Where’s the Salad Mix & Lettuce?

By Andrea Yoder

This week’s article was prompted by inquiries from several CSA members expressing that they would like to have more salad greens in the weekly vegetable shares. Valid request and we know our salad mix in particular is enjoyed by many for its convenience as well as its place as a staple component of many meals.  Well, you too may be wondering why we aren’t sending more salad mix, spinach, lettuce, etc. your way, thus we thought it would be appropriate to share the full story with you this week!  

First, a little history for you. Richard, being the pioneer of organic farming in the Midwest that he is, was a key part of the picture of introducing mixed baby greens to this part of the country. He visited growers on the west coast where he saw them growing baby greens and lettuces to make salad mix (also known as mesclun mix). He brought the concept back to the Midwest and spent many years refining our production system. Fast forward 30 plus years and salad mix/Mesclun mix is grown extensively across the country on much larger scale than our operation.  It’s easily available year-round on grocery store shelves, so if they can do it, why can’t we?  

Salad Lettuce Varieties in the Field

Well, it is possible to grow salad greens and head lettuce over the course of the entire growing season, and that was our plan at one time. We used to plant these crops weekly from early April into late September or early October. We invested in a mechanical cutter to harvest with so we could scale up production. And then after several years we realized, it’s just not worth it to grow salad greens or lettuce in the heat of the summer.  You see, lettuce, baby arugula, spinach, etc. actually grow best in the cool of the spring and fall. In fact, they thrive during these parts of the season, producing flavorful products with rich colors that just look healthy and vibrant. During the heat of the summer though, these delicate plants are stressed. They take on an “old” appearance early in their life and they are often bitter and/or have off flavors. The summer months are also intense times for weed pressure and we found, in some locations, that the weeds grew faster than the product! We’d lose the crop to a bed of purslane, and it felt very defeating.  One day we stopped banging our head against the wall long enough to ask ourselves “Why are we trying to force these vegetables to grow during the time of the year when they are stressed and struggling?”  There were other factors at play as well. Baby greens and salad mix in particular are very labor-intensive products.  During the middle of the summer, we have so many other things to do that, from a business perspective, are much more profitable. So we made the decision to change our planting plans to only include 4-6 plantings of baby greens, lettuce, etc. in the spring.  again in the fall while taking the middle of the growing season off.  We also decided to limit our head lettuce crops to early in the spring and mid-late fall. Head lettuce can quickly melt down in the heat of the summer sun, or it may decide it’s done with its life cycle and shoot up a seed stock.  Plus, it just doesn’t taste good in the heat of the summer!  The flavor is much more balanced and desirable when grown in cool weather.

So, what does that leave us eating when there is no lettuce or salad greens to use for salads during the summer? This is how we learned to appreciate how we can use other vegetables that do thrive during the heat of the summer to build delicious and nutritious salads to enjoy as a side or as a main entrée. This is my challenge to all of you, to embrace the practice of eating seasonally even when it comes to salad greens and lettuce. I know this is probably where some of you may sign off and say “I don’t think so Andrea.  A green salad is a green salad…no substituting.”  And that’s ok.  For those of you who are still with me, there are a lot of great salad options awaiting you!

Roasted Beet & Kale Salad with Maple 
Candied Nuts

Still staying in the realm of leafy greens, there are actually some really great options in the class of summer greens.  Some of the greens we enjoy during the summer include kale, chard, baby bok choi and cabbage. One of the things I actually really like about these vegetables is that they are more durable and can be tossed with dressing or vinaigrette in advance, without getting too soggy.  This makes them great options for taking on road trips, picnics or just taking them for your lunch on a regular workday. You can enjoy these salad creations as a side dish, or easily turn them into a main dish by adding a protein of your choosing such as beans, tofu, cooked chicken, grilled steak or fish.  Plus, in the heat of the summer entrée salads are a cool alternative to heating up the oven or stovetop to make dinner! At the conclusion of this article, I will include a few of my favorite recipes in this category from past newsletters and hopefully there will be a few that appeal to you as well.

Garlic-Scented Tomato Salad

The other types of vegetable salads we can enjoy may be built out of the bounty of summer vegetables we have available to us, such as cucumbers, zucchini, beets, peppers, carrots, eggplant, tomatoes, corn, green beans and even melons and watermelon! Really, the possibilities are endless! There are so many creative ways to use these vegetables in different salads. You may choose to make a salad with vegetables only, such as a creamy cucumber salad with slices of fresh onions or a tomato salad with garlic and herbs. Of course, you can bulk it up with the addition of pasta, cooked grains such as quinoa, wild rice, farro or couscous. Fresh feta or mozzarella cheese, f. h herbs, flavorful vinegars and oils, toasted nuts and seeds, croutons, fruit such as peaches, grapes, cherries, or apples……are you starting to see how vast and wide the potential is here?!

So, I’ll leave you with the challenge of seeing what fun and delicious ways you can fill the void created by salad greens this summer.  And when fall rolls around and we include beautiful head lettuce and those colorful, delicate baby greens in our boxes once again, know that they are in the height of their glory, thriving in the season that fits their style best. Have fun, get creative, and don’t forget to share your summer vegetable salad creations with all of us in our Facebook Group!

Here are a few of my favorite summer vegetable salads from past CSA seasons:

Roasted Beet & Kale Salad with Maple Candied Nuts

Bok Choi Salad with Sesame Almond Crunch 

Red Cabbage Slaw with Maple Mustard Dressing 

Summer Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad (with Cabbage) 

Carrot Parsley Salad 

Swiss Chard Salad with Lemon, Parmesan and Breadcrumbs 

Grilled Corn and Kale Salad 

Summer Succotash Salad with Orzo 

Corn & Tomato Salad with Torn Croutons 

Grilled Eggplant & Quinoa Salad with Dates & Almonds 

Garlic-Scented Tomato Salad 

Red Pepper, Lentil & Tomato Salad

A Box Deconstructed- 6/1/2017

(Lettuce Not Pictured)

Cooking with This Week’s Box!

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." 
― Virginia Woolf

Before we dive into this week’s box, I’d like to highlight the cooking and recipe resources available at NY Times Cooking,  This is an online culinary resource I’ve started using more recently and would encourage you to check it out.  They have a weekly email newsletter called “Cooking” that you can sign up for in addition to utilizing their extensive collection of recipes online.  You can set up your own “recipe box” and when you come across a recipe that looks interesting just click “save” and it will be filed in your virtual recipe box so you can easily find it.  They also have cooking guides about different topics, such as How To Make Salad,  which often include videos demonstrating techniques and recipe preparation. I’ve found this resource to be very helpful and hope you do too!

Ok, lets get cooking.  

As June rolls in, I think it’s time to fire up the grill!  Use the asparagus in this week’s box to prepare Charred Asparagus with Green Garlic Chimichurri, a recipe featured on NY Times Cooking.  This makes a nice accompaniment to grilled chicken and is a great way to utilize the last of the green garlic this week!  Throw some extra chicken on the grill so you’ll have some available later in the week to make the Sesame-Soy Hon Tsai Tai & Chicken Salad, a recipe we featured in a newsletter back in 2014.  This salad uses Hon Tsai Tai as the salad green base alongside sliced radishes & a few turnips if you like. 

I’ve had my eye on a recipe for Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze  featured at NY Times Cooking.  This recipe will utilize the potato onions and cilantro in the box.  It calls for ground turkey, but you could substitute ground pork if you prefer.  It’s described more as an appetizer meatball dish, but makes enough to serve 4 if you eat them as a main dish.  Serve these with steamed rice and some sautéed greens to make a full meal.  This is a great place to put the radish tops to use.  Remove the greens from the radishes, wash well, dry and then chop into bite-sized pieces.  Lightly saute the radish greens along with some baby kale mix, turnip greens, hon tsai tai, or any other greens that might be hanging out in your refrigerator from a previous week’s deliveries.

The Turnip Salad with Yogurt, Herbs & Poppy Seeds (below) is on the menu this week served alongside broiled or grilled salmon which pairs nicely with the light flavors in this salad.  This is just one of many salad options you have this week!  This recipe is also featured on Dishing Up The Dirt.  Salads are a good option to take for lunches or can become a quick and easy dinner option if you don’t have much time to cook.  If you’re looking for some new inspiration to throw into your salads this week, check out the recipe collection at NY Times Cooking entitled: 9 Dressings and Vinaigrettes That Will Make You Fall in Love With Salad .  If you want to keep things super-simple, just make a jar of Mark Bittman’s Jar Vinaigrette.  It doesn’t get much easier than this!  Keep this jar of simple vinaigrette in the refrigerator so it’s easy to reach for when you want to toss it with a handful of salad mix or baby kale mix. 

That does it for this week’s box.  Enjoy your cooking adventures and start thinking about what you’d like to make with the strawberries coming up next week!—Chef Andrea   

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Pancetta Wrapped Baby Turnips

Yield:  6 appetizer portions

1 bunch baby White Turnips

6-12 paper-thin slices pancetta

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Place a flat wire roasting rack in a large rimmed baking sheet.

2. If the greens are still attached to the turnips, trim them off, leaving at least ½-inch of the stem intact. Reserve the greens for another use. Trim the root ends of the turnips flat so they will stand upright. If the turnips are not all the same size, cut the larger ones in half. Gently scrub the turnips under cool running water to remove any dirt from the skins and between the stems and then pat dry.

3. Wrap each piece of turnip with a slice of pancetta (or a portion of a slice if the turnips are smaller), covering the turnip and leaving the stem exposed. The pancetta should cling tightly to the turnip skins. If not, use toothpicks to secure. Arrange the turnip on the rack in the pan, spacing them at least 1 inch apart.

Photo: Shutterstock

4. Roast until the turnips are tender when pierced with a paring knife and the pancetta is crisp and golden, 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the size of the turnips.  Remove the toothpicks if used.  Serve immediately, or let cool and serve at room temperature.

Photo Credit Roots by Diane Morgan

Recipe adapted from Roots by Diane Morgan.

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Turnip Salad with Yogurt, Herbs & Poppy Seeds

Yield:  4 servings

1 bunch baby white turnips

4 green onions, trimmed (including ½ inch of the green tops), sliced on a sharp angle

½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt (not Greek yogurt)

1 lemon, juiced

½ tsp dried red chili flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

About 1 cup lightly packed mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (may include mint, parsley, chives or any other fresh herbs you have available)

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup poppy seeds

1.       Slice the turnips lengthwise as thin as you can.  If you have a mandolin, use it;  otherwise a sharp knife and steady hand will do just fine.  Soak the sliced turnips in ice water for 15 minutes then drain them very well. (Note:  Soaking the turnips will make them very crisp.  This is a nice step to follow, but it isn’t essential if you’d prefer to skip it.)

2.       Rinse, dry and roughly chop the turnip greens.  Put them in a large bowl along with the sliced turnips and the green onions.

3.       Prepare the dressing.  In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, red chili flakes, ½ tsp salt, a bit of freshly ground black pepper and olive oil.  Stir well to combine, then add the herbs and poppy seeds.  Stir well.

4.       Just before serving, toss the vegetables with the dressing.  You may not need all of the yogurt dressing, so add some to the vegetables and toss first before adding more.  Adjust the seasoning with additional lemon juice, salt and pepper as needed.  Once the greens have been tossed with the yogurt dressing, they will not store if you have leftovers.  If you don’t think you’ll eat all of this salad at once, only dress the portion you need and save the extra vegetables and dressing for another meal.

      Note from Chef Andrea:  The method above is my adaptation of the original recipe featured on the Dishing Up the Dirt blog.  The original recipe comes from Joshua McFadden’s new book, Six Seasons of Vegetables.  The ingredients remained the same, I just simplified the method to make it easier to prepare in a home kitchen. 

The Valley is Waking Up

It's a gorgeous day in Harmony Valley. It's 72 degrees, sunny with just a few clouds in the sky and there is a nice breeze in the air. While we still see a lot of brown in the landscape around us, every day things get a little more green. The birds are chirping in the background. I haven't seen a blue bird yet, but I have seen some purple finches. The peeper frogs are awake and ready for spring. When we drove through the valley last night, it sounded like they were peeping in stereo. In some places it was so loud...what a beautiful sound. There are buds on the trees, the bees are buzzing, and we are thankful for the breath of fresh, spring air.

We're hoping to plant this week...pending rain in the forecast and the field is still a little too wet to work up. We shaped beds in this field last fall to help them dry more quickly this spring so we can get in more quickly. This field doesn't look like much now, but give it a few weeks and it will be multi-colored and lush. The planter is out, the seeds are ready....as soon as Richard says go, we'll be rolling. Salad lettuces and greens, baby bok choi, cilantro, dill, mustard greens, spinach, arugula, baby white turnips, radishes.....I can hardly wait to eat it all!!

Jack and I took a walk along the Bad Axe River. Evidently the water isn't too cold, since Jack had no hesitation to jump right in. He had his eye on a long stick which he promptly retrieved and pulled over to the bank. Richard is always trying to clean up the river to keep it flowing within its banks and make it the thing of beauty that it is. Seems that Jack has learned a few lessons through observation. We also spotted some little tufts of wild nettles.....it won't be long before I'll be spreading nettle pesto on a pizza topped with spinach, ramps and morel mushrooms!!









Of course we had to cross the river and tromp out into the woods to check on the status of the ramps. Last week we only found small, purple sprouts. This week we found green leaves!! The biggest plants are only about 3-4" tall, but if they keep growing at this rate, it will be just a few weeks before they are ready to harvest.

The green garlic and overwintered green onions are several inches tall now too. Grilled green garlic on top of grilled salmon......always dreaming of meals to come.

We have a lot to do this week. More sunchokes to dig, ground to work, planting salad in the field and dandelion, broccoli, cauliflower and sage in the greenhouse. We're hoping to put some nasturtium and calendula seeds in the flower tunnel this week too.

The forecast right now is for chances of rain and thunderstorms all week. It's anybody's guess what we'll get. If the temperatures stay warm, we could be harvesting overwintered spinach within a few weeks too!! Game on!