CSA News for the Week of May 7th

This Week's Vegetable Harvest:

• Asparagus
• Bok Choy
• Head Lettuce
• Salad Mix
• White Button Mushrooms
• Baby Japanese Turnips
• Spring Onions
• Popcorn

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

In my kitchen, spring meals often feature three key ingredients--fresh salad greens, eggs collected from our henhouse, and spring alliums. The allium family includes onions, leeks, shallots, chives and garlic. Beginning in mid-summer we will start harvesting the type of red and yellow bulb onions you can buy at the grocery store. In the meantime, there are all kinds of other wonderful cold-hardy plants in the onion family, such as chives and spring onions, that can be used in place of the bulb types. While you may be familiar with chives, you are probably less familiar with spring onions. These are onions that are planted early enough in the fall that they are able to establish some good roots. With enough good root development, these onions are able to survive the freezing temperatures of winter, and then they begin to grow again once the soil thaws. Pretty amazing in my opinion!

 

We've known Eric Rose, the grower of these wonderful white button mushrooms, ever since we started farming in East Troy in 2000. His farm, River Valley Ranch, is a short drive from our old farm. For over twenty years he has been growing mushrooms without the aid of aerosols, fungicides, or chemical fertilizers, practices that are common among conventional mushroom growers.

 

A Chinese vegetable that is gaining in popularity here, bok choy (also known as pac choi) has a mild, sweet flavor when cooked. Like many members of the Brassica family, its growing season is limited to the cool spring and fall. Nutritionally speaking, bok choy is loaded with vitamins. When cooking with bok choy, use the entire plant, both green leaves and white stems. It's also fantastic eaten raw. The mild, crunchy stalks are a particularly welcome addition to salads dressed with asian-inspired dressings.

This Japanese turnip variety, called hakurei, is very mild and sweet and is easily mistaken for a white radish. Japanese turnips are delicious eaten raw or sautéed in a little butter and sprinkled with salt. Like bok choy, turnips are a good source of Vitamin C, and rich in the minerals potassium and calcium. And don't forget the greens! Turnip greens top the charts as an excellent source of Vitamins A, C and B complex.

We harvested these ears of popcorn just before Thanksgiving. They've been stored all winter, and the kernels are now dry enough to pop. Making popcorn on the stovetop is a little more work than the microwave version, but the results are well worth the effort. Start by removing the kernels from the cob. I like to work over a dish towel, pushing the kernels off with my thumbs. (The towel prevents the kernels from bouncing all over the place!)  Cover the bottom of a pot with vegetable oil. Add one layer of kernels to the bottom of the pot and cover with a lid. Place the pot over medium heat. Be sure to remove from heat as soon as the popping stops. Add salt to taste.

This Week's Recipes

Seared Pork Tenderloin Salad with Baby Turnips and Turnip Greens
adapted from Patricia Wells' Salad as a Meal

Marinade:
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
3 whole cloves
coarse, freshly ground black pepper

Red wine sauce:
grated zest of 2 lemons
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup wine vinegar
2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 large pork tenderloin (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch baby turnips, leaves rinsed and chopped, turnips cut into quarters
4 cups lettuce mix

1. Prepare the marinade: In a medium bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk to blend.
2. Cut the tenderloin in half, cutting crosswise through the meat. Cut each half lengthwise into 4 even slices. Add the pork to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Be sure to remove from refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Place all sauce ingredients except the butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until reduced to 2/3 cup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. In a skillet large enough to hold the pork, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil over moderately high heat. Drain the meat and sear it, turning the pieces regularly with a pair of tongs, until richly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
5. Rewarm the sauce as necessary, and whisk in the butter.
6. Just before serving the salad, steam the turnips until just cooked through.
7. Place the turnip greens and lettuce mix in a large bowl. Toss with enough vinaigrette to coat evenly. Mound the salad on large dinner plates. Top with steamed turnips. Arrange the pork on top of the turnips and drizzle with the wine sauce.

Poached Eggs with Asparagus and Spring Greens
adapted from Jeanne Kelley's Salad for Dinner

1 bunch asparagus
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 eggs
12 cups fresh greens (lettuce, bok choy, arugula, dandelion, etc)

lemon vinaigrette:
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1. Fill a large skillet with 1 inch salted water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Add the asparagus and cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain the asparagus and pat dry.
2. Return the skillet of water to a gently simmer. Add the vinegar to the water. Working one at a time, crack an egg into a small bowl and gently slide the egg into the simmering water in the skillet. Poach the eggs, gently pushing simmering water over the tops, until the whites are cooked through but the yolks are not yet set, about 3 minutes. Carefully remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and drain.
3. Working quickly, toss the greens in a large bowl with 4 tablespoons of the Lemon Vinaigrette. Divide the dressed greens among 4 plates. Top the greens with asparagus, dividing evenly. Carefully place the eggs atop the asparagus. Season the eggs with freshly ground pepper and salt. Drizzle the salads with the remaining vinaigrette.

 
Fun Farm Photo of the Week
Please allow me to introduce the newest member of our farm family... Burrito the miniature donkey. Yes, after contemplating many different options, the kids insisted on naming the poor thing Burrito. It was my fault really.  Feeling a bit professorial (I was a Spanish major in college), and also a little punchy from lack of sleep, I made the mistake of explaining to the kids that in Spanish the word burrito means little donkey. Well, there was no question after that. So Burrito it is.

Donkeys are funny creatures. This guy is very sweet and loves to be petted, yet there's also a certain aloof quality to his character. He'll stand out there in the pasture, surrounded by the sheep, staring off into the middle distance as if he's contemplating some really weighty issue. Matt says he's just trying to work through his resentment. I'm worried that maybe he's lonely. I mean, how much meaningful companionship can those silly old sheep really provide? Perhaps he needs a friend whose intellectual abilities match his own. A Shetland pony? A pygmy goat? Imagine the naming possiblities! I'm open to your suggestions...

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess): rhubarb, asparagus, head lettuce, swiss chard, spinach, radishes, dill and more!