What’s In The Box with Recipe Suggestions
Spinach: We’re almost finished with our spring crops of spinach. Enjoy either of these as a fresh salad or lightly wilt them into pasta or on a pizza.
Moroccan Salad with Cilantro Orange Dressing
Purple and/or White Scallions: Purple scallions add flavor and color to summer vegetable and grain salads, stir-fries, or use them as a garnish for eggs, soups or salads.
Spicy Kale & Coconut Fried Rice
Salad Mix: This mix is a blend of baby lettuce varieties mixed with flavorful Asian greens. It is more delicate, thus is best dressed with a light vinaigrette just before serving.
Strawberry Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
White and/or Purple Kohlrabi: There are so many ways to enjoy kohlrabi…there’s got to be some way you’ll enjoy this vegetable when it’s in season!
Kohlrabi Slaw with Coconut & Cilantro
Strawberries: The last few days have been rainy which means the berries might be more perishable. Keep them cold and eat them soon or freeze them. They’re delicious on breakfast cereal or yogurt.
Strawberry Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
Green and/or Italian and/or Yellow Scallop Squash: It is best to store zucchini at either room temperature or in a warmer location with a temperature of 45-50°F. If you store it in the refrigerator you risk it getting chill injury.
Garlic Scapes: Nearly all of the scape is usable, and no need to peel. The tail end is sometimes tough and should be discarded. You’ll notice a white bulb-like portion near the end of the garlic scape. There is a lot of flavor packed in that part of the plant. Slice it in half and peel back the outer layer which is more tough. Use the contents of that little white pouch just as you would use the remainder of the scape.
Grilled Garlic Cilantro Chicken Skewers
Green Romaine Lettuce: Cut the base of the lettuce to separate the leaves and wash vigorously in a sink of cold water before using. For optimal storage, be sure to dry the leaves before storing in the refrigerator.
Thai Larb (Thai Lettuce Wraps with Chicken)
Green Salad with Radishes and Creamy Mustard Dressing
Green and/or Red Leaf Lettuce: This tender lettuce is best used in fresh salads dressed with a vinaigrette or light, creamy dressing. It is also good piled high on a sandwich. Store in the refrigerator in a loosely wrapped plastic bag. Wash and dry the leaves well before using.
Spring Salad with Garlic Scape Herbed Croutons
Broccoli: This is a big broccoli harvest week! Don’t let the stem go to waste. Thinly peel away the outer skin and you’ll find the flesh inside is tender and sweet.
Fennel: This is the long, slender vegetable with a white bulb and soft, feathery stalks. Take a moment to read this week’s vegetable feature for more information about this unique vegetable.
Summer Vegetable Lasagna Casserole
Roasted Fennel & White Bean Dip
Green and/or Silver Slicer Cucumbers: If you receive a pale-yellow cucumber-like vegetable in your box this week, you received a silver slicer cucumber! Both green and silver slicer cucumbers are good for fresh eating and the skin is usually tender enough that you don’t need to peel them.
Cold Noodles with Miso Lime and Ginger
Middle Eastern Chicken Burgers with a Yogurt Cucumber Sauce
Vegetable Feature: Fennel
Fennel is often one of those vegetables that people either love or are still learning to like. There are many ways to utilize fennel and every year we encourage those in the latter group to approach fennel with an open mind and consider trying it in a new recipe. Back in 2019, we curated an extensive list of recipes to guide members in finding ways to utilize all parts of fennel. If you don’t have a recipe in mind this week, or this is your first time utilizing fennel, I encourage you to refer back to that blog post and take advantage of that list.
One of the unique characteristics about fennel is that all parts of the plant above ground are usable. The white bulb is the most commonly used portion, but the stalks and feathery fronds that extend from the bulb are also edible. The stalks can be more tough and fibrous, but they have a lot of flavor. The feathery parts that resemble dill are actually called fronds. They have a mild flavor and can be used more like an herb.
Fennel may be eaten raw and cooked. It pairs well with a variety of ingredients and flavors, so when you’re looking at recipes, you’ll likely see similar ingredients show up time after time. Fennel pairs well with lemons and oranges as well as herbs such as dill, parsley and basil. It also plays well with beets, tomatoes, celery, onions, carrots, potatoes, pomegranate, apples, stone fruit and berries. It is often used in dishes along with Parmesan, cream and white wine which come together to make a delicious sauce. Lastly, fennel pairs well with seafood, especially in soups and chowders, and pork products including sausage, pancetta, prosciutto, fresh pork cuts and more. While most think of fennel as a vegetable to use in savory dishes, it can also be used in sweet preparations paired with honey, citrus, berries, etc.
The stalk and bulb typically have the strongest flavor. If you enjoy the flavor of fennel, you’ll likely enjoy it raw. I have one very important point to make about eating fennel raw. It must be sliced very thin, like paper thin! Fennel bulb is very fibrous and dense. If you slice it thinly it is more tender and enjoyable to eat, plus it mingles better with other flavors in the dish. In its raw form, fennel bulbs are often used in simple raw salads and can also be used in fresh salsas, pickled, or preserved in alcohol to make your own digestif. When you cook fennel, the essential oils that give it its distinct flavor and aroma volatilize, and the flavor and aroma of fennel mellows and becomes milder and sweeter. Thus, those who find the flavor of fennel too strong when eaten raw often prefer to prepare fennel by cooking it. Fennel is delicious when roasted, simmered into sauces and soups, or sautéed and then added to recipes such as meatballs, warm grain salads, compotes, etc.
The stalk may be eaten but seldom is. Rather it is often used for flavoring. Consider saving the stalks and add them to vegetable or meat broth or just stick the whole stalk directly into a pot of soup to flavor it while cooking and then pull it out before serving. It can also be used as a stirring stick for cocktails or use it to flavor water, lemonade, etc. Last but not least, let’s talk about the mild, feathery fronds. Chop them up and use them as an herb-like garnish on salads, stirred into soups, cooked rice or as a final topping on a pizza. You can also blend them into smoothies and drinks or use them to make a cocktail. They may also be used to make Fennel Frond Salt or Fennel Frond Pesto, using only fennel fronds or you could blend in some fresh basil or parsley as well. Fennel frond pesto would make a lovely sauce for salmon, toss it with pasta, use it as a sandwich spread or mix it with mayonnaise and make a dipping sauce for fish or chicken strips!
Fennel should be stored in a plastic bag or other closed container in the refrigerator to keep it crisp until you are ready to use it. Take the time to wash the fennel bulb well before using it. Sometimes a little dirt can get in between the layers of the bulb as it grows. The layers of the bulb are held together by the core at its base. You may wish to leave the core intact to hold the layers together, such as when you may cut it into wedges and roast it. In other recipes where you may want the layers to fall apart, cut the core out of the base of the bulb and you’re ready to go.
In addition to its culinary value, fennel has some health benefits. It can soothe the stomach and GI tract; thus, it’s often used to help with digestion. It can also freshen breath and has other potential health benefits including being antibacterial and working as an antioxidant to remove free radicals in our bodies. It is high in fiber and vitamin C in particular.
Short & Sweet Weekly Farm Update
This has been what we call a ‘challenging’ week. It is not a disaster but challenging to work around days of high heat in the 90’s and then start the week with a downpour of 2-3 inches of rain in a short time. The crops are okay, there is some wind damage, and the strawberries did not like the heat! The challenge now is working around more rain showers and muddy fields.
New crops are coming into the packing shed, including beets, cucumbers, cauliflower, beans and peas. The potato field looks beautiful and are blooming already! The sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and melons all put on a growth spurt from the change from cool, cloudy weather to the hot sunshine.
We are preparing for our Organic inspection coming up next week. Then after that we have our Food Safety inspection the following week! Luckily, we have been through these inspections plenty of times and stay up to date with all the copies and paperwork we need for the actual inspections. More reports coming in the future about the inspections coming soon!
