CSA Week 6
The plan is you should have corn, cucumbers, blueberries, peppers, some sort of choi, tomatoes, basil
Are you planning on making lots of pickles? Or just having a cucumber binge? Now is the time to get bulk cukes for whatever you are making. There is plenty of squash too! Let me know what market location or a CSA location where you see us to pick up as many half bushel boxes you like this week and we will give you the CSA discount!
I know you have seen some kind of choi already and iiiiit’s baaaaack : )We grow quite a few varieties of Asian greens here is the rundown of what we’ve got so you can identify what’s what:
Bok choy, bok choi, pak choy, pak choi, napa, Chinese cabbage…what’s what? Well, bok/pak choy/choi are the same but different from the napa/Chinese cabbage which are the same. And it’s not even that simple, because there are dozens of specialized varieties within each category. I’m no expert, believe me! Last season I had quite a long conversation through a translator with a lady looking for what I think was a type of choi that must have looked something like some seedlings we had. I was kinda banking on a green stemmed choi. Anyway, when the gentleman translating for her looked up the specific word she was calling the choi, it simply translated as “vegetable”. That brought on giggles from all involved. LOL. I love the Kitazawa Seed catalog for the very purpose of looking stuff up. They offer at least 20 varieties! Directly from them:
“This graceful vegetable with Chinese origins has spread throughout Asia and beyond, developing a wide range of varieties. The most typical Pak Choi features dark green leaves atop white spoon-shaped upright stems. Stems vary considerably in thickness and shape, and in some varieties they are green. One variety produces a rosette of dark green leaves close to the ground. There are specialty pak chois that have frilly leaves to light yellow-green color. The slight mustardy flavor of Pak Choi makes it a delightful addition to stir-fries, soups, noodle and meat dishes, and salads, if the young leaves are used. In China, the coarser leaves are often pickled. Some Chinese cooks also dip the leaves in boiling water and hang them out to dry in the sun for several days. Drying enables this highly perishable vegetable to be stored for winter months. Asian cooks use the entire plant at many stages of development.”
We grow mostly what is categorized as “white stemmed” pak choi including Tatsai and Joi Choi, but we also grow the “green stemmed” Mei Qing and Tatsoi, and the “red-stemmed” Red Tatsoi, Dahong, and Purple Choi. We also grow Beka Santoh, a light green frilly, loose head Chinese cabbage, Chirimen Hakusai, a savoyed loose leaf Chinese cabbage, or Maruba Santoh, a bright green round leaf on white stems…
WOWSER!
Recipes
Bok Choy
Don’t be dismayed when every recipe you search calls for “baby” choi, the full size one is wonderful too and gives you plenty of crispy stalk to enjoy best in a stir fry. Yes, you can just steam it and pile it on rice, or add to your ramen bowl, but my favorite is tossed around quickly in hot oil.
Quickie choy/choi
Heat 1 Tb oil in fry pan, add 2 gloves minced garlic, good pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, a little grated ginger (or use ground at the end), cook a couple minutes, add sliced stalks and cook for few minutes, add chopped greens, a glug glug of soy sauce and a glug (a tsp?) of sesame oil and cook until the greens are wilted. If you are serving with rice, start the choy about 5 minutes before the rice will be done 😉
Baby bok choi is actually a different plant than the regular, it does not mean it was picked young 😉
Thanks to those who sent me some recipe ideas! Where are yours? 🙂
Tonya says they loved this zucchini recipe! I am looking forward to trying this one: https://damndelicious.net/2014/04/02/zucchini-fritters/
Member Laura sends me this: Here is a lovely green bean and summer squash salad from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking, which is a bit of a veg bible for me.
Squash noodles and cheese – not catchy sounding, but good to eat. Heck, any vehicle for butter or cheese is awesome in my book! I have been making my regular, old-school cheese sauce (you have your own recipe right? make a white sauce, add lots of cheese, season with some cayenne, garlic, pepper…) and 100% squash noodles for mac and cheese these days. No one is missing the pasta. Do not forget the salting and draining process! Below is a recipe concocted last year…kind of cheater sauce with the marscapone. After a fair amount of experimentation, I would add the seasoning to the sauce, skip the pasta, and simply squeeze extra moisture out of the squash, skipping the saute and just bake the squash noodles in the cheese sauce until bubbly. One less pan to clean 🙂
This warm weather is perfect for my favorite summer pasta dish. Tear up the tomatoes and basil, marinate in olive oil, s & p, minced garlic, and brie or fresh mozzarella. Toss in hot, cooked pasta and YUM!
Farm Dirt
I am reminded today of the non-stop rain last summer and how horrible it was to even function. The heat is much preferred and we have the ability to irrigate most crops on the farm. When Glenn lays all the plastic for weed suppression, he also lays drip tape under the plastic, at the same time. Drip irrigation puts the water right where we need it, conserving resources and not running off.
If you are headed out to the farm for berry or any other picking, please remember to wear a hat, sensible shoes and hydrate.
Faith and I went on a road trip to see colleges in Virginia. and we headed home today, but I quit just north of Baltimore, got a hotel room and am madly typing this letter. We will stop in PA to look at a couple more schools on the way through tomorrow. A big shout out to my cousins in Charlottesville for taking such nice care of us while we were there and if you are ever in the area, check out their shop Hunt Country Market and Deli.
Of course the exciting bird activity happened while I was gone. One day Glenn rescued a Chimney Swift that had dropped down the chimney, so he climbed onto the roof and put it back in the chimney. The next day, all the babies had fallen down, so this time he put them up on top of the Rumford shelf inside the chimney and listed through out the day to hear the parents had found them and were feeding them down there. This afternoon he reported they must have climbed up the chimney side and gotten back into the nest. They have absolutely crazy claws? talons? All’s well that ends well.
Eat well,
Geneviève Stillman
