CSA Week 4

Vegetable List
Baby Mix Lettuce
Booya Broccoli
Cucumborama
German Extra Hearty Garlic
White Russian Kale
New Red Fire Head Lettuce
Ailsa Craig Onions
Sungolds
Tomatoes
Some Kind Of Zucchini and/or Summer Squash


Notes from the Farm
We are here now, now more than ever, at the turning point of green to weight.
We start our membership program a little later than some farms. Back in the day, the good ole days, we started almost a mother earlier. It was nice... nice to see the faces of the membership, nice to have some motivation to get going, nice to feel needed.
The hard part of starting early is dealing with Greens Fatigue. Greens Fatigue is a real thing, and I'd never judge anyone who has quietly suffered in a kitchen piled with kale. You see, we live in Maine, and although we do the best we can to muscle as many tomatoes and ears of corn we can into your summer, sometimes the reality of a three month growing season comes around to collect it's due... when eating locally, the cooking green is king, especially in late spring early summer.
So we start a little later. We love the greens, but we don't want anyone to be exasperated by the time the first zucchini or tomato comes around. We might have a week or two of heavy green, but typically we try and take a balanced pantry approach, hoping to not overload you in one kind of food or another.
This week is the turning point. This week we have more weighable food than bunched green food. Weighable food is a concept we use for fruiting vegetables. Broccoli, cukes, tomatoes and corn... and while we don't always weigh that food for sale, it does have weight, and so, it is the weighable food. I love the first share of the year that features substantially more weighable food than leafy greens, and that is happening right now, this week, it's all happening... here and now.


Recipes
Broccoli With Olives 1 head broccoli, cut into medium florets
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup pitted and slivered Kalamata olives
Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Put broccoli in a steamer basket over boiling water, cover, and steam until just tender, about 7 minutes. Briefly plunge into ice-water bath. Drain; pat dry.
Heat 1/4 cup oil in a wide saute pan over medium heat. Add half of the broccoli, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in half of the olives. Cook until heated through. Transfer to a serving dish; cover. Repeat with remaining oil, broccoli, salt, pepper, and olives. Combine batches. Serve immediately.


Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing 1 large bunches kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup salted peanuts, plus 1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Toss kale, bell pepper, and carrots in a large bowl.
Puree vegetable oil, cider vinegar, salted peanuts, light-brown sugar, and coarse salt in a blender until smooth.
Pour dressing over vegetables just before serving. Sprinkle with salted peanuts, coarsely chopped.


Gazpacho Salad with Croutons 1/4 small sweet onion, such as Vidalia, or red onion, diced (1/4 cup)
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound small tomatoes, such as Campari, sliced crosswise
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 mini cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch half-moons
2 slices country-style bread (2 ounces), crusts removed
1. Place onion in a small bowl of ice water. Let stand 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry.
2. Using a Microplane, finely grate garlic into a small bowl. Whisk in Dijon and vinegar. Slowly drizzle in oil in a steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Arrange tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, and onion on a platter. Toast bread, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes and sprinkle over salad. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with vinaigrette; serve.