CSA Starts Tomorrow!

Welcome summer veggies

Hello everyone and happy summer! We’ve officially reached the beginning of the CSA and it feels good to be harvesting again. Here’s what you’ll find in your shares tomorrow:

Half:

• Radish

• Lettuce mix

• Kale

• Shiso

• Komatsuna

Full: all listed above as well as

• Dill

• Snap peas

For those of you receiving a bouquet and won’t be home to bring it in right away, please remember to leave out a container of water for me to pop it in.

If you have any last minute questions or instructions for me about your share - now is the time to let me know!

A share that went out to Gig Harbor members last week

For returning members, I hope you’re excited to start cooking with some familiar ingredients again. For new members, I try to do a good job here of going over what any new to you item in a box is and how you can incorporate it into your kitchen. I’m guessing komatsuna and shiso might be the intimidating ingredients in this week’s box so let’s talk about them!

Gig Harbor members got komatsuna in their boxes last week - it is the bunched green with dark leaves in the photo of their share above. Taste and texture wise komatsuna is somewhere between a kale, a mustard, and spinach - managing to be more versatile than most mustards while more interesting than spinach and not as tough as kale. A triple threat vegetable, if you will.

Despite looking for them, as it isn't a commonly used vegetable in this country I haven't found any specific recipes to share that I've tried and love. But honestly you don't need one. A short, simple saute with olive or sesame oil and some salt and you already have a delicious side for stir fries or pasta. Chop it up and use it the same way you would kale or spinach in other recipes, or toss it directly into a salad. You'll get more of it throughout the season so no need to be precious about it - experiment to see how you enjoy it most! (Forgive the repeat info GH crew.)

Tedra's flower farm + first bouquet

Shiso is an herb that is commonly used in Japanese cooking and as a garnish for dishes. It feels pretentious to say something has a complex depth of flavor but…it does! I think I mentioned this in last year’s email where I introduced it but for whatever reason it reminds me a bit of apricots, and I like putting the leaves in a glass of ice water the way you would mint. It’s also great thrown into or on top of stir fry or used as a wrapper for rice or meat dishes (I’d maybe give it a quick blanch if the raw texture isn’t your thing before using it this way). Let me know how you end up using it!

I was lucky enough to have an old friend come by the farm last Friday to help transplant for a few hours and we were talking about vegetables, as one does while transplanting. I told him it was possible no one would be sad if I stopped growing kale, even though for me it is an empty fridge ingredient - something that makes your fridge feel empty when you are out of it even if it is in fact full. He vehemently agreed and added cabbage to that list which just reaffirmed our friendship based on our mutual love of brassicas.

Maybe I don’t need to convince you to love kale. Maybe you are already fully on board. Maybe you were really into kale at one point but now the passion is gone and you’re just not feeling it any more. Maybe you’re in the camp of people who think it tastes like dirt and to you I say you’re wrong and I’m sorry, you’re still getting kale because it’s my CSA and I make the rules. But I say that nicely because I like you, notwithstanding your incorrect opinions about kale.

What your veggies have been listening to lately

Anyway let me stop making you feel weird about kale and just give you a recipe for how to make it delicious, yeah? This comes from Hetty McKinnon’s book Tenderheart and as a reminder all these book recommendations will be living here from now on!

A Sesame-Infused Kale Salad

• 6 ounces kale leaves (from 1 bunch), torn

• 1 garlic clove, grated

• 2½ tablespoons lime or lemon juice

• 2½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil

• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 avocado, roughly diced

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (black, white or both)

• 2 green onions, finely sliced

• 1 mild chile (red or green), finely sliced (optional)

• black pepper

Place the kale in a large bowl. Add the garlic, lime or lemon juice, sesame oil, olive oil, avocado and sea salt. Using clean hands, massage everything together, squeezing the avocado into the leaves, until the kale is completely coated and softened. Add the sesame seeds, green onion, chile (if using) and season with a few turns of black pepper. Serve immediately.

Hetty suggests this recipe can be bulked up by adding chickpeas, quinoa, or tofu and can be easily riffed on by adding your own favorites to the dressing. Maybe an extra sesame hit from tahini or a bit more spice from a chili crisp. It’s easy to play around with!

Happy eating everyone!

~ Madeleine