RECIPES & TIPS

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GARLIC SCAPES

Garlic Scapes are a delicacy of the spring! They are the flower that shoots up from the garlic that we plant in the fall. We pluck this flower stem in order to get the garlic bulbs to put their energy into the bulb formation. We also eat the scape! They are tender shoots that are best cooked (roasted or grilled whole) or made into a pesto. You could even combine them with carrot tops in a pesto this week! They have the texture of asparagus but the flavor of roasted garlic. Remove the pointy stem at the top and use the bottom. You can also chop them into 1 inch pieces for stir-fry / sautee. Store in a bag in the fridge and use within a week.
Garlic scape pesto & other recipes for scapes
Garlic scape cooking ideas

Grilled garlic scapes with sea salt

ASPARAGUS:

Fresh and seasonal for only a few months in the spring, we are actually at the end of Asparagus season! It is actually getting a bit warm for it, so might be the last few weeks. Many love asparagus on the grill, in the oven or even chopped in a stir-fry with your carrots and bok choy this week. Bend the stems at their base, and the point where they snap easily is where you should cut them to avoid a dry woody stem. Rinse them and their flowers thoroughly before cooking, as we avoid doing this to preserve the tips flower from getting mushy. Store upright in a jar of water in the fridge covered with a bag. Use them right away this time, they wont keep for more than a day or two.
Garlic Parmesan roasted Asparagus
Asparagus Stir-Fry

LETTUCE HEADS:

In the early part of the season, lettuce is thriving! It is getting a bit warm for some of the varieties in the hoophouses where we stared them to have early - they will be from the field this week. We rotate the varieties but you should expect and plan for lettuce every week. Invest in a salad spinner, or a lettuce container for the fridge! Alternatively, peel back the leaves, rinse, and store in a ziplock with a paper towel. Keep in mind, we do our best to wash the heads, but sometimes there is sand/soil/aphid friends hiding inside the leaves that we can’t see- especially when it gets warm and these are coming from the greenhouse. Not to worry, this is all part of the organic way, and is not harmful to you. Thoroughly wash before eating and perhaps even before storing. Use within 5-7 days for best quality.
BBQ chickpea lettuce wraps
Grilled butter lettuce
Green goddess cobb salad

RADISHES:

Radishes are quick growing and we planted them between longer term crops in the greenhouse, so we will have a mix of small and larger ones this week. If you are not a fan of the heat, just cook the radishes to mellow them out. They are great on the grill, in the oven, or even finely sliced in a salad. Dressing also helps mellow them! I love to make a quick pickled radish with them for topping tacos! Store in a bag in the fridge with tops removed. Use within a week.
Grilled radish skewers
Radish salad
Quick pickled radishes

BABY BOK CHOY:

Baby bok choy is crispy and delicious right now coming from the greenhouse still. This is a staple for us in the CSA share because it grows quickly and we can have it in the share all season. We are also a farm with Asian vegetable roots, so we like to share this staple with you. They are getting some love from the spring surge of flea beetles but holes or no holes, the leaves are delicious cooked. I urge you to try the stems raw with the leaves cut off (save and use with sautee dish) as a crudite. You can also make a stir fry with the heads cut into 1 inch pieces. Store in a bag in the fridge and use within a week.

Stir fried baby bok choy
Grilled baby bok choy

CARROTS:

Fresh greenhouse carrots are sweet and tender to eat raw! They come with tops on for ease of harvest, but you can remove the tops for storage. Some people make pesto with the tops, but bunnies or compost like them too :]. If you aren't turning on the oven these days, the carrots are great shredded raw on top of a green salad, or sautéed in the round with your other veggies. If I am going to mix carrots into a sautee, just make sure to use enough oil to cook the carrots in to start, and simmer them alone for 5-10 minutes before adding other veggies. Store carrots in a bag in the crisper and use within a week or two!
Baby bok choy salad with carrots
Roasted Carrots
Stir fry bok choy with carrots and ginger

Carrot top pesto

MESCLUN MIX:

Baby greens / mesclun is a delicious tender baby cut of our greens that happen to be bountiful right now! You can use them first before your lettuce head, or mix them. I love to top a spring salad with cucumbers, or even scallions / raw asparagus or roasted beets. Enjoy within 3-4 days for best quality

SCALLIONS:

Scallions are one of our favorite staples around here. They grow quickly, add a sweet onion-ey flavor to your salads, sautés, or omlettes. They are also particularly sweet and delicious grilled (If you want to avoid the oven). They pair well with Asian greens stir fry and cilantro. See below for some recipes and use within a week. Store in a long bag in the crisper.
Skillet Scallions
Grilled scallion pancake recipe

CUCUMBERS:

Seedless cucumbers are coming from our unheated high tunnel right now! They are the long English or Asian variety, or the smaller Persian types. We trellis them to get them to grow long and straight. They are perfect to eat raw on top of a salad, in a quick refrigerator pickle, or just as is! You don't need to peel them and there are no seeds in them. These are a delicacy and only here for a month or two , so enjoy! Store them in a paper bag or wrapped in a paper towel in the crisper drawer of the fridge. Use within 5 days.
Asian Cucumber salad
Cucumber avocado salad
Chopped salad with feta lime and mint

Every Week