Chatfield CSA e-news for July 2 - July 8
Dear Shareholders,
Happy Fourth of July! The corn for our maze this year is knee-high, and the farm is in full bloom! We hope you can come and take a look at all the beautiful gardens we have in addition to the vegetable fields. Are you ready for your holiday BBQ? Try out a healthy makeover to some of the standard BBQ side dishes such as kale chips and seared scallions with a spicy dip? Or how about mashed kohlrabi topped with aged cheddar? Of course there's always a simple fresh salad with thyme vinaigrette you can add to your menu as well.
Whatever you do for your holiday meal, we hope our vegetables are nurturing and you enjoy the fresh flavors.
IMPORTANT EVENT REMINDER: Lavender Fest
July 15th from 9-5. this is a free event with live music, kids' stuff, food trucks, classes and so much more! Come see the blooming lavender and your vegetables!
https://www.botanicgardens.org/lavender-festival
Harvest List for July 2 - July 8
scallions
kale
kohlrabi
lettuce
sage
purslane
*Please note the exact share may change due to weather or crop conditions and half/full share availability - we may have a few more items ready by Tuesday*
Organic Bing Cherries will be handed out to Tuesday shareholders - Thursday already received theirs.
Featured Recipe: Turkish Purslane
This is a great public garden story - as I was out weeding the flower beds that go into the bouquets for you all, i looked up and saw a woman with a huge grin and her camera staring at the ground. She was shouting in Arabic for her husband to come see what she was looking at. He starting shouting as well and they both on their hands and knees with smiles.
They had discovered purslane! the woman was so overjoyed she had tears in her eyes. She is a doctor from Turkey, who had moved to the states and was living in an apartment. She doesn't have space for a garden and hasn't been able to purchase purslane in the grocery store.
I explained to her that most Americans think of the plant as a weed they toss into their compost pile - she couldn't believe it! "This plant? It is packed with the most omega 3 fatty acids out of all the vegetables and has a ton of vitamin C. It is so good for your skin and tastes great!"
She was so excited to see the plant that she offered to weed the flower bed with her husband. They filled up two bags of purslane and left us with recipes, stories and grateful smiles!
So we give you her one of her recipes for purslane:
'Yoğurtlu Semizotu'
Ingredients:
- 1-2 large bunches of purslane (enough to yield 4 cups of leaves)
- 3 cups plain Turkish strained yogurt or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
First cut off any roots from the purslane. I always wash and drain it twice to make sure there is no soil or grit left on the leaves.
Separate the leaves from the stems. You can save the stems for use in other recipes if you wish. Spin the leaves in a salad spinner to remove any extra moisture.
In a separate bowl, whip together the other ingredients using a wire wisk until smooth and creamy. Adjust the amount of salt and pepper to your taste.
Add the purslane leaves and mix together well. Make sure all the leaves are covered with the yogurt mixture.
You can serve it immediately, or cover and chill it for several hours or overnight. The flavor actually gets better if the salad rests for a while. Gently stir it again before serving.
Our friend puts hers on toast in the morning which is refreshing - but you can also use this like any tzatziki sauce. It's also great on strained chick peas with some extra mint leaves.
And here she is, of course, with purslane in her mouth!
Have a great holiday everyone!