Howdy folks and welcome to week three of the Tumbleweed Farm CSA! We hope you enjoyed the bounty last week and were able to cook a few tasty meals and clink glasses with some good company. If you're ever struggling to get through your box shoot us an email and we can suggest even more recipe ideas. We have unlimited ways of cooking/preparing any and all of the greens so if you need a little inspiration don't hesitate to ask. Our goal is to keep the recipes simple, quick and most importantly tasty.
The news from the farm this week is pretty good. The spring greens are continuing to crank in the fields and with the slightly cooler weather they have been much happier (us too!) We have peas that are really close to being ready and should likely be in your boxes next week (fingers crossed!) The summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers are only a week or two out which we're really stoked about. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are looking nice as well and continue to grow an inch taller every single day! Those puppies wont be ready until sometime in July but we think it's going to be a good harvest year for them.
Anyhow, it looks like we're due for another nice week at the Farm. The weather has been pretty warm but nothing compared to a few weeks back. The deer have still been coming for evening visits and we've officially moved from our house into a tent in the fields so we can stay on alert. They can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time and the electric deer fence we have doesn't seem to phase them. Any hunters out there are welcome to come camp out with us anytime!
Alright, we hope you have a wonderful week full of tasty meals enjoyed with good company. Below is a list of the contents of your box followed by the "recipe of the week".
HARVEST 3
- HEAD LETTUCE-You know what to do!
- GARLIC SCAPES-this is the last week for them so we hope you enjoy them!
- BOK CHOY-try making Bok Choy & Soba Noodles with Sesame Ginger Dressing & Fried Egg
- CHINESE CABBAGE- It looks a little like bok choy and tastes great in similar recipes. We like roughly chopping it and mixing it with soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and lime juice. Serve with minced cilantro, peanuts, radishes and crushed red pepper flakes for a simple salad.
- SWISS CHARD-One of my all time favorite greens. See the recipe of the week for a delicious and simple way to prepare it.
- CILANTRO-tastes great prepared with the bok choy or Chinese cabbage
- DILL-One of my favorite herbs! Tastes great added to lemon pasta, avocado toast, salmon or the recipe of the week below.
- WHITE ICICLE RADISHES-we love this variety of radish. It's got a little more of a spicy bite to it than the other varieties but it is more crunchy and tastes great raw or even roasted.
- MICRO GREENS- Great as a garnish, tossed into salads, pasta, eggs or sandwhiches
- ARUGULA OR MUSTARD GREENS-Half of you folks received arugula while the other half of you received mustard greens. Both taste great raw, sautéed or whipped into pesto.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Garlicky Swiss Chard & Chickpea Stir Fry
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil (or oil of choice)
- 4 garlic scapes, finely chopped (or sub with 4 cloves of thinly sliced garlic)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 large bunch of swiss chard, ribs and stems chopped into 1/4 inch pieces and leaves coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (if from the can rinsed and drained)
- 1/2 cup raisins (soaked in warm water for 5 minutes to soften)
- salt + pepper to taste
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice + more to taste
- 2-3 Tablespoons minced dill
- goat milk feta cheese for topping (optional)
Directions
- In a large skillet over medium high heat lightly toast the chopped almonds; about 3 minutes. Shake the pan multiple times throughout toasting. Remove the almonds from the pan and place in a bowl.
- In the same skillet add the 2 1/2 Tablespoons of oil and heat over medium. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden. About 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, chard stems and chickpeas. Continue to cook, stirring often until the chard stems soften and the chickpeas brown up a bit. About 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in chard leaves and cook, tossing occasionally, until the leaves are wilted, about 4 minutes.
- Turn of the heat and add the raisins, a healthy pinch of salt + pepper and 1 heaping Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Divide among plates and top each portion with fresh dill and a sprinkle of feta cheese.