Tag: Spinach

  • Winter CSA – Week 4

    This week we’re planning to include the items listed below in the CSA shares:

    • Baby Carrots, bunch – No need to peel, just wash and eat raw!
    • Dill, bunch
    • Scallions, bunched
    • Bok Choy
    • Radishes – French breakfast or pink, bunched
    • Panisse Lettuce – a sweet, delicate flavor similar to butter head lettuce
    • Spinach, bunched
    • Murasaki Sweet Potatoes – Japanese variety, white-fleshed
    • Grapefruit – A Minor Grove, a new partner grower in Melrose, FL

    Recipe Ideas

    We’ll be making lots of salads this week! I love this sunshine salad dressing, and it’s easy to make dairy-free by substituting tahini or dairy-free yogurt.

    Nutrient-rich spinach is here this week, just for you!

    Peanut Butter Banana Spinach Smoothie

    • 1 cup milk
    • 2 cups baby spinach
    • 2 frozen bananas
    • 2 generous TBSP creamy peanut butter

    10 Best Smoothie Recipes from yummly.com

    Grapefruit Vinaigrette from macheesmo.com

    • 2 tablespoons minced shallot
    • 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon sugar (our cane sugar or honey will substitute well)
    • 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
    • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    • Dash of hot sauce
    1. Mince shallot very fine and add to a jar with a lid. Add other ingredients and shake well!
    2. Shake right before serving as well.
    3. Vinaigrette will keep well in the fridge for 2 weeks.

    Health Benefits of Bok Choy:

    Bok choy truly is a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. It’s loaded with vitamin A, C and K and contains antioxidants which protect the eyes and a significant amount of calcium and magnesium for strong bones.

    Simple Bok Choy Stir-fry

    • 2 tbsp avocado oil, or oil of choice
    • 1 medium bok choy – cut end off and wash leaves under faucet
    • 1 tsp minced ginger
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 2 tbsp water
    • salt and pepper
    1. Heat the oil in a wok or sauté pan on medium. 
    2. Add the minced ginger and minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
    3. Add the bok choy and use tongs to turn and stir fry the bok choy in the garlic and ginger for 2 minutes.
    4. Pour two tablespoons of water into the pan, cover and let cook for 2 minutes more.
    5. Turn off the heat, add salt and pepper and serve. 

    source: downshiftology.com

  • Last CSA Share of the 2019 Spring Season!

    We are finishing out our 14 week spring season with some delicious Organic and non GMO Sweet Corn, Sweet Italian Basil, Malabar Spinach, Cured Red Sweet Onion, Tri Colored Potatoes, Eggplant, Corno Di Toro Peppers, Edamame, Mixed Potatoes (red, white, purple) Juliet Tomatoes and some sweet Blueberries Melons.

    Sorry about the Blueberries folks but we couldn’t end the season without a little surprise now could we. All of our Wednesday and Thursday CSA Members will receive sweet Cantaloupes grown on the farm. Saturday markets will most likely have melons too but we won’t know until Friday, and that’s the way it goes.. Welcome to farming! 🙂

    Cantaloupe- Our melons are picked when they are presumed ripe, however, we are currently growing several different varieties all with different characteristics which can make it difficult to know for sure, the only way to know for certain that you have a deliciously sweet and ripe melon is to cut into it. If you happen to get an unsatisfactory melon please let us know and we will try our best to replace it with a good one the following week at one of the farmers markets.

    Malabar Spinach is not exactly a spinach, It actually belongs to the Basellaceae family (vine family of flowering plants) and is a very warm season crop unlike traditional spinach. There are two main species of Malabar spinach: Basella alba (included in your share) which has green stems and thick fleshy leaves, and Basella ruba which has red stems, we grow that too. The mucilaginous texture is especially useful as a thickener in soups and stews. Mucilage is a thick, gluey substance produced by nearly all plants. You will notice when you bite into it that it is thicker and the inside of the leaf tends to be a bit gooey for lack of a better word. It is most popular on sandwiches and in sautes.

    Click here for a simple and healthy  sautee recipe with Malabar Spinach

    Sweet Corn this sweet corn needs no introduction, just bite into it and you will see for yourself. My favorite way to eat this corn is raw, right off the cob but if you would rather cook it remove the husks, and bring a pot of water to boil. Boil the shucked ears for only 1 to 2 minutes, in unsalted water, do not overcook. Ok, ready for the whole truth?? You may have noticed that we cut the tops off of our corn and that is not necessarily for the ease and hassle free shucking but because the majority of our sweet corn crop has worm damage or undeveloped kernels at the very top of the ear. This is nothing to be alarmed about, it is just a natural process and how can you blame them? Who wouldn’t want to feast out on this delicious sweet corn?! Growing organic sweet corn takes practice, patience and most of all relentless determination. It takes time to learn what works well for your crop and what doesn’t through seasons of trial and error. “Pest management in an organic system is based on prevention. The goal is to have a healthy, balanced plant and soil system in which pest populations will be stay within tolerable limits. In a conventional system, synthetic pesticides may help a grower save the current crop from an immediate pest problem; however, in many cases, the problem recurs or another develops. The organic approach is based on the theory that major pest problems usually occur when something is out of balance in the system. Are the plants undernourished or stressed from growing too quickly? Is there a nutrient imbalance? Is the soil too wet or too dry? Has a good crop rotation been followed? Is there a diversity of plants to support beneficial insects? Thus, studying the problem and trying to determine why it occurred should help prevent similar problems in the future. This will, of course, take time to learn and develop”. –NCSU.EDU

    Edamame are immature soybeans in the pod. I apologize if you received some that were pretty thin and beanless. I took home a handful to experiment with and noticed many of the pods had little or no beans in them almost as if they were dehydrated or scorched by the sun. Some of them were plump bean pods holding one or two soybeans inside. The easiest and best way to eat edamame is to boil or steam the pods and serve with salt. Make sure you give them a good wash because they came straight from the field rather than the freezer. I soaked mine in water twice to make sure the sand and dirt were removed and then I put them in a microwave safe bowl with just enough water to cover the tops. I added a pinch or two of coarse ground sea salt and covered. I cooked they soybeans on high for two minutes, removed them and added another pinch of sea salt and let cool. The easiest way to eat edamame is to drag the seedpod between your upper and lower teeth to removing the soybean from the pod and discarding the unedible pod. It certainly won’t fill you up but it makes an enjoyable snack or appetizer.

    Japanese Eggplant is unique in that is has a tender skin so you don’t have to peel it, it also has a sweeter flavor than that of the classic Italian eggplant. The color varies from light pink, white, lavender and purple. Slice it thin longwise and throw it on the grill or chop it and stir fry it, the spongy flesh soaks up any marinade or sauce. Especially delicious with asian sauces, ginger and basils.  Eggplant is highly sensitive to ethylene, a natural gas that causes certain foods to ripen very quickly. So it’s best to keep eggplant stored separately from bananas, tomatoes, and melons, which are all high ethylene producers. You can keep eggplants out of refrigerator if you plan on using them within 2 days but if not I would suggest wrapping them in a dry paper towel and placing them in a reusable container or perforated bag in the produce drawer.

    Corno del Toro Peppers- The Corno di Toro or Bull’s Horn chile gets its name from its curved, long and slender pod that comes to a pointed tip, resembling that of a bull’s horn. When immature its skin is green and depending upon variety will ripen to a vibrant red or yellow hue when fully mature. Reminiscent of classic Italian frying peppers the Corno di Toro is an ideal variety for a traditional Italian appetizer, fried simply in olive oil and finished with sea salt and parmesan cheese. It is also a popular variety for cooking down to make Italian sauces. Whole peppers can be grilled, roasted or sautéed for use on sandwiches, pasta and pizzas. Their larger size also makes them an ideal pepper for stuffing with a combination of rice or pasta, herbs, and cheeses then roasting or baking. – SpecialtyProduce.Com

    Sweet Italian Basil- Fragrant and beautiful basil adds a fresh element to any dish, Top it on pasta, sprinkle it on pizza, or chop it up fine and toss it in some balsamic vinegar with some fresh mozzarella and Juliet tomatoes from your share for a deliciously simple, Italian classic..The Caprese Salad.

    Juliet Tomatoes– Great flavor, fresh or cooked. The Juliet is a larger sister variety of the well-known Santa grape tomato, and is one of the most disease resistant varieties available. The delicious, rich tomato flavor is ideal for salads, makes a great salsa, and fresh pasta sauce. Many farmers and chefs refer to it as a mini Roma because of it shape and deep red color.

    It has been such a pleasure to provide you with fresh, locally & sustainably grown produce. We hope you will join us for our Fall Season starting in October- Fall membership opening soon. Ciao for now- Shani

  • CSA Share: Week 4, March 27-30

    This Week we are happy to share with you: Bok Choy, Rainbow Carrots, Kohlrabi, Red Butter Lettuce, Scallions, Murasaki Sweet Potatoes, French Breakfast Radish, Spinach and some of you lucky CSA members will receive Mulberries (if you don’t get some in your share this week..Don’t worry you will get them next week).Mulberries-

    These mulberries come from a large tree that shades part of our greenhouse. We only have one of these trees and it bears fruit for about three weeks of the year. This year we are fortunate to have a large enough quantity of berries for our CSA members to have a little taste. The immature fruits are white, green, or pale yellow at first and they turn pink and then red while ripening. When they turn a dark purple or black they have the sweetest flavor and are fully ripe. We pick them once they are fully ripe so they will be pretty tender and fragile by the time they get to your kitchen but rather sweet and ripe than sour..trust me you don’t want an unripe mulberry. BEWARE, THEY STAIN EVERYTHING!! They have such an intense, easily extracted coloring that they are increasingly popular as a natural food colorant. Toss a handful in your salad or use in salad dressing, stir them in some lemonade, sprinkle over your breakfast yogurt and granola, or add to your batter for some delicious and colorful baked goods. Too mushy? Create a mulberry sauce to drizzle over your ice cream. The berry has a little thin green stem that runs through the berry from tip to tip. Go ahead and eat it, it won’t hurt you, in fact it’s down right good for you and it’s also a pain to try to remove. You probably wouldn’t even know it was there unless I mentioned it. Enjoy this special treat from the farm!

    Interesting Fact about the Mulberry Tree..

    Some North American cities have banned the planting of mulberries because of the large amounts of pollen they produce, posing a potential health hazard for some pollen allergy sufferers. Conversely, female mulberry trees produce all-female flowers, which draw pollen and dust from the air. Because of this pollen-absorbing feature, all-female mulberry trees are considered “allergy-free”.

    Rainbow Carrots- You know it’s spring when you open up your share to find beautiful feather like fronds on the tops of your multicolored carrots. Makes sure to cut the tops off of your carrots as soon as you get them home, this will help prolong the life of your carrot. Don’t throw those beautiful, luscious green tops away, use them as you would parsley, in chimichurri or try them in some carrot top pesto using the spinach in your share (there are several variations).

    Carrot top pesto with Spinach

    Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto and Goat Cheese

    The name Kohlrabi comes from the German “kohl,” meaning cabbage, and “rabi,” meaning turnip—and that kind of says it all about this delicious vegetable. It’s flavor is that of it’s namesakes and has also been describe as having a similar taste to a stem of broccoli.

    Don’t be perplexed about this purple alien-like vegetable in your share, it’s really quite versatile and can be cooked similar to a potato or eaten raw – it’s crispy like an apple or a Jicama. To prepare simply cut off each leaf at the base of the stem where it is attached. Then you can peel them using a vegetable peeler, or chop off the outside rind to get to the crisp and ready to eat, inside. Once the outer rind is removed you can cut the kohlrabi bulb according to your recipe: shredded- most common for salads, cubed- for stews and roasting or pureed for soups.

    Spinach and Kohlrabi Gratin

    Quick Kohlrabi and Carrot Gratin with scallions (this recipe is in German but my computer translated it for me.. I tried to find a english version to share but I had no luck, I will try to try to translate it and post the recipe). 

    French Breakfast Radishes: Slice them and toss them in a salad or snack on them whole. My favorite way to eat these radishes (or any kind of radish) is on top of toast. I’m a radish toast connoisseur if you will, always on the lookout for new ways to combine my favorite things: Radishes, bread, butter and salt. Try this recipe using the scallions in your share and some fresh dill from past shares.

    Killingthyme.net

    French Breakfast Radish Toast with Cream Cheese, Dill and Scallions

    Or looking for an elegant party finger food:

    lottieanddoof.com

     

     

     

    Butter-Dipped French Breakfast Radishes

     

     

    Spinach- A Special Treat! Spinach is an extremely difficult crop to grow organically in Florida due to its susceptibility to mildew and precise germination temperature. Spinach is affected by many different strains/races of downy mildew. In conventional agriculture they spray it with fungicides every week or more often to combat the mildew. The seeds also require cold weather to germinate and the plants won’t grow if the temperature gets over 80º. Eat it fresh in a green salad, add it to your morning eggs, or blend it up and put it in your smoothie, there’s no wrong way to eat Spinach- just ask Popeye.

    Red Butter Lettuce- It’s large tender leaves are perfect for lettuce wraps, make sure to wash the head of lettuce once again before you eat it.

    Bok Choy- Chinese cabbage, great for stir fries and soups. Store bok choy in a sealed plastic bag in your produce drawer for maximum shelf life.

    Spring Onions– Are great as a garnish on casseroles, on toasts, sprinkled over eggs or in salads. SAVE THE SCRAPS! Onions are one of the easiest vegetables to regrow. Simply chop them up leaving at least 1-1 1/2 inches at the end of the stem (white part) and put the ends  in a jar of water or moist soil, they will sprout some little roots and then you can plant them in your windowsill garden or yard and they will grow you a little spring onion.

    Murasaki Sweet Potatoes- Crimson outer peeling with sweet white flesh. Cook as you would a traditional sweet potato, no need to peel, most of the nutrients are  actually in the peeling itself. Give them a good wash and roast in the oven. Store your sweet potatoes in a cool dry place in your kitchen and they will hold for several weeks/months. If they begin to sprout just cut off the little sprouted nub and prepare as usual, fear not, that’s just nature trying to do what nature does best, regrow! 🙂

    Thanks for reading, send me your favorite recipes to CSA@Frogsongorganics.Com and don’t forget to check back next week! -Shani