April 10, 2013 CSA - Water folk

What's in the box?

First Artichokes of the season

Asparagus, Beets, Turnips, Braising Greens, Radishes, Blood Oranges, Spring Onions, Old Garlic - Use it up!  Corn Flour,  Herbs - I'll do a tutorial on these later under a special post, Lilacs, Dry Beans and this weeks special gift:  Zuke Relish.  Two of you even got artichokes - mind the thorns, after all they are only thistles.

Remember, if you have a bag, you may not have received some of these items. 

This is probably the last week for asparagus, now it must rest till next spring.  Leo and I are going to try and compost it heavily this winter, to see if we can delay it till the CSA actually starts!

Asparagus going to Fern

Asparagus Cream


Makes 1 ½ cups
1 lb asparagus, snapped where they naturally bend (save the stems for asparagus stock)

2 ½ cups chicken stock or vege stock

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Salt to taste
Pour the chicken stock in a low pan and add the asparagus. Poach the asparagus, uncovered, until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool in the stock. Drain the asparagus but retain the stock.
Place the asparagus in a food processor with ½ cup of the stock. Add the garlic, lemon juice and salt to taste. Process to a smooth puree. (Add more lemon juice if you like.)
Spoon the cream into a small freezer container and freeze for up to 8 months. To defrost, place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, or place in a bowl of water on the counter. Do not leave at room temperature for more than four hours.  I stole this recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Eugenia Bone.  Please, give this a try on ravioli!  Oh yum!  

 Lots of life waiting to be planted

Braising Greens

Wash!  Use in Soup or Stir Fry. Add a little garlic to oil, add greens chopped in 1 inch pieces, cook 3 minutes.  Remove the mid ribs to get a better cooked green.  Leo and I used to go to sell at a farmer's market, where there was a marvelous vendor with the most interesting produce.  Every time I asked her how something was used, she would say, Stir Fry or Soup!  About 10 years later, Leo and I figured out that her entire diet consisted of Stir Fry and Soup.  The greens of turnips and beets can be used this same way.

Potatoes and Garlic

How about that Wind?

Shesh, It's too windy to plant, till or do anything other than water.  The roof blew off the chicken house.  Last year it flung itself on the barn roof.  This year it only landed in the field.  So until it calms down out there, I will have to content myself with continuing to plant things in trays in the green house.  That way, we'll try not to get behind.  Above, eggplant, peppers, herbs, flowers all waiting their chance for a piece of soil.  On the other side of this sprout house is all the squash you can imagine, after delivering today, I will start melons to trays as well.  Thankfully, not as many as last year.  Now that the trials are over.  If you tried to read the December trial and couldn't I fixed it today.  For some reason after the "Blogger" updates, they all came out backwards!

The rose that ate San Martin  

Once upon a time, a man took his son to the nursery to buy something for the boy's mother for Mother's Day.  The selected a wee miniature stick of a rose, and came home and planted it for her.

20 years went by, and the little bitty thing is eating the barn.  Note how the back of the barn is starting to fold under the weight of her.  Now you know why Leo will not let me plant any more vines.  I suspect in another 20 years, this rose will have swallowed the barn, the house, and probably me as well.    Right now she's in glorious bloom and smells like apples.  Alas the wind is frying flowers left and right.  Poor lilacs! 

Beth stopping to enjoy the morning.

Coming soon....spring garlic, so use that old stuff up. 

Have a great week.