CSA Week 3

Vegetable List
Braising Greens
Silver Surfer Cucumbers
German Extra Hearty Garlic
Red Tide Head Lettuce
Tropicana Head Lettuce
Napa Cabbage
Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
Pint 'o' Peas
Some kind of Zucchini and/or Summer Squash


Notes from the Farm
So the garlic is green... that means it's fresh. It comes with the tops on it, you can use them to flavor soups and whatnot, but it's 90 degrees out there and, honestly, you shouldn't be making soup.
The reason it's got it's tops isn't just for fashion or to up-sell the product, it's to keep the bulb good and in check. You see, if we cut the tops off the garlic before it's dried, it'll want to try and make more greens and start spouting out of the bulb... not ideal. The same thing happens to the onions you'll start seeing in the next 3 or 4 weeks, they come with fashionable tops, but it's not fashion, it's function... or fashionable function... I mean, garlic and onions really do look sharp with their hairdos intact, but the hairdos serve a purpose.
And the peas, the peas are the pod eating kind, don't try and shell them, you'll be disappointed They are sweet, but not super sweet yet... they are just barely set on the plants. It looks like there will be a good haul... these peas will shine cut up in a salad, mixed into with Napa Cabbage or used to brighten up a Carbonara.
The thing is, the thing we are well aware of, is that we get there is a lot of hype with local food, maybe too much hype... the food you get at farmers' markets, farmstands, or from a CSA can look different than the Hannafords versions of vegetables... sometimes you end up with food that not only looks different, but you can't even find in a grocery store...
Farmers' will pull all kinds of shenanigans to thrill the consumer... I mean, all we have is food... until CSAs start stocking toilet paper, dish-soap and beer, we know that you're going out of your way to get produce from us, and we know that it is out of the way, an additional stop on an otherwise overbooked schedule.
So we feel like we've got to do something to make it a little more fun, the food a little more beautiful, a little more fresh... and it's not even a little bit of an inconvenience for us, it's kind of fun. Because, I mean, as hot as it gets, as long as the days are, as fast as the weeds grow, we still get to farm for a living, it's a hell of a hustle... it's hard to believe we're allowed to do it... I keep waiting for someone to tell me to get a real job... and untill that day you'll be getting garlic with pizazz.


Recipes

Grilled Napa Cabbage

3 tablespoons hot Chinese mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon finely grated garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 head napa cabbage
1 large bunch scallions, roots trimmed

Heat grill to high. Mix together mustard, honey, 1 teaspoon oil, the garlic, and parsley. Cut cabbage lengthwise into half. Brush cabbage and scallions with remaining 2 teaspoons oil.
Grill cabbage, flat side down, 3 minutes. Flip, and continue to grill until charred. Remove from grill. Add scallions to grill, and cook until partially charred, flipping halfway through cooking, about 2 minutes total.
Brush cabbage and scallions on all sides with mustard glaze. Cut scallions lengthwise into thirds. Arrange cabbage on a platter, and top with scallions.


Zucchini Bruschetta

2 medium zucchini
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup minced shallot
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Toasted baguette slices
Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving

Shred zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. (You should have about 4 cups.) Toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a colander set over a bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture with your hands.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add shallot; cook 1 minute. Add zucchini; cook until tender and golden, 5 minutes. Stir in red-pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper. Serve atop baguette slices, drizzled with olive oil.

Cucumber Limeade
1  cucumber
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup ice cubes
1. Peel English cucumber; remove any seeds. Coarsely chop and combine in a blender with water, sugar, lime juice, coarse salt, and ice cubes; blend until smooth. Serve over ice, garnished with cucumber spears, if desired.