May 30, 2024 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Baby Bok Choi

 

What's In The Box

Baby Bok Choi: Read more about this week’s featured vegetable on our blog. Enjoy baby bok choi either raw in salads or lightly cooked. Wash it well before use, especially the base where the leaves attach as there may be dirt in the lower ribs.

Asparagus: We are nearly finished with asparagus for the season. We’re hoping for one more week of harvest, but no guarantees. The lower portion of the stems can be tough and “woody,” but this part still has flavor! Save these pieces to make vegetable broth!

Rhubarb: Pies, cakes, cookies, and desserts are the typical “go-to” for rhubarb. But don’t forget rhubarb is a vegetable and may also be used in soups and stews, chutney and sauces. Plus, rhubarb may be cooked down and incorporated into a variety of beverages!

Salad Mix AND Baby Arugula OR Baby Spinach: All of these delicate baby greens have had a bit of stress given the amount of rain they’ve experienced over the past two weeks. As such, the shelf life on these items may not be as long as usual. We encourage you to keep these bags in the refrigerator as the cold will prolong their life. However, it may be best to prioritize using these items within a few days of receiving for optimal outcomes.

Hon Tsai Tai: We are harvesting our second and final crop. This week’s bunches are a little younger than what we were harvesting last week thus the stems should be more tender. You may eat this green raw or cooked and it may be used interchangeably with bok choi or other cooking greens in many recipes. Don’t forget to eat the flowers too!

Baby White Salad Turnips: These tender, sweet turnips do not need to be peeled and require minimal cooking time. The greens are also edible, so don’t throw them away! Rinse them well, pat dry, then rough chop them and add them to pasta dishes or soup.

Pea Vine: Pea vine is a pea plant that is harvested while young and before it starts to blossom. The leaves and tender stems may be used in salads, sauteed or stir-fried, incorporated into soup, or blended into cream cheese or pesto. Sometimes the lower to middle part of the stem can become tough. If you find this to be true, remove the tender leaves and use the stem to flavor soups, stews, and broth.

Cilantro: This is the first of our spring-planted cilantro. Cilantro is not only flavorful, but it also serves as a powerful detoxifier for the body. Enjoy it in salads, blend into smoothies and juices, turn it into a dressing, or use it as a garnish for curries and dishes from other cultures.

Garlic Scapes: Scapes grow out of the top of a hard neck garlic plant as nature’s way of propagating a new plant. We remove them to encourage the plant to shunt its energy into making a bulb of garlic. You’ll find Scapes to be nearly entirely usable, up to the bulbil on the end which can be tough. They may be eaten raw, sautéed, grilled, roasted, or stir-fried.

Mini Bibb Head Lettuce: These little heads of lettuce have endured several inches of rainfall over the past few weeks; thus, they are more delicate and should be used sooner than later. You may notice some rust-colored blemishes on the bottom of the head. Just trim off this portion and use the rest. Wash the leaves well in a sink of cold water. Pat or spin off excess water before using.

CHOICE: Herb Packs—This week we have sent one herb pack per vegetable share. See below for more information!

Recipe Suggestions & Inspiration For This Week’s Box Contents

Bok Choi Salad with Sesame-Almond Crunch

Asparagus Mimosa

Greek Asparagus Salad

Tortellini Pasta with Asparagus, Spinach & Ham

Canal House Shaved Asparagus-Arugula Salad

Chana Saag (Chickpeas & Spinach Cooked with Warm Spices

Cilantro Lime Dressing

Citrus Cilantro Smoothie with Spinach

Hon Tsai Tai & Shiitake Potstickers

Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Garlic Scape & Cilantro Pesto

Garlic Scape Hummus

Stir Fried Garlic Scapes with Eggs

Creamy Turnips, Grits & Greens

Turnip Greens Pesto Pizza

Rhubarb Soda

Rhubarb Cordial

Salty Rhubarb Almond Crisp

Pea Vine Cream Cheese

Pea Vine Pesto Pasta Salad

Fettucine with Pea Vine Cream Sauce

Vegetable Feature: Baby Bok Choi

Originating in China, Bok choi is a member of the Brassica, or cabbage family. It is sometimes referred to as “Chinese Cabbage.” Bok Choi does have a hint of a cabbage-like flavor, but the vegetable itself bears no resemblance to cabbage. Its thick, white stems and dark, green leaves are all edible.

Preparation & Usage

Bok Choi in the Field

Before using the Bok choi you will need to take a moment to clean it. Fill a sink with cold water and trim the base of the Bok choi to allow the leaves to separate from the main stem. Swish the leaves in the water, and then check the base of each leaf. You may need to wash a little dirt off the base of the stem. If you are cooking the Bok choi, remove the greens from the water and shake off excess water. If you are going to use the Bok choi in a salad, you’ll want to dry them a little more in a salad spinner or put them in a kitchen towel and carefully shake them to remove excess moisture.

Baby Bok choi is tender enough to be eaten both raw in salads and cooked.  It is one of nature’s fast foods as it only takes a few minutes at most to stir-fry, sauté or steam it. I usually slice the stems of baby Bok choi separate from the leaves. If cooking, I give them a few additional minutes of cooking time before adding the leaves. Bok choi may be added to seasonal stir-fries, lightly steamed or sautéed and eaten alongside steamed rice and fish, or even cut in half and lightly cooked on a hot grill. If you’d prefer to eat Bok choi raw in a salad, simply dress the greens with a light vinaigrette.

Freshly Washed Bok Choi

Storage Tips

Store baby Bok choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator until ready for use.

Additional Fun Facts 

We added baby Bok choi to our repertoire of vegetables several years ago and it quickly became one of our “staple” crops that we now plant every week for as many as 20 weeks during our growing season.

Herb Pack Information

There are four perennial herbs in your pack:  Greek Oregano, Sage, German Winter Thyme & Rosemary (please note some packs may receive chervil in place of rosemary).  Oregano, sage and thyme are more cold hardy and have a pretty good chance of surviving our cold winters.  Consider where you would like to establish these herbs in your garden as they will likely come back year after year.  Sage and oregano will get quite large, so it is best to give them about 2 square feet of space in the area you plant them in.  Thyme is a bit smaller and only needs about 1 square foot of space.  While rosemary is a perennial herb, it is not quite as cold hardy.  To ensure it survives into the next year, it is best to bring it indoors in the fall. If you have planted it in the ground, you can dig it up and put it in a pot to keep inside over the winter. 

Oregano

Sage

German Winter Thyme

Rosemary

The remaining plants in your pack are annuals and include Italian Basil, Italian Parsley, Curly Parsley, Summer Savory, and Chervil (included in some packs in place of Rosemary).  Annuals will only produce for this season and will not survive the winter outdoors. Italian basil needs to be cut back regularly to delay flower and seed formation, so they continue to produce usable leaves.  If you see even the earliest sign of flowering in either of these plants, cut them back to keep them vegetative. Parsley will continue to produce throughout the season, so don’t be afraid to cut these plants back too.  If you can’t use your herbs as fast as they are growing, cut the extra herbs anyway and preserve them.  When harvesting your herbs, use a sharp knife or scissors so you can make a clean cut.

Italian Basil

Italian Parsley

Curly Parsley

Summer Savory

Grilled Bok Choi with Peanut Sauce

Bok Choi is a vegetable most commonly associated with Asian cuisine, but within the broad region of Asia it may be used in many different ways depending upon the cuisine.  This week’s recipe is not necessarily indigenous to any particular country, but it is reminiscent of flavors from Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.  The thing I like about this recipe is just how simple it is to prepare, but very flavorful and tasty!

Yield:  3-4 servings

4 small-medium baby bok choi, split length wise (about 1 pound)

¾ cup vegetable stock or water

⅓ cup peanut butter

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

¼ cup raw or roasted peanuts

Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

1 tsp finely sliced fresh red chili OR ¼-1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes

2 Tbsp crispy fried shallots (optional, when in season)

Freshly chopped cilantro, for garnishing (optional)

Fresh lime wedges (optional)

1. Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill until smoking. (Alternatively, you can use a large cast iron frying pan)
2. Meanwhile, soak the bok choi in a big bowl of water, agitating to help dislodge any grit, paying particular attention to the outer layers. Run under cold water, using your thumbs to push the leaves apart for one more gander, but try to leave the stems attached to the base if possible.  If you can’t remove all the dirt in this way, it’s ok to take the outer leaves off and just grill them individually.  Cut each head of bok choi into halves or quarters, allowing the base to hold all of the stems together. 
3. Once the pan or grill is hot, shake excess water off the bok choi and press each piece face down into the pan. Leave over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, then flip face-side-up for another 3 minutes or so, until the stalks are mildly translucent.
4.  Meanwhile, combine the stock/water, peanut butter, oyster sauce, soy sauce and vinegar in a saucepan and mix to combine. If you are using dried red chili flakes, add them to the sauce now. If you are using fresh chilis, you may wish to add them as a garnish just before serving. Place the sauce mixture over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring, and adding more stock of the sauce needs to be thinned slightly. Season with salt and black pepper to your liking.
5. If using raw peanuts, toast these in a pan until golden, then roughly chop.
6. Arrange the bok choi across a platter. Pour over plenty of the sauce, then garnish with the peanuts, and seasonal garnishes as desired.
7. Serve as a side dish all on its own, or pair it with steamed rice or noodles and a protein of your choosing (e.g., grilled steak or chicken, tofu) to make a complete meal. Give it a squeeze of fresh lime just before serving if desired.

NOTE:  If you do not have Oyster Sauce, you may substitute it with fish sauce, hoisin sauce or just add additional soy sauce.

Recipe borrowed and adapted from In Praise of Veg:  The Ultimate Cookbook for Vegetable Lovers by Alice Zaslavsky.