Winter #27 CSA Newsletter May 18-24, 2025

Stacey Feiner
May 21
7 min read

VEG SHARES - "A" week for EOW

(Photo of the "Default" FULL Share below. See listings to see which share size has what, how much, along with info, guides, recipes.)

SPINACH (½ lb) - This green is very versatile (and YES! You can eat the stems, in fact they are very tasty too. ;) It can be eaten cooked or raw, requires little prep, works with sweet or savory ingredients, stands up to other hearty ingredients, and pairs well with rich, fatty foods such as cheese, butter, bacon, and cream. Raw is popular in salads with, or without, pecans, dried fruit such as cranberries, chunks of cheese, sunflower seeds, and roasted beets. Other possibilities are steaming, boiling, stir-frying, or sautéeing with butter or olive oil. Known as a longer keeper than lettuce, store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a week or more. Note - Cooks down in size considerably. Guide & Recipes

BEETS (1 lbs) - Store in the fridge in a plastic bag for months. Guide & Recipes

GREEN GARLIC (1 bunch) - Use anywhere you’d use garlic. Stronger that regular garlic when used fresh, but milder when heat is added. (Note - if you chop or mince ahead of time, oxidation can cause the garlic to turn bright green or blue. It’s still usable.)

ASPARAGUS (2 lb for FULL & 1 lb for HALF) - Can be eaten raw or cooked many ways—roasted, grilled, steamed, boiled, pan-roasted, fried and can be added to pasta, salads, soups, and stir-fries.Steam with butter or hollandaise sauce, blanch and chill with a vinaigrette, herbs, or other dressing. Generally speaking, thicker spears are better for roasting, grilling, and stir-frying, and thinner stalks are traditionally left whole so their tender, meaty texture can be appreciated. Trim before cooking by holding the ends and bending the spear until it breaks somewhere in the middle; everything from the middle up will be tender enough to eat easily. Store in the fridge either in a vase of water (cut a sliver off the stalk ends first if they are dried) or store them in a loosely wrapped plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Just remember that the sooner you eat it, the better the flavor. Asparagus can also be blanched and then frozen although it will be more mushy when thawed - perfect for soup! Pickling is another option.

RHUBARB - (1 lb) - These tart green & magenta stalks this hardy perennial vegetable is generally thought of as a fruits. It’s mouth puckering goodness is often sweetened with a little sugar or honey and is used in dishes like crisps, compotes, and pies (from which it gets its second name, "pie plant"). Rhubarb also lends a fruitiness to savory dishes and pairs very nicely with pork and poultry. To use: wash and trim off any dry ends. Some peel the skin but there’s no need to do this and besides it holds lots of color and flavor. Store in loose plastic in the crisper drawer of the fridge, where it will keep for about a week or a little more. To freeze, cut the rhubarb stalks into 1-inch chunks and seal in an airtight bag and it will keep for up to a year.

CHIVES (1 bunch for FULL shares only) - Chives, with long, pencil-like, thin edible leaves with hollow centers and also edible purple flowers, belong to the allium family, making them relatives of onions, leeks, scallions, and garlic. They are typically chopped and are most often used as a garnish but are good on just about anything. Their flavor pairs well with any savory dish. and the bright green color adds visual appeal as well. Note: if added to a dish too early, they will wilt easily. Chives will keep a few weeks in the fridge in a plastic bag although quality will be better if used within a week.

OPTIONAL ITEMS this week:

RUTABAGA (1 lb or more) - Nutritious root vegetable with dense sweet-tasting flesh also known as Swedish turnip or neep. When you buy at the store, rutabagas are often coated in wax so they need to be peeled before cooking. Since these are organic and not waxed, peeling is optional. Can be used in hearty soups like beef barley or chicken noodle, stew, and casseroles, boiled, mashed (with potatoes and/or cauliflower, or on their own), and are excellent roasted, either alone or, with other root veggies like carrots, radishes, turnips, potatoes, onions, etc. This long storing veggie can be stored in the refrigerator, in the crisper drawer. Or if you’ll be using within a week or two, these can be stored like potatoes and onions in a cool, dark place on the counter.
1 dozen EGGS

Other items available in DESIGN MY SHARE:

SORREL (1 bunch) - Kind of a salad green & kind of a herb and in the same family as rhubarb, sorrel’s astringent citrusy flavor adds a little kick to your meal. And its rich in potassium, vitamins Q, B1, and C. A rule of thumb for using - anywhere you’d add a squeeze or two of lemon, sorrel would be good! When heat is added, sorrel breaks down nicely making it a great thickener for sauces and soups. It’s strong flavor pairs well with fatty meats & fish like salmon, creamy dishes, and cheeses. Great cut into thin strips and mixed with other salad greens to eat fresh. Other ideas include using it in soups, sauces, pesto, salads & dressings, potato toppings, hummus, quiches, omelets, crepe fillings, pizza, pasta dishes. 7 More Recipe Ideas Sorrel will last 1-2 weeks in a plastic bag in your fridge. If you wish to rinse or wash, wait until just before using to prolong shelf life.)

NETTLES (1/4 lb)

CARROTS (1 lb) - Store the roots dry and unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. Guide & Recipes

YUKON GOLD POTATOES (1 lb) - An all-purpose popular variety known for thin, smooth, eye-free skin and yellow-tinged flesh. Its moist flesh and sweet buttery flavor is versatile and can be used for roasting, baking, frying, mashing, and making potato salads. from Mythic Farm - organic Guide & Recipes

PETER WILCOX POTATOES (1 lb) Blue skin with gold flesh these add nutrition because of their blue color and are very versatile. Firm, but not waxy, they can be roasted, boiled, grilled, sliced or fried. A NY Times food editor has said they posses "a full earthy flavor with hints of hazelnuts." We're not sure on that but agree they taste great! from Mythic Farm - organic Guide & Recipes

DAKOTA RUBY POTATOES (1 LB) - Red skin, white flesh. from Mythic Farm - organic Guide & Recipes

RAW ROLLED OATS (1 lb) - Packed with flavor and nutrition because, unlike those on the grocery store shelves, they haven't been heat treated. Use as you would traditional rolled oats, in porridge, granola, cookies, crumble toppings, breads, and more. Store in the fridge or freezer. (from Meadowlark Organics)

BLACK ECLIPSE BEANS (1 lb) - A classic, inky black bean, perfect for soups or as a stand alone dish. Eclipse beans are more of a Cuban or Brazilian style bean than Mexican, but you’ll love them however you choose to prepare them. These beans have been cleaned and sorted, but it’s a good idea to pick through and give them a good rinse before you get cooking. (from Meadowlark Organics)

ALL PURPOSE BOLTED FLOUR (2 lbs) - Best applications include but are not limited to cakes, crackers, pizza dough, and breads. PROTEIN CONTENT= 10.5%. (from Meadowlark Organics)

MES SHARES - Delivery at Jacobs Way & Country Grove

FULL

1 lb Ground Beef
2 dozen Eggs

HALF

1 dozen Eggs

EGG SHARES

WEEKLY & BIWEEKLY = 1 Dozen

RECIPES:

On the Farm . . .

Marlee in action filming one of our pigs grazing. Video below. ⬇️

Watch this guy chomp down grasses and slurp up dandelions as he lives his best life.

Bill transplanting spinach.

Aidan holding honeyberry plants that will be the start of our honeyberry patch which will take a couple years to establish and bear fruit.

Honeyberries are from the honeysuckle family and are somewhat similar to blueberries with a tangy taste described as a mix of blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry.

We've had a tumultuous history with strawberries never having much success in getting a good amount of fruit. BUT we are nothing if not stubborn, so we're trying again. Here we're digging plants up from the "bad" bed (lol) that became very weedy and didn't yield well.

We then moved them to a "better" area closer to the house that has more nearby foot traffic and thereby attention. We think that lack of attention may actually be our historical impediment to having a successful yield. ;)

Happy kale planted in strips that held sweet corn last year.

Garlic we planted last fall and mulched with woodchips. They'll continue growing and scapes can be expected in about a month.

Last fall, after Liam scrounged through and took what he wanted, the guys took a load of old metal scraps to our local L & M Salvage Yard. While waiting to have their haul weighed up, they started looking around at what others had brought in and found the old tobacco planter you see Aidan riding on above and attached to the tractor Bill's driving.

Not to worry though, we're NOT starting to grow tobacco! Although they had even me wondering when they came home excited about their find. They laughed and explained it could be used to plant any seedlings. Phew!

They waited all winter to try it out and so far have planted broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and corn seedlings. And while they want to make a few minor adjustments, it's working great and saving us a lot of time crawling around on the ground to get the baby plants in the ground.

A trailerful of seedlings ready to be planted. You think a green plant is, but the actual variety of greens amongst vegetable plants is fun to look at.