The “Show” – Springdell Summer CSA Pickup #10 3

Hi everyone, Jess here coming to you live from vacationland, AKA Maine. I am in a bit of a vacation mode, but this is CSA365 after all, so the CSA experience continues 365 days a year!  Let’s get to it!

This is a photo from the back of my packed minivan. Because we were heading out Sunday  and I’d be missing my regularly scheduled share pickup, I opted into the “Sunday Opt-In” pickup.  

• butter & sugar corn
• Genovese basil
• slicing cucumbers
• crookneck summer squash
• zucchini squash
• beefsteak tomatoes
• squished peaches 
• freshly dug field onions
• yellow beans
• salad cucumbers 
• kale
• Collard greens

I won’t be participating in the add-on shares this week, making this week’s Show and Tell a bit smaller than usual (although I did grab some Springdell burgers and Mozzarella House Ovoline to take on the trip as well). The crate contents will also likely vary slightly as I’m a day earlier on pickup, putting me technically on last week’s veggies. Hence, if there are any new veggies in your share box this week that you have questions on, you know where to find me!

For those who have been reading the blog as of late, I must confess to something. Following my recent lecture about checking your share box numbers, I accidentally took someone else’s share today myself (same share, wrong tag.) Luckily, my next errand was only a moment up the road from the farm and I noticed I had the wrong share box very quickly, returning immediately to the farm. How could this happen? I was reminded how easy it was to do. My brain was already in vacation mode as I walked from the water bins back to the wrong crate to add my greens, a simple act of not paying attention. It reminded me to check AND double check, as well as heed my own recent advice.  Thankfully, no harm done.

I wanted to talk briefly about kale as I was asked about it this week. The question was basically about using kale in salads, and how to get kale to not taste so -kaley? (If you know the answer, feel free to skip to the bottom of this post). Kale is from the brassica family (with other “kaley” things like broccoli, cauliflower and collard greens). The leaves can be fibrous, and some may find them not so suitable for salads this way. The trick to making the leaves more lettuce-like is to massage them, which helps to break down the cellulose (before your stomach has to).  Massage them with clean hands, and wrap them in a towel before the massage (if you don’t like to get up close and personal with your kale). I find 10 minutes of massage is (slightly time consuming but) ideal. I’ve read somewhere that you can cut down the massage time if you oil your kale first, but I haven’t tried that method personally.  Anyhow, check out the difference a massage can make!

My picture may not do it justice (photography 101 is on my bucket list) but these leaves are much more green, vibrant, tender and less “kaley” for sure.  A favorite go-to recipe in our house is Kale Caesar Salad (courtesy of fellow Springdellian Christine N.), and any salad with a hearty vinaigrette like this one. My non-kale enjoying other half loves this Caesar and doesn’t even notice (or care) when I swap out the lettuce. Enjoy!

I’m looking forward to another fun week of CSA goodness on the road. Guess who I’m vacationing with this week? None other than my CSA365 partner in crime Sarah Buck! Perhaps she’ll make an appearance this week! As always, thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts and questions. Have a wonderful week, enjoy the eclipse and talk to you soon!