Hello everyone, Jess here and hooray, it’s time for the Summer CSA! Let the culinary games begin!
For those of you that are new to the website, let me spend a moment to provide a brief explanation to how this works. Today, we have the “Show” of the Springdell Show and Tell. I’ll “show” what’s in each share, and then at the end of the week,I’ll “tell” how each item in my cart was used. You can comment below, or message me with questions or comments about your share. It’s also helpful if you share with us any great recipes that you encounter along the way so I can add to the ever-growing encyclopedia of recipes, known here as “Veggiescope”.
Veggiescope is a great way to discover inspiration along the way. It’s a virtual veggie-pedia for just about every farm stand item. Simply click on the veggie/item and it’ll take you to an explanation of that veggie (nutrition, storage, basic preparation, etc.) followed by a list of tested recipes for that item. If you fill your pantry with the “Staples” items from Veggiescope, you’ll be able to cook every recipe on the website using only farm stand items! Check it out today (or perhaps in a day or two- the website software updated and it’s running a little wonky while I wait for tech support! Meanwhile, click on the veggie links below to be whisked away to that item’s Veggiescope page.) Enough technicalities, back to the Show!
- Bok Choy
- Microgreens (Pea and Corn Shoots from Johnny Putt Farm)
The flower share has not yet begun, but we’ll wait patiently for mother nature to get there! I wanted to remind you of a couple of simple faves. Given it’s the first week of the CSA, your strawberries will probably just be consumed as-is. However, don’t throw away those strawberry caps, they make a great infusion with water or lemonade! Here we see a jar of Farmer Jamie’s strawberry cap water!
A big concern I hear from CSA’ers is that radishes are too spicy for them. One way to preserve them and tone them down is to cut their roots and greens when you get home, and soak them in a bowl like so.
Same with the rhubarb peels- put these aside and search the site for “rhubarb simple syrup” for a quick and easy recipe that will bring amazing flavor and color to your seltzers, lemonades and cocktails!
They’ll keep in the fridge for a while this way, and lose a bit of the bite without losing the lovely crunch. Search the site for “simply simple radishes” to see three of my favorite uses. Also, if the radish greens are small and in good shape, they make a wonderful sauté!
I’ll end things for now (I have to get back to figuring out why the website links are being weird). In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, I’m always happy to hear them! Thank you so much for tuning in and for your continued support of this site (as 200 kitchens are better than one) and I look forward to our real-time culinary adventures this summer. Enjoy your day!
I prefer a milder radish. I found that if you roast them with a little salt and olive oil, they actually become sweet. I save one for salads, then roast the rest for dinner.
Thanks for sharing, Julie! You might like the “Honey Roasted Radishes” recipe. (I’d link to it, but still having some weblink issues I’m working on… if you search it should show up!) The sweetness of the radish and the slight bitterness of the greens is a pretty cool combo.
For all the new CSA’ers, the show and tell is awesome. Along with recipes and the veggiescope. Check it out.
Thanks Jess!!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Julie! 🙂