Always with the first CSA share of the season we’re celebrating the greens – arugula, fava greens, mustard greens, and don’t forget to use those turnip greens too! The recipe packet has some great greens recipes – everything from fresh salads to heartier stews. Much of the share hardly needs to be cooked this time of year – snack on radishes & turnips raw, make arugula and fava greens into a quick spicy salad, or put the garlic scapes on the grill for just a minute or two. The spring veggies are so tender and flavorful I think they shine with a lighter touch so the bright color and flavors come through. Enjoy!

You can download Recipe Packet for this week’s share HERE.

And by the way, we still have a few summer shares left for sale!! Follow the links above to sign up. We’ve also posted some fun photos of the farm crew and the veggies on our Facebook page.

This week your share may include…

• Arugula: I learned one of my favorite arugula dishes at the Busy Corner, a quirky neighborhood restaurant now sadly long since gone. They served up 2 perfectly poached eggs on a lightly dressed arugula salad that was sprinkled with pimentón de la Vera and served with toasted baguettes. So simple and so good!
• Beets: The last of our winter beets – they have served us in good stead through spring.
• Fava Greens: I think these are a very interesting and tasty greens. They have some of the heft of spinach with a mild but complex flavor. I can taste the fava bean in there, but they’re also slightly nutty with a hint of artichoke. I love adding them to salad, but they’re great sauteed too. Whatever you do, use them fast as they don’t last long.
• Garlic Scapes or Whistles: These are the tender tangled flower stalks from Early Chinese Pink garlic. True to it’s name, this is our earliest variety – it flowers first and the bulbs mature early too. Scapes are easy to use and tasty raw or sauteed. This variety is on the spicy side when raw so it’ll add a nice kick to a salad. The flavor mellows when you cook them.
• Green Garlic: In the fall when we plant our regular garlic field, we always save a few cloves just for green garlic. These are planted on a much closer spacing – just a few inches apart – and harvested early in the spring. The bulb end is most tender and can be used raw or sauteed. The tops are flavorful too they just take a few minutes longer to cook.
• Lettuce Mix: I love my winter greens, but I also look forward to the return of the simple lettuce salad.
• Mustard Greens: These are spicy when raw and add a nice kick to salads. When cooked they lose the kick, but happily keep the good flavor.
• Radish: These are such a nice peppery snack – I love them just plain. Or try this radish butter spread on fresh bread.  
  
• Turnips: These are not your grandmothers turnip – they are pure white, crunchy, mild japanese salad turnips. The variety is Hakuri and the greens are tasty too!

Coming soon… cherry tomato plants for your garden!

This is the last and final winter share of the season. Hope you’ve enjoyed the glorious greens, sweet winter carrots, giant cauliflower and all the rest. Your membership is what makes the farm possible, so don’t forget to sign up for the SUMMER SHARE if you haven’t already!! We’ll look forward to seeing you in May…

The Recipe Packet has some great ideas for beans & greens, as well as all of the other veggies.

This week your share may include…

Arugula: Tasty little bunches will make a delightful spring salad!

Dry Beans: You can chose from either a red & white Berlotti type called King of the Early or a traditional black bean called Black Coco. There are instructions at the end of the recipe packet, but basically you can soak & cook these just as you would any other dry beans. That said, I think you’ll find them much more beautiful and flavorful than any other dry beans!

Beets: Our stalwart winter variety, Lutz aka Winterkeeper.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli: You’ll see a mix of early and late sprouting broccoli in the share. Some have more leaf and others are more elongated like a broccolini. Everything about it is tasty – steam or saute it all including leaves, tender stems and little broccoli buds.

Cauliflower: Our overwintering cauliflower is in full swing. This was planted last July and needs to go thorough the winter before it makes a head in the spring. It takes some patience, but the giant tender sweet heads are worth it!

Chard: Beautiful rainbow chard is such a versatile cooking green. I often use it to replace spinach in lasagna, spanikopita or other dishes. And I always have to include a link to My Grandmothers Chard Bisque.

Fava Greens: These are the leaves from the fava bean plant. They have a mild, but interesting flavor that reminds me of artichokes. They’re great in salads or can be lightly sauteed.

Leeks:  The leeks are beautiful and delicious.

Mizuna: What a happy surprise to see this was ready to harvest! So nice to have these tender spring greens in the share. They’re related to mustard greens, but much more mild. You can use them in salad or lightly saute them.

Potatoes: I never tire of these Yellow Finn potatoes. I recently made spanish tortillas with them – so simple and easy and good! There are many variations on the tortilla theme, but this recipe from Mark Bittman is one of my favorites.

Coming soon… Sign up for SUMMER SHARE and find out!

What a glorious week of sunny weather we’ve had! The nice relatively dry spring has allowed us to get things planted much earlier this year. We already have peas, fava beans, broccoli, lettuce, carrots and more in the ground. If this weather continues we could have our most bountiful summer season yet. Download all the info you need to sign up for the Summer Share here!!

The Recipe Packet has some great ideas for arugula and the other greens as well as many other veggies.

This week your share may include…

Arugula: We planted this in the the high tunnel and it was ready unexpectedly early. Everything happens faster when the weather is over 70 degrees in March!

Beets: Our stalwart winter variety, Lutz aka Winterkeeper.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli: The sprouting broccoli is kicking into high gear and it is looking great.

Cauliflower: The first of the overwinter cauliflower is finally here. This was planted last July and needs to go thorough the winter before it makes a head in the spring. It takes some patience, but these beautiful tender heads are worth it.

Cayenne Peppers: These little dried peppers are hot! Take out the seeds to reduce the heat, or include them if you want to spice it up.

Carrots: We’re nearing the end of the winter carrot season – enjoy them while they last.

Collards: I love these very versatile greens. One of my favorite ways to use them is this recipe with black-eyed peas or try them in the raw salad with pickled raisins from your recipe packet.

Leeks:  This variety, King Richard, has beautiful long white shanks that are nice and tender.

Potatoes: Red Desiree potatoes.

Rapini: This week we’re picking from both the kale & collards. If we let them, the buds will eventually form flowers, then seeds so that the cycle can begin again. However our priority, is to snap as many little stems as possible so you can enjoy these tender sweet treats.

Coming soon… an assortment of beautiful dried beans!

Our glorious summer season has started, and the weather we’ve been having has been making us ever more excited about all we’ll have to offer our treasured shareholders over the next few months. We’d love you to be one of them – don’t miss another bounteous pickup and sign up for a prorated share today!

To get signed up, first choose which pickup location suits you best: SE Portland or Lake Oswego’s Luscher Farm, then click the appropriate link below to learn more and/or order.

SE PORTLAND
This pickup is at 6632 SE 47th Ave, Portland OR 97206 on Tuesdays from 5-7pm. Click here to learn more.

LAKE OSWEGO
This pickup is at Luscher Farm, 125 Rosemont Ave, Lake Oswego on Thursdays from 5-7pm. Click here to learn more.

And presto: a summer’s worth of delicious, local produce is yours!

For a list of what veggies have been included in past CSA shares, click here

Yesterday was the Small Farmer & Rancher rally in Salem. The Friends of Family Farmers have done a great job organizing and promoting small farmers concerns at the legislature. Find out more here about the issues and how you can help.

The Recipe Packet has some great ideas for purple sprouting broccoli & parsnips as well as all of the other veggies.

This week your share may include…

Beets: We’re happy to finally have some of these nice Lutz beets in the share.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli: The sprouting broccoli is kicking into high gear and it is looking great! There are quite a few recipes for it in your packet.

Carrots: We’re nearing the end of the winter carrot season – enjoy them while they last.

Chard: Beautiful rainbow chard. My grandmothers chard bisque recipe is here.

Collards: I love these very versatile greens. One of my favorite ways to use them is this recipe with black-eyed peas or try them with beets & tahini sauce from your recipe packet.

Leeks: This variety, King Richard, has beautiful long white shanks that are nice and tender.

Parsnips: The humble parsnip adds such nice flavor to winter soups & stews.

Potatoes: Yellow Finn potatoes.

Shallots: These are a variety called Conservor. This is the first year we’ve grown these and many of them are quite large. They have good flavor, similar to a French Shallot. A recipe for braising these is in your packet.

Coming soon… we’re hoping for cauliflower!

This is a rare opportunity to learn from one of Portland’s best cooking teachers and Slow Food national board chair Katherine Deumling.  She is teaching a class using on Saturday March 16th from 2-4pm at Luscher Farm in Lake Oswego. The focus of the class is cooking with all the beautiful winter veggies that we grow here. Learn how to make a variety of dishes illustrating simple and inspiring ways to enjoy the winter season produce. The class offers opportunities for participation, interaction and lots of tasting, so bring your questions about winter produce and come cook with us. Her class at Luscher Farm sold out last fall so sign up asap!!

Get more info and sign up for the class HERE.

I took all of the farm crew to the OSU Small Farms Conference last weekend and we went to some really good sessions. I participated in a workshop with Eleanor O’Brien from Persephone Farm about different strategies we use to control pests on our farms. At Persephone Farm, they plant flowers out into many of their fields to help bring pollinators and beneficial insects closer to the crops. We’ve done this a few times in the past with mixed results, but hearing about Eleanor’s success made me inspired to try again.

Here is the Recipe Packet for this week’s share. I know that the link didn’t work for everyone last week so I’ve tried it a new way this time. Let me know if you have any trouble.

This week your share may include…

Beets: We’re happy to finally have some of these nice Lutz beets in the share. 

Purple Sprouting Broccoli: The sprouting broccoli is kicking into high gear and it is looking great! There were lots of recipes for the broccoli in the Feb 18th Recipe Packet so check out those too.

Cabbage: Beautiful little savoy cabbages this week

Carrots: This has definitely been one of our best carrot  years and now carrots have come full circle on the farm – we just made our first spring planting of them last week.

Chard: Beautiful rainbow chard which which would make tasty chard patties.

Leeks: This variety, King Richard, has beautiful long white shanks that are nice and tender. Try them with the recipes for beans or  parsnips that were in your recipe packet last week.

Potatoes: Nice Desiree red potatoes.

Shallots: These are a variety called Conservor. This is the first year we’ve grown these and many of them are quite large. They have good flavor, similar to a French Shallot. Let me know what you think?

Winter Squash: We’ve only grown the Thelma Sanders squash for a few years, but it has become one of my favorites.  We got it originally from Seed Savers Exchange, where it had been passed from on from farmers in Missouri to Ohio. I wasn’t convinced it would ripen in our relatively cool maritime summers, and was pleasantly surprised when it ripened well, had good sweet flavor and then stored better than most others it’s size. It look like a large cream colored acorn squash, but this time of year the acorns are long gone and Thelma is our shining rock-star squash! Some great squash recipes in the packet.

Coming soon… more raab & rapini!