinking rose" by any other name would smell as ...pungent, earthy and filed with possibilities!

We hope you enjoyed this little garlic adventure and that you enjoy your garlic! 

 

And there's more to harvest!

Have a great week everyone - thanks for bringing your boxes back!