Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Springdell Moms and beyond! I hope you are enjoying this day. I know I am, having a lovely time with my boys in the morning, brunch with my mother and Nan, some quiet time to cook in the afternoon, and some relaxing time dining with the Buck family this evening. I even received a lovely cookie pot baked up by my fellow Show and Tell blogger Sarah (who also happens to run Whisk Baked Goods).
I quickly wanted to mention to those that are involved with the Westford Community Gardens, there is a mandatory meeting tomorrow for gardeners from 7pm-9pm at the Cameron Senior Center. Hope to see you there!
I still have some pork sausage, potatoes, and onions from my previous Springdell Winter share. Now that the farmstand is open, I swung by on Thursday for some eggs and to see what might be in peak season.
Usually in the Springdell Spring CSA, one might see asparagus in abundance right about now. When I went on Thursday, there was no asparagus as of yet. (Fear not, there is some now!) This gave me a good opportunity to pick up a veggie that I often overlook due to its short season: the lovely nutrient packed Fiddlehead fern.
For those that are not familiar with Fiddleheads, they are the newly sprouted Ostrich Fern. They have a flavor that is somewhat similar to asparagus, but I find the flavor to be more distinct and unique. They are an elegant and often unexpected stunt double in many dishes that call for asparagus.
Seeing these little guys brought up some delightful memories for me. My grandfather used to take me foraging for Fiddleheads in a secret spot by the mighty Merrimack River. (You’ll find many folks that know where to find them are reluctant to give up their secret Fiddlehead spots). Please don’t go foraging for these on your own without prior knowledge as there are many similar varieties that are poisonous. You also need to know how to pick them in a sustainable way. You can always leave the foraging to your trusted farmers.
Fiddleheads need a quick clean and rinse to remove the brown papery stuff on the outside, but the Springdell ones I noticed were mostly already cleaned when I received them, so that was nice! I have learned that you want to boil or steam your Fiddleheads for at least 10 minutes before you sauté them, (or do anything else with them). There is food-borne illness that has been linked to improperly cooked Fiddleheads, so the boiling/steaming is an important step. Luckily, this step doesn’t seem to significantly effect the taste or the nutrient content.
I steamed these little guys for about 10 minutes while making a simple Hollandaise. Unfortunately I forgot them in the steamer for a couple of extra minutes while I was making the other things and they lost some of their vibrant color. Had I not done this, I would have sautéed them a bit in some Amish roll butter, but they were already tender enough after the extra steaming (and fortunately still delicious).
The recipe for hash I used was very similar to this one using sweet potatoes, so rather than post it, I’ll just send you here for the recipe. You can simply replace the sweet potato with russet potato. Here’s a video of the process, just because.
Toss an egg into the mix and you have a meal fit for a special occasion.
Some quick banana muffins (made with Winter CSA flour and homemade applesauce) finished us off. I love these little reusable silicone muffin cups!
Enjoy the rest of your day, my friends!