Whole Farm CSA-Week of June 5th

Full Share: Cucumber, Bok Choy, Cegolaine Lettuce Head, Mustard Green, Chives, Sorrel, Micros, Lettuce Mix

Half Share: Cucumber, Lettuce Mix, Bok Choy, Chives, Micros, Mustard Greens

Hello Everyone!

It already feels like summer is in full swing here at the farm. We switched to our summer schedule (starting work bright and early!) and are stoked to start summer CSA next week. We also have some unique projects going on if you notice some construction-looking action. As usual, we’ve been busy seeding, planting, and harvesting - things have been running smoothly. There will be lots of new fresh produce and bouquet creations making their way into the CSA rotation!

Your veggie selection this week is looking very green. Although I am not much of a salad person (Don’t worry, working here is changing that) I imagine some refreshing spring and summer salads might be the way to go this week!

Update: I just spent a solid 15 minutes flipping through a salad recipe book - wow! I’ve definitely been doing the whole salad thing all wrong. I think it’s about time I stopped eating like a toddler and tried some of these salads out.

However, I’ve always loved cucumbers (as they are one of the few veggies my mom could actually get me to eat) so this weeks’ recipe from the “Salad Freak” cookbook by Jess Damuck is going to be simple and centered around those!

This is a smashed cucumber salad which originated in Asia and makes for a light meal great for the summer months:

You simply need some cucumbers and kosher salt, unseasoned rice vinegar, hot sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds to add some fun flavors.

To prep the cucumbers you’ll want to use a chefs knife and the palm of your hand the smack the side of it down each cucumber to smash it up a bit. That is sort of a confusing step, but after you can dice the cucumber into bite size pieces. Then, place the cucumbers into a colander and sprinkle it with salt. Let it sit for 5 minutes and transfer the cucumbers into a bowl. After that, sprinkle with rice vinegar, toss it, and let it sit for as long as you want.

To assemble the salad, drain the cucumbers and drizzle the hot sesame oil and sprinkle the sesame seeds.

Hopefully this is an easy and refreshing recipe that might even be toddler-approved!

With the rest of the leafy greens this week, I highly recommend getting creative and experiment with some fun salad dressings. I also found some really good looking bok choy-ramen recipes online so I recommend checking those out.

Unfortunately it’s my last week at the farm, at least for the summer. You might have seen me in and out of the market stand the past few seasons (usually hustling to make the remaining CSA boxes after school or cleaning eggs non-stop.) I’ve really enjoyed meeting and chatting with you guys so thanks for being so sweet and friendly! In two weeks I’m moving to Tacoma, WA to work as a summer camp counselor for The Mountaineers but will be back at MSU for my freshmen year of college. I might end up back at the farm in the fall, we’ll see!

I hope y’all are enjoying a blossoming spring and are excited about the upcoming summer!

Happy Tuesday and enjoy!

Klara

P.S. Enjoy these photos mostly featuring Emma because we’ve got to appreciate that she’s back from London!!