Whole Farm 2023 CSA- Week of April 3rd
Full: Spinach, kale, salad lettuce mix, mint, bacchus radish, hakurei turnips, micros
Half: Kale, salad lettuce mix, bacchus radish, micros
Hello everyone!
Note from Jacy: Happy Easter Week! We have a special bouquet for you this week, make sure to grab it! We also have extra eggs for you this week, your regular eggs will be labeled, but feel free to take two extra cartons if you would like. We also have 1/2 lambs available if anyone wants some of their lamb for this week.
Welcome to April on the farm. Usually this is the month when we begin putting our first transplants into the ground but this year the ground is still covered in a few feet of snow here at Gallatin Valley Botanical. So, our little seedlings will have to wait a couple of extra weeks til the end of the month to stretch their roots into the fertile ground. In the meantime, they will stay cozy, along with our first and second clutch of chicks, in the greenhouses.
Snowy veggie field that will one day be home to many plants! Featuring one of our hoop houses where winter spinach is growing.
Watching the chicks grow in their greenhouse home.
This week both full and half share are receiving bacchus radish. These are a hybrid radish that lack the spicy, peppery taste that sometimes turns people away from this otherwise delectable Spring treat. Radishes in general are a greenhouse favorite for us because their relatively short maturation period allows them to be planted alongside longer-growing crops and removed before the other crops would begin shading and affecting their growing. It’s a fun and exciting puzzle to map out how best use to the limited space offered by the protected greenhouses.
Kale seedlings waiting for the snow to melt.
A mix of hearty greens are returning to the CSA boxes this week as well (or maybe you still have some of the jumbo batch of chard leftover from last week!). I successfully turned a bunch of kale, some spinach, a fading bunch of mustard greens and (yes) a whole bunch of chard into a zuppa toscana variation this week. I also utilized dried herbs that can be found in the market stand, dried fresh from the farm (these are absolutely wonderful for adding a full flavor to any dish). I opted for chickpeas as my protein but for the meat eaters out there, ground pork or sausage would be wonderful in this and closer to the original zuppa toscana.
Variable Zuppa Toscana to be adjusted to the leftover greens in your fridge:
Saute 1 cup of onions in 2 tablespoons of butter (I used a handful of the assorted alliums from last week!)
Once onions are translucent add a few cloves of garlic minced
Deglaze the pan with a tablespoon or so of white wine or vermouth
Add protein: 2 cups of chickpeas, ground pork, sausage, ground lamb
Season protein unless it is already a seasoned meat. I made a breakfast like sausage blend with pepper, salt, garlic powder, thyme, sage, paprika, and a hearty dose of cayenne
Cut up leafy greens into 2-3 inch pieces and add to pan
Add broth and milk til you have the liquid to veggie ratio that you desire. I used about equal amounts of milk and broth. If using cream instead, I would opt for a 2:1 ratio of broth to cream.
Add salt and pepper to taste if needed. I think bacon would be a lovely addition here too.
Happy cooking!
Sadie