Hooray for sunshine and warm weather! We have had to take advantage of it and get the eight varieties of peppers all planted as well as 250 eggplant plants. Unfortunately last Friday we had to replant the first batch of sweet corn since our first sowing done on May 13th all rotted due to the cold, wet ground. We probably won't have corn that is "knee high by the fourth of July" but we are hoping to get a total of 4-5 different plantings of sweet corn in so we can have it all summer. We know it is a favorite among the CSA members! When we attended an organic farming conference last winter we were surprised to learn that sweet corn and cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) are the two main crops that farmers lose money on. The main reason being that thye need so much fertilizer to grow as well as time to mature that many farmers will not bother with them. However we know for the CSA that they are a favorite item!
In other farm news we have been busy trying to keep up with the strawberries as they kick into high gear now with the weather warming up. Usually in the summer months strawberry harvesting takes up to 6 hours of our time each week. It is a slow process for us.. usually on hands and knees to be sure we don't miss any. Then we are sure to pop off any bad ones that the birds or slugs beat us too.. if they are not slimy we enjoy them ourselves to fuel our picking. Usually by the end of the strawberry harvest we are holding our berry swollen, aching bellies!
We hope you are all enjoying the tastes of late Spring from the farm! We look forward to meeting all of you at our upcoming farm tours and annual farm potluck!
Thank you for your support!
Suzie, Asinete and the Big Lick Crew: M.A, Violet and Sally
Harvest This Week Includes:
Rainbow Chard~ please see recipes from last week's newsletter!
Seascape Strawberries
Bok Choy~ more recipe ideas below
Spinach
Head Lettuce
French Breakfast Radishes
Snow OR Snap Peas
Broccoli (full Share only this week.. next week should be enough ready for all)
How to Store It and Cook It
Snow Peas and Snap Peas keep best in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Their sweet sugars start turning to starch quickly so they taste best if you use them within two days. Both types of peas are high in Vitamins A and C. These peas are excellent prepared in dishes with your bok choy.. some ideas below!
Bok Choy with Peas
4-6 Servings Size
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3/4 lb baby bok choy, leaves separated
1/2 lb peas
1/2 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you wish to keep it vegetarian)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins
1 Add the oil, garlic and ginger into a wok or large saute pan. Turn the heat to medium-high. As the oil heats, the garlic and ginger will infuse the oil with flavor. Take care that they do not burn. When the oil is hot, add the bok choy and the peas and toss to coat them in the oil.
2 Stir-fry the mixture for about a minute. Add the stock and oyster sauce and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 2 minute until the bok choy stems are crisp-tender. Drizzle the sesame oil over the mixture and serve.
Shrimp, Bok Choy and Peas Stir Fry
Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain rice
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
16 large uncooked shrimp—peeled
1 red pepper—julienned
1 bunch bok choy—leaves separated and chopped
16 snow peas or snap peas—trimmed and halved on the diagonal
2 cloves garlic—crushed
COOK the rice. MIX together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, Chinese rice wine, water, sesame oil and sugar in a small bowl. HEAT a wok or large frying pan over a high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and stir-fry the shrimp for 2 minutes. REMOVE the shrimp from the wok and set aside on a plate. HEAT the remaining oil in the wok and stir-fry the red pepper for 2 minutes. ADD the bok choy and peas and stir-fry for 4 minutes. ADD the garlic and stir-fry for a minute, then return the shrimp to the wok. ADD the sauce mixture and mix to heat through. SERVE with rice.
No comments:
Post a Comment