What a wonderful, crazy loud, couple thunderstorms we had this week. I don’t know about you guys, but they were loud enough at our house to rattle the pictures on the walls! Thankfully little Cody sleeps like the dead and didn’t wake up for any of them! Also it seems to make the garden a little more green and perked up after lots of lighting. Crazy sounding I know, but next time take a before and after picture and you will see what I’m talking about.

Speaking of the garden, lets see what we have in you basket this week: apricots, shallots, red onion, cherry tomatos, big tomato, thyme sprig, pluots, celery, carrots, bag of lettuce, summer squash, peppers, garlic head, blackberry, currants, micro greens, and a red bloom.

With the currants its best to use them fairly soon, they are fantastic on ice cream, oatmeal, yogurt, or dried and used in trail mix, in cookies or muffins.

This buttermilk-based sherbet tastes like decadent ice cream, but is a lot lower in fat, and get an antioxidant boost from the blackberries. It’s an outstanding source of fiber, calcium, and potassium. And it’s just plain hot, so whats better than something cold that’s good for you?

Use either fresh or frozen blackberries in this recipe. If using frozen, buy ones without added sugar, and thaw them  before using, reserving the juice.

• 2 1/2 cups blackberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. in a blender or food processor, whirl blackberries (along with any juices from thawed berries) until smooth. Pour puree into fine mesh strainer set over bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much puree as possible (you should have about 1 cup of puree) discard solids.
2. add sugar and whisk until dissolved. whisk in buttermilk and lemon juice.
3. freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker according to manufactures instructions. transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm enough to scoop. 4-6 hours.
4. if you don’t have an ice-cream maker you can put it into a 9×9 pan and freeze until the edges start to freeze, stir and freeze until firm, just before serving transfer to a food processor; process 1-2 minutes or until smooth.

Wondering how and what to do with those large pods that look like a bean that you got in your shares today?  

They are a little work, but so worth it!  Shell the beans,  then toss them into boiling water for about 2-3 minutes.  Drain and let cool slightly or set them in an ice water bath to cool quickly.  Now for the “double Peel”.  Remove the skin that surrounds the bean.  Using a knife to pierce the skin encasing makes it a little quicker.  The inner bean will slip out.  

Toss these beans in salads, pasta dishes or vegetarian dishes.  Good cold or warm.

If you don’t have time to deal with these beans right away, keep them in a loosely sealed plastic bag in the crisper of your refrigerator, but no more than five days.  

Fava beans are low in fat and high in protein.  They are also a good source of fiber, vitamin A, C, potassium, and iron.  Those with Favism (a rare hereditary disease) should avoid fava beans. 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat white flour
• 1 1/2 Tbs. baking powder
• Generous pinch kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups shredded Tuscan kale
• 1 cup crumbled feta
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (2% or full fat)
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. and grease a loaf pan with baking spray or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine the flours, baking powder,salt, pepper, kale, and feta in a large bowl.
3. Whisk together the eggs, olive oil, yogurt, and milk in another bowl.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined. transfer the batter into loaf pans. sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top, if using.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and edges start to brown. let sit for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

1 loaf will serve 12

WOW! it has been a very hot week with not much motivation to be outside in the garden or outside in general. But because we love what we do, we still go out and do it, also there is the promise of some of the first ripe tomatoes on the vine if we do go out, always a plus! Which brings us to this weeks basket and all the happiness it contains. You will find apricots, beets, fava beans, garlic, kale, mixed potatoes, an onion, pie cherries, and pluots. So many possibilities for so  many recipes and we would love to hear from you what your favorite ones are. Either bring your recipe to us and we will post it with your name or post a comment to our blog.

On some of the produce you will be getting this week there are a coupling things that need to be mentioned.

1. there will be a later post on the fava beans on how to double shell them.
2. if you don’t want the pie cherries please don’t take them. they are a royal pain to pick and we will gladly use them.
3. use the potatoes fairly soon because they are “NEW” potatoes and wont keep for very long.
4. also the solid purple potatoes (yes they are dark purple all the way through and yes they are normal) are better used as mashed potatoes instead of baked. learn from my mistake.

This is basic recipe that is great served on cooked fish, chicken, meat, and steamed vegetables. Pretty easy to make and only requires minimum ingredients to which is plus.

what you will need:

• 2/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• finely grated lemon zest
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

( see pretty minimum for big flavor)

In a small bowl, stir everything together

A little side note about garlic

“using raw garlic provides the most nutritional benefits, including anti-inflamitory, antibacterial, and antimicrobial powers. let chopped garlic stand for about 10 minutes to increase its powers and offset the heat of cooking, which diminishes them. Adding garlic later in cooking also helps retain its nutritional benefits.” Dana Jacobi, good for you cookbook

Pick up Thursday, June 2nd, 2016.

And it begins!  Week one of summer shares and the heat!  Out with the cool season veggies, in with the warm!

We have a few spring veggies in the garden left from spring.  This will be the last of these guys till fall.  Peas and lettuce (we hope it doesn’t turn bitter overnight with this heat).

This weeks produce will include: Apricots, artichokes, cabbage, carrots, dill, lettuce, garlic, red onion, summer squash and a surprise dish of either cherry tomatoes, cherries, or strawberries. first come first serve on which one you get.

We have a challenge for all you lovely people. We would like to know how you use the produce week to week from your shares. What is a recipe you have found and tried, that you really love? It can be super simple as a favorite dip for carrots or complex as a 5 course meal (all though that will be a lot of typing on you part). We will still be posting a recipe for you to try, of some type of produce in the shares. But we want to hear from you. Perhaps if we get a lot of responses we will hold a contest, the favorite recipe wins a prize.

Today is our last pick up of spring shares.  Finally a nice week with mild weather!  Artichokes, beets, garlic, head lettuce, spinach, snow peas, strawberries, cherries and either broccoli, purple or white cauliflower, Or romanesco will be in your shares this week!  Thank you for all your support this spring!  We will see you all in a couple of weeks when Summer Shares begin, June 2nd!

Meanwhile we will take the two week rest to kick our feet up, watch TV, listen to the radio while chillin drinking a cup of tea….For about 5 minutes and then we will be back to pulling garlic to make room for beans, squash, and other wonderful summer and fall crops.  Thinning peaches, catching up on the weeding, just plan ole’ catching up!

What you will need

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 red beets ( about 1 3/4 lb total weight)
• 2 tablespoons canola or grape seed oil
• fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

preheat oven to 350•F

in a small bowl, combine the cumin, coriander, turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and. Stir to mix well.

If the beet greens are still attached, cut them off, leaving 1/2 inch of the stems attached. (save the greens for another use like sautéing) arrange the beets in a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with the oil and turn to coat, then rub with the spice mixture, coating the beets evenly. Roast, turning occasionally, until the beets the easily pierced with a sharp knife and the skins are slightly wrinkled, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, cut off the stems and remove to skins with your fingers.

cut each beet lengthwise into wedges, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve warm or at room temperature.

serves 4

A quick sauté brings out the natural sweetness and crunch of peas. Fresh basil, tart lemon zest, and tangy pecorino cheese are sprinkled on top for a delicious and fast dish.

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 lb sugar snap peas, strings removed
• 1 lb English peas, shelled
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 lemon
• leaves from 4 fresh basil sprigs, torn
• about 1 oz chunk pecorino Romano cheese

in a large frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add both kinds of peas and 1/4 cup water. Add a pinch of salt. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated, about 2 minutes. The peas should be tender-crisp and still bright green.

grate 2 teaspoons zest from the lemon, then halve the lemon. Remove the pan from the heat and squeeze the juice from 1 lemon half over the peas. Add the lemon zest, basil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper to the pan. Grate the cheese over the top to taste, and stir to mix well. Transfer the peas to a warmed serving dish and serve right away.

serves 4