Another wonderful week. It sure is nice to say this.  I love it when we harvest a crop and within 24 hours something new moves in.  The Chinese Cabbage was harvested in the morning and by the next morning 200 kohlrabi starts took their place.  Same for the Radishes.  They were out-Scott does his magic, cleans everything up,  prepares the area and says “it’s ready for you” and I had Daikon Radish seeds planted by supper.  Things are running pretty smoothly around here.  We are staying ahead of the weeds and all crops seem to be settling in.  We laughed on the first day of Summer because we both said “Man, it’s over”…..if it isn’t planted or planned by now we are out of time….crazy to think this way.

A quick photo tour of the garden.

This nice lady greets me at the greenhouse.

Tomatoes ripening on the vine.

Beautiful Potato Flowers.

Broccoli Plants starting to head up.

One of us will soon be eating this little cucumber.

One of the cucumber rows.

Savoy Cabbage just starting to head.

The Garden offered up many options this week and  it was hard to winnow down the selection so we were certain the box lid would close (a common mid summer problem), and that we would not all be overwhelmed with leafy green overload.  Fodder!-In Scott’s words.   Over 3.5 inches of rain fell last week. Gratefully we have not had any flooding issues and even though it is wet and mucky in places we are thriving.

WHAT IS IN YOU BOX

Lettuce-A sweet, dark leafed head.  It glows under the row cover when the sun is just right.  A favorite, and makes a beautiful salad.  A second lime green lettuce is also included this week.  We were unimpressed with it’s performance but it is very tasty.  It’s called “prize head”-not in our book.  Anyway, an add on here it will make a pretty accent in the salad bowl.

Sugar Snap Peas-They are here!  Our first picking through a huge patch….this is just the beginning!  This variety is called Sugar Ann.  The earliest sugar snap pea to produce in our area.  Ripening few days ahead of the others.  You can eat the entire pea-pod and all.  Great for snacking.

Chinese Cabbage-WOW! These loved the cool Spring.  HUGE! heads.  Will hold well in the refrigerator for a looooooong time. We cut it in 1/2 soak it in the sink in cool water, rinse and store it in sealable plastic bags in the fridge ready for future use. Tastes great raw too in salads or on sandwiches.  A few interesting recipes at the end of this post too.

Salad Turnips- We are harvesting all 4 varieties this week.  Scarlets are the spicier ones-whites quite mild.  Remember the greens are edible too.  Sauté and serve as a side or atop  a bowl of your favorite pasta dish.

Fennel-Another crop that really loved the cool Spring….this is the first harvest of more to come.  Fennel fronds taste really delicious added to water with citrus wedges (lime, lemon, orange).  Very refreshing.

Radish-A small forgotten patch.  We seeded an area in and covered it with row cover and forgot about it until this week.  So, the last few gems until Fall.

Cilantro-A nice flavorful bunch.  A quick salad dressing is olive oil and lime with a bit of chopped cilantro mixed in.  Or added to a favorite mexican dish.

Strawberries-Baraboo Group only.  Delicious and Sweet.  We are thrilled that we are able to add this crop to our CSA weekly offering.

The “extra/trade” box  will have a few surprises…..snow peas (the delicious long skinny guys) have just started to produce-grab a handful if you wish.  A few smaller heads of broccoli and some monster heads of chinese cabbage too.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK

lettuce, kale, garlic scapes, peas, broccoli

Coconut Cilantro Rice

This is a guest post from For the Love of Cooking.

After looking online for different Asian rice recipes, I decided to make my own version of coconut cilantro rice. In this recipe I used light coconut milk (because that’s what I had on hand) but if you want the rice to have a stronger coconut flavor and to be extra rich then you should definitely use regular coconut milk. I think the cilantro gave it an extra special flavor and it really paired perfectly with the Asian Salmon and the Garlic-Ginger Bok Choy Sauté.  It turned out really delicious and we all loved it, even my daughter, who usually doesn’t care for rice.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring often so the rice doesn’t stick to the pan, for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk then season with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low. Cover and let cook 20 minutes.

Remove the rice from the burner without removing the lid and let it sit for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and mix until well combined. Taste & re-season if needed. Serve and enjoy.

Print

Coconut Cilantro RiceYield: 4-5

Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring often so the rice doesn’t stick to the pan, for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk then season with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low. Cover and let cook 20 minutes.

Remove the rice from the burner without removing the lid and let it sit for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and mix until well combined. Taste & re-season if needed. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

 

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Recipe for Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro

This Spicy Mexican Slaw is a salad I make over and over again!

Don’t you love it when you stumble on a recipe with such a perfect combination of ingredients that after one bite you know you’ll be making it over and over again? That’s just how I felt when I tasted this fabulous cabbage salad. I have in fact made it two more times in less than two weeks, and completely loved it each time. As soon as I read the recipe in Fine Cooking Annual 2008, with an ingredient list that included cabbage, cilantro, mayo, and lime I knew I’d be making it soon. I did adapt the recipe a little, and since I like my cabbage salads to stay crunchy, I completely ignored the recipe instructions to salt and drain the cabbage.

Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro
(Makes about 4 servings, recipe can be easily doubled. Recipe adapted slightly fromFine Cooking Annual 2008.)

Ingredients:
4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
(You can use all green or all red cabbage.)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or more)
4 T mayo
3 T fresh lime juice (more or less to taste)
hot sauce to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp. green Tabasco sauce when I first made this, but lately I’ve been using Sriracha sauce)
salt to taste (I used Vege-Sal)

Instructions:

Thinly slice cabbage, using a mandoline or food processor if desired. Slice green onions, and wash, dry and chop cilantro. (I use a Mini salad spinner to wash herbs and spin them dry.) Combine cabbage, green onions and cilantro in large salad bowl.

In small bowl, whisk together, mayo, lime juice, and hot sauce. (You may want to start with less than the full amount of lime juice and hot sauce and keep adding until you have the desired blend of sour/hot flavor.)

Use a wooden spoon to mix dressing into cabbage mixture. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately, or chill for a few hours.

This salad will keep well overnight in the refrigerator, but the lime juice will cause the red cabbage to bleed color and turn the salad slightly pink. If you’re making extra you might want to use all green cabbage, although I didn’t mind the pink color at all when I ate the leftovers!

Printer Friendly Recipe

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By: starvingchef

 

{mustard glazed chinese cabbage}[gluten-free]

Ingredients:

1 chinese cabbage, cut into quarters

Marinate:

1 ts honey

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 ts olive oil

1 ts dijon mustard

Method:

Mix all ingredients for the marinate and glaze the cabbage with it. Place them onto a baking sheet and bake it until they are golden brown. Sprinkle it with chopped scallion when served.

Easy Chinese Cabbage Soup

Printable recipe
By Pig Pig’s Corner

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 head Chinese cabbage – cut into strips
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 3 tbs goji berries
•  Salt
•  White pepper powder

Directions:

• Place chicken stock into a pot and bring to boil.
• Add all the cabbage and leave to cook until they are wilted. This should take about 10 mins or less. [1 1/2 cups of liquid is not enough to cover all the cabbage, don’t worry, the cabbage leaves give out a lot of water.]
• When all the leaves are soft, add goji berries and leave to simmer for another 5 mins.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Variations:

• Marmite works well too.
• If I run out of low sodium chicken stock, I use water + a bit of Knorr chicken powder.

  

Chinese Cabbage & Fennel Salad

This salad is crisp and tastes really refreshing!

Ingredients for 2 servings

-1 fennel bulb/1 φινόκιο
-1 Chinese cabbage/1 Κινέζικο λάχανο
-2 stalks spring garlic/2 πράσινα σκόρδα
-1 green apple/1 πράσινο μήλο
-1 lime/1 λαϊμ
-1 tsp mustard/ 1 κ.γ. μουστάρδα
-2 tbsp olive oil/2 κ.σ. ελαιόλαδο
-some leaves of the fennel/λίγο φρέσκο μάραθο (το πάνω μέρος από το φινόκιο)
-salt to taste/αλάτι
-3 tbsp raw pine nuts/ 3 κ.σ. ωμο κουκουνάρι

Finely chop the Chinese cabbage, the fennel bulb, some of the fennel leaves and the apple. Juice the lime and mix with olive oil, mustard and salt. In a bowl mix the salad, pour in the dressing and top with pine nuts.