Week 2 - June 9 & 12

This week's box includes the following:

1. A nice bunch of chard - blue band. This is a combo of Bright Lights, Argenta and Rainbow so you should notice some beautiful colors.
2. A small bunch of kale - young Siberian Improved - green band
   
3. A small bunch of spinach - Saturday members may not have this - red band - I suggest eating this fresh, tossed into a salad.
   
4. A large bunch of lettuce - this is a lettuce mix and includes oak leaf, red leaf, dear tongue and green leaf. Yellow band
   
5. 4 or 5 smallish beets. They are young and can be peeled and eaten raw or you can take off the tops and just cover with water in a sauce pan - bring to a boil and then simmer until tender (up to an hour for large beets but maybe 30 minutes for smaller beets). After they are tender, run under cool water and rub the beets. The skins will slip off and you can serve with dinner. The greens are good sauteed.
6. A nice bunch of radishes - this is a combo of French Breakfast, Cherry Belle and Rudolph. If there's a white radish, it's a hailstone. You can sautee the whole radish - greens and root - in a little butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Of course you can eat the radish root raw - add a little salt. Or slice and toss in a salad. Dave made a wonderful rice stir fry last night with sauteed radish and greens, rice, soy, and eggs which are cooked in a little sesame oil and then tossed into the rice at the end.
7. Mustard Greens - blue band
8. Arugula - Yellow band - this may include blooms. You can eat the flowers and buds and leaves. Excellent source of protein for a green. Eat fresh or cooked.

Optional (on the table to take)

1. Maybe a few shelling peas - These are Coral Shelling Peas. Break open the shell and eat the pea. They might not make it to the table - or even out of the box.
2. A head of broccoli - sorry, I don't have a head for each box. But, I'll leave out what is ready. If you got a head last week, please don't take one this week. We'll go on like this for a few weeks (sharing and alternating with broccoli until there's more available). So if there's a head here, please take one if you'd like.
   
3. Herbs - one sprig basil, one sprig rosemary, one or two sprigs chocolate or peppermint mint, 2 or 3 sprigs cilantro, a small handful of thyme, oregano, basil, sage. I'll put out the Bergamot sage this week - it's very tasty with pork - slice it and add to a dry rub for ribs or top a roast with it or saute and then add eggs (same with thyme). I'll also put out a little lavender - you can dry the lavender, thyme and rosemary and make your own Herbs de Provence mixture - very tasty when sprinkled on ribs with a little salt and grilled.

For more ideas on how to use greens, please see the most recent posting on the recipe blog - click on the link above and look for greens. Marnie Reid contributed that post. If anyone has a recipe to share or other ideas for members, please type it out and I can paste it to the blog. Thanks, Marnie, for your contribution!

Bug Info. - There might be a few small slugs on the lettuce or mustard so just keep an eye out for them.