CSA Newsletter for the Week of May 24th
Raining and its almost June? What a crazy spring!
We have been busy planting our winter squash, more roots and our dry farmed Early Girl tomatoes. We have been spending our time trying to get ahead of the weeds and make time for other things like planting. This late rain has created the perfect combination for super weeds! It has been very time consuming to say the least. This coupled with insane gophers in our tomato patch has keep me going.
In your box this week:
Avocadoes, green chard, fennel, green or napa cabbage (or strawberries) , carrots, German Butterball potatoes (or snap peas) , snow peas, meyer lemons, lots of fava beans
I realize that sometimes my post comes on tuesday instead of monday, and today its already wednesday evening. I’m going to blame it on the gophers I’ve been at war with.
I am in the process of learning how to delgate some of my office responsibilities - not an easy task for someone like me! Soon Jessica will be helping with writing some recipes and preparations tips, along with good ways to store the produce you get each week and more explanation on when something is ready to eat…
Some things come natural for people but until you know about different varieties and how they are best eaten and when, it might be a little confusing. For instance: Bacon Avocadoes are not going to turn black to let you know that they are ready. They stay green but turn soft. I would eat them when they are soft to the touch, but before they turn black. You are going to have to touch your avocado to figure it out. Maybe that is why the commercial Hass variety is so popular - its obvious when it is ripe, has a tough outer skin that can tolerate more handling (and shipping long distances). It is amazing to me that people haven’t seen other avocado varieties besides Hass. I always get the questions - ” do they TASTE like Bacon??” Oh man, if they did they sure wouldn’t be the avocado no one knew about!
This week you might have received a big, shiny black avocado. That one is a mystery even to me but I will update you as I learn more about it. Most of the avocados are coming from my home ranch, but I have also made a connection with a neighbor that has several varieties of avocados growing in San Juan Bautista. He is not certified organic, but practices organic standards. He has about 3 acres of avocados on a south facing hill. I am helping him out and he is helping me to keep supplying the CSA box with local, organic avocados.
Greens storage (Chard, dandelion, lettuce, etc): Anytime you receive a leafy green it is a good idea to run it under water, shake it off and place inside a plastic bag. Always refrigerate your greens, but never loose in the frig. Even the freshest greens will wither away in no time without protection and moisture.
Fennel: Unless you use the top part with the frilly leaves, go ahead and chop that part off. You can save it for a veggie stock though.
Cabbage: You can put the whole head in the frig without protection or wetting it down.
Carrots: Rinse them off and chop off the tops. I wouldn’t do anything else with the tops except give them to your bunny or horse if you have one. Keeping the tops on dries the carrots out quicker. If you are going to use them soon, I would put them in water in the frig. Otherwise put in a plastic bag inside the frig without the tops.
Strawberries: I hate to refrigerate berries. I think it changes the flavor and texture. I would keep them out on the counter in a cool place - if you are going to eat them within two days. Otherwise you are going to need to out them in the frig or they are going to go bad. All of the berries you get from us are picked and put directly in the boxes - never refrigerated!
Snap and Snow Peas: keep them in either a brown or plastic bag in the frig
Potatoes: Keep away from moisture. Store in a brown bag in the pantry. Eat before they sprout. If they do sprout, rub off the sprouts when you wash them. Don’t wash them until you are ready to eat them.
Lemons: Out on the counter if you are going to eat them soon, otherwise in the frig. I love to look at them on the table so I usually leave them out.
Recipes to follow..Stay tuned.
Thanks for supporting Serendipity!
Jamie Collins