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Veggies for the week:

Salad mix

Coned green cabbage

Blueberries

Onions

Basil!!!

Cucumber

Zucchini

Kale- add to your smoothies! Try a few leaves of kale, one frozen bananna, one apple or pear, a fresh peach and two cups of water. Blend well..you’ll never be able to tell your eating raw kale!

One single tomato–yesss

Broccoli

For the week:

Salad mix

Onion bunches

Chard- saute with garlic until soft. Then scramble eggs into the pan, when finished top with fresh parmesan cheese.

Garlic-first of the year- enjoy!

Broccoli

Cabbage- green coned cabbage – so cute and yummy (see recipe below for coleslaw)

Potatoes- first of the year too!

Zucchini- dito- I’ve been putting zukes in everything – frying, baking, sauteing.

Blueberries- these are picked from down the road at a neighbors small blueberry farm- organically grown and delicious.

Cilantro-

RECIPE: Creamy coleslaw

3 c. shredded green cabbage

1c. shredded red cabbage

1 carrot grated

1 scallion finely chopped

Dressing: 3 tbsp. mayo

2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1tsp. agave, honey or maple syrup

1 tsp. tamari or shoyu

freshly ground pepper to taste

Toss all veggies in a bowl. Whisk the dressing in a separate bowl then pour over slaw and mix. serve chilled- one of our favorites for a  quick side salad.

Salad mixto

Red onion bunches

Collards- try thinly slicing these greens and braise them in the skillet or boil. Then toss with:1 tsp. honey or other sweetener, 2 tsp. brown rice vinegar, 1 tsp. hot pepper oil, 1 tsp. sesame oil and 2-4 tbsp. of toasted sesame seeds…yumm!

Broccoli!- finally the best broccoli we have ever grown – probably aided with the help of the cool wet spring.

Parsley-add all your parsley to a cold quinoa salad with some shredded carrot and toasted sunflower seeds. An easy dressing is : 3 garlic cloves, 1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/4 c. olive oil, and 2-4 tbsp. tamari. Toss and set in the fridge for later. ( If you don’t know how to make quinoa boil 1 c. dry quinoa to 1 and 3/4 c. water with a dash of salt then let simmer until water is absorbed one of the most nutrient dense grains that is high in protein).

Napa Cabbage-finely dice this nice green and add to your salad.

Radishes-

Beets- grate them into your salad or boil and then add to salads or on the side.

Salad mix; you know what to do here. If you can’t use it all just make a GBS- great big salad for one or many of your meals. We like to do this at dinner time because it is so hot out anyway and it is a nice lite dinner topped with avocado, nuts, and other fresh fixin’s.

Cilantro:  try making a little cilantro pesto…same this as regular pesto except you just add cilantro instead of basil. So plenty of olive oil, a nut like walnuts or some seeds (like sunflowers or pumpkin) salt, garlic, maybe some fresh parsley and blend. This makes a great sandwich topping.

Radishes

Carrots

Rainbow chard: Try: Greens in a Cashew Curry sauce:  Try a quick braising of these nutritious greens or boiling just lighting until very bright green. Set them aside and blend separately : 1/2 c. cashew butter, 1 tbsp of curry paste, 1 tbsp tamari, and 3/4 c. water.  Then add the sauce and greens in a pan to warm up. Served over  a bed of rice or quinoa  is a great side dish. ( you can do this with any dark leafy green)

Baby onions: yes finally! These are so sweet and delicious to add to your salads or whatever else you like. Use the whole thing – greens and all.

Enjoy the week! SWF

Thank you for celebrating Independence Day by supporting your local, independent farmer.  In a time where illegal immigration and border control are hot topics of discussion, the media seems to lack stories discussing one of the roots of this issue:   cheap food.    Both legal and illegal immigrants must continue to enter this country.  Who else will pick the tomatoes, lettuce, and onions and work the slaughter houses that are necessary to keep the cheap hamburgers flowing in our supermarkets, restaurants, and schools?  

We appreciate your decision to support artisan, local, slow food.  The vegetables in your box are a little more expensive and at the same time, we believe, they are worth it.  The nutritional quality and taste of hand crafted local food cannot be compared with food produced in a huge, expansive system.

Every time you support a local farmer, rancher, bee keeper, or business you are making America a more resilient, wealthy, and healthy country.  Eat salad and long live the USA!!!!!

Here are your veggies for the week:

Salad Mix:  Toss up a big one for Freedom!

Dill:  We won’t have any more fresh dill for about a month so I decided to have it two weeks in a row.  If you don’t think you’ll use it soon, just hang it up on the wall, dry it, and crumble it into a container to use later as a dried herb

Radishes:  A sweet, spicy addition to your Freedom Salad

Kale:  Even though this variety is called “Red Russian” don’t question this vegetable’s loyalty to the Red, White, and Blue!  Steam, fry, or boil with a little oil and salt for a vitamin packed side dish.

Strawberries:  The sun’s energy squeezed into a sweet little red morsel

Garlic Whistles:  Chop up these curly guys and savor an early mild taste of this year’s garlic crop.

Napa Cabbage:  The crispy ribs of the leaves of Napa Cabbage are wonderful additions towards the end of a stir fry.  Start with a wok and oil.  Fry onions until they begin to sweeten.  Then throw in in your tofu, chicken, or protein of choice.  Next add carrot slivers.  Cover for a minute or two to help soften this root crop then continue to stir fry.  Next add chopped chunks of Napa Cabbage and brocolli and lightly fry.  Turn off heat.  Mix up a sauce of sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, fresh ginger and fresh garlic.  Mix sauce into stir fry, let marinate for a few minutes, and enjoy with noodles or rice.

Take care, friends!

Collard greens: one of our favs..our friend who traveled to Brazil told us of a simple and delicious recipe. Saute 3-4 cloves of garlic in olive oil till brown. Then remove the garlic and after thinly slicing (and de-steming) your greens lightly braise them in the garlic infused oil until tender and bright green. Serve along side of some pinto beans and rice.

Dill: Some of you might not know what to do with so much of this fresh herb, but it will soon be a staple to your meals. Add it fresh to salads especially potato salad, dilly beans and rice, or just dry it by hanging it upside down and use later as needed (maybe for your pickles).

Spinach

Salad mix

Sweet peas: these might be all you see until the fall. We had a bit of a crop failure this year but we will soon be seeding more for the fall.

Strawberries

Napa cabbage: these guys are a little under-developed but we wanted to add something else to your basket. So.. fine dice them and add as a last finishing touch to your stir-frys for some bright green crunch.

Enjoy and have a great summer week!- SWF

Greetings from Ryan and Stephanie, the current volunteers at Sweet Water Farm. We have been helping to pack boxes for the CSA, as well as harvesting the produce, weeding, and transplanting your upcoming vegetables! Everything is looking really beautiful around here; there are some excellent greens and lots of strawberries this week. Below you will find a few recipes and serving suggestions, and of course everything is delicious to eat straight from the box, too!

This week there is also a surprise addition from Ryan–a sourdough bread mini-loaf.  This past week, Ryan cultivated a sourdough culture; attracting the local yeast to take up residence in a jar of flour and water. No commercial yeast allowed. Your loaf contains just unbleached white bread flour, whole wheat flour, sweet water and a little salt.

In addition to the sourdough, here is a complete listing of what else you’ll find in your veggie box this week:

CILANTRO – a great, spring-flavored herb for salads, spring rolls, tacos, sauces, pestos…just about anything to which you want to add a bright, fresh tone. If adding to a cooked dish, try sprinkling fresh cilantro on top right before serving.

SPINACH – enjoy lightly steamed, boiled until their green just brightens, or raw on a sandwich or in a salad

CHARD – also excellent to cook with, such as in soups and quiche. Highly nutritious, and the stems taste beet-y. Recipes below!

HEAD LETTUCE – delicious in fresh salads, and adds a nice crunch to sandwiches, wraps, burritos.

GARLIC SCAPES - add chopped scapes to sautees, put in pesto, or roast in the oven whole alongside fresh asparagus spears!

STRAWBERRIES – you know what to do 

As promised, here are some chard recipes / serving ideas:

CHARD SPRING ROLLS

You can use your favorite spring roll recipe and simply replace the rice paper with chard as the wrapper. We suggest using the following filling ingredients to get started:

shredded carrots

alfalfa or mung sprouts

finely chopped cilantro

diced meat or tofu

When your fillings are ready, simply place them in the center of a whole chard leaf, and then bend the sides inwards and roll! Dip in tamari, peanut sauce, pesto, hummus…mmm.

CHARD BURRITOS

Following the spring roll idea, you can also use chard as a tortilla for a burrito. This works great if you have leftover rice and beans. If you want to eat everything warmed, you can wrap the leftovers in a chard leaf, then place in a steamer for only a couple minutes, until the chard softens but is still vivid green. Serve as a burrito, or top with sauce and cheese as an enchilada. That’s it! You might have to eat it with a fork, since the leaves aren’t quite as thick and sturdy as a tortilla.

Chard is also great when massaged between the fingers with a little oil and salt; this gives a similar texture to sauteeing, but the chard remains uncooked and works excellent as a salad or side dish. If you do cook the chard, do so in an oiled skillet on medium-high, for about 4-6 minutes. The chard should look wilted, but still green, not mushy.

Enjoy this nutritious green!

Your veggies for the week are:

Kale- see recipe below

Garlic Scapes- This is the flowering top of hardneck garlic varieties that we snap off and eat. By snapping the top off more energy is sent into the garlic instead of trying to make a flower. What is nice about this is there is no peeling of garlic necessary. Just chop and use for a mild garlic flavor!

Strawberries

Salad mix

Parsley- chop up finely and add to your salads for more nutrition.

Spinach- grated carrot, toasted sunflower seeds, and feta with a light vinaigrette is delicious.

Recipe: Kale Salad

1 bunch fresh kale leaves (take stems out and   fine ribbons)

1/2 med. onion (or less to taste)

1 avocado cut into cubes

1/4 c. sunflower seeds

1/4 c. sesame seeds

1/ . pumpkin seeds

1/3 c. lemon juice

1/3c. olive oil

1/3 c. shoyu, braggs, or tamari

-slice onion thinly

-in a skillet toast seeds- do each batch separately as they toast at different rates

-In a blender (although not necessary) blend oil and shoyu and drizzle in lemon juice to emulsify.

Massage the dressing into kale, then add onion and seeds.

Toss in avocado last. Enjoy- this is one of our favorites and it’s key to massage the kale!