Harmony Valley Farm

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

July 1, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Sweetheart Cabbage!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Sweetheart Salad Cabbage:
Coconut Quinoa Coleslaw with Minty Tahini Dressing (See Below)
Kale Slaw with Creamy Mustard Dressing (See Below)

Fresh Porcelain Garlic:
Caramelized Garlic Pizza with Fresh Basil for Garlic Lovers!
“Fresh Garlic is a Summer Treat”

Scallions or Desert Sunrise Cipollini Onions:
Olive Oil Roasted Spring Onions
Steamed Fish with Ginger & Spring Onions

Green Curly Kale:
Kale Pesto
Black-Eyed Pea Masala with Kale

Zucchini and/or Sunburst Scallopini Squash:
Baked Zucchini Fritters
Garlic Shrimp and Zucchini Wrap

Green and/or Silver Slicer Cucumbers:
Simply Dressed Cucumber & Mint Salad
Smoky Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Broccoli:
Lentil Broccoli Bites with Cream Sauce
Buffalo Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Bites

Sugar Snap or Snow Peas:
Snap Pea Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
Garlic and Parmesan Sugar Snap Peas

Violet Queen Salad Turnips:
Miso Turnips & Black Sesame Soba Noodles
Sesame Ginger Turnip Rice Bowls

Green Top Gold, Red or Chioggia Beets:
Chilled Beet Soup with Dill & Beet Greens Gremolata
2021 HVF Vegetable Feature Article All About Beets….Including Links to Over 20 Recipes!

Red Boston Lettuce:
Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps
Butter Lettuce and Herb Salad (with Fennel & Scallions)

Hello Everyone!

Caramelized Garlic Pizza with Fresh Basil for Garlic Lovers
photo from garlicdelight.com

It’s an exciting week here at the farm…..we started harvesting fresh garlic! We usually wait until July, but the crop looks good and Richard says it’s time to start! I included a link to an article, “Fresh Garlic is a Summer Treat" from FineCooking.com. This article is a quick read and a good “one-stop-shop” for learning how to use fresh garlic. If you are a garlic lover, you may also want to try this recipe for Caramelized Garlic Pizza with Fresh Basil for Garlic Lovers!

Before I go any further, I should mention this week’s featured vegetable which is the beautiful and unique Sweetheart Cabbage! While this cabbage may be cooked, it is a salad cabbage known for being tender and tasty eaten raw. This week I included two unique slaw recipes from two of my favorite cookbook authors. The first is for a Coconut Quinoa Coleslaw with Minty Tahini Dressing (See Below), a recipe credited to the very talented Sarah Britton. Now that we’re in the heat of summer I’ve transitioned to eating big vegetable salads for lunch. I like this recipe because it includes several sources of healthy fat and protein to fuel you through the afternoon without feeling too heavy. The other recipe is from Amy Chaplin, another very talented plant-based chef and cookbook author. Her recipe for Kale Slaw with Creamy Mustard Dressing (See Below) is very fitting for this time of year and specifically this week’s box! In addition to cabbage, this slaw also includes kale and fennel. It’s garnished with sunflower seeds and dressed with a creamy cashew butter-based dressing.

Black-Eyed Pea Masala with Kale
photo by Laura Murray for bonappetit.com

If your basil plants are in need of a trimming, consider using this week’s kale to make a batch of Kale Pesto. Use it throughout the week as a spread on sandwiches or wraps, toss it with hot pasta, or use it as the sauce base for a pizza. You can also freeze this pesto if you want to tuck it away to enjoy during the winter when green things are more sparse. If you’re not in a pesto mood, then maybe you want to transport your tastebuds to India and try out this Black-Eyed Pea Masala with Kale.

Is anyone going to a Fourth of July celebration or cookout this weekend? If so, maybe you want to include this Smoky Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce on your menu. If you’re not going to do a full meal, but want to focus on small bites and appetizers instead, then maybe you want to go with these Buffalo Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Bites or Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps!

Chilled Beet Soup with Dill & Beet Greens Gremolata
photo from dishingupthedirt.com

As we wrap up this week’s Cooking With the Box conversation, I want to remind you that last week’s Vegetable Feature Article All About Beets included over 20 recipe links! If you didn’t have a chance to take a look at that article and the recipes, consider doing so this week. I also included a link this week to Andrea Bemis’ Chilled Beet Soup with Dill & Beet Greens Gremolata, a recipe she posted on her blog this week!

Alright, I’m signing off for another week. I hope you have a Happy 4^th of July and enjoy this week’s vegetable selections!

See you next week!---Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Sweetheart Cabbage

By: Chef Andrea Yoder

Description: You can recognize sweetheart cabbage by its pointy head with tightly wrapped leaves. We plant most of our cabbage for harvest in the fall as cabbage thrives and tastes better when it is grown in more cool temperatures. However, one of the unique attributes of sweetheart cabbage is that it does fare well as an early-season cabbage, which is exactly the reason why we’ve selected it for this early summer slot. It is known as a “salad cabbage” because the leaves are tender enough to be eaten raw in salads and the flavor is mild and well-balanced. Another reason we grow this variety for summer harvest is that it gives us another option for a “salad green” during the part of the season when salad mix and other more delicate salad greens are more challenging to grow.

Preparation & Use: Sweetheart cabbage may be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Lightly rinse the outer leaves before using. If you don’t use the entire cabbage for one preparation, wrap the remaining portion of cabbage and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. One cabbage typically yields 7-10 cups of shredded cabbage. You’ll be surprised by how much cabbage is packed into these dense little heads!

If you’re using it for vegetable slaws or raw salads, slice it very thinly or shred it. If you choose to cook it, I’d recommend a quick cooking method such as stir-frying or grilling and be careful not to overcook it!

Storage: Store your sweetheart cabbage loosely wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. While it’s not intended for long term storage, it will store for several weeks in the refrigerator. Just don’t forget about it!

Kale Slaw with Creamy Mustard Dressing

Yield: 4-6 servings

Dressing:

2 Tbsp raw cashew butter

2 Tbsp water

1 small garlic clove, pressed

1 Tbsp unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

1 tsp ume plum vinegar

2 Tbsp whole-grain Dijon mustard

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salad:

5 cups thinly slicked kale

2 cups thinly sliced cabbage

1 medium carrot, cut in matchsticks

1 small bulb fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced

2 thinly sliced scallions

2 Tbsp toasted sunflower seeds

Make the dressing: Place cashew butter and water in a small bowl, and mix until smooth. Stir in garlic, vinegars, mustard, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add olive oil, mix again until smooth and creamy, season to taste, and set aside.
Make the salad: Place kale, cabbage, carrot, fennel, scallions, and sunflower seeds in a large salad bowl; toss to combine. Drizzle with dressing; toss until slaw is evenly coated and serve.

Recipe borrowed from At Home In the Whole Food Kitchen, Celebrating the Art of Eating Well by Amy Chaplin.

Coconut-Quinoa Coleslaw with Minty Tahini Dressing

Yield: 6 servings as a main dish, 8 servings as a side dish

Quinoa:

½ cup quinoa, soaked if possible

Scant 1 cup water

¼ tsp fine sea salt

Minty Tahini Dressing:

½ cup tahini

¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice

2 Tbsp cold-pressed olive oil

1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

¾ cup water

Pinch of sea salt, plus more as needed

1 packed cup fresh mint leaves

Vegetables:

4 packed cups shredded green and/or red cabbage

2 packed cups shredded kale

3 medium carrots, julienned

1 cup sugar snap peas, julienned

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbsp cold-pressed olive oil

¼ tsp fine sea salt

1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

Make the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa well. In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered, until all the water has been absorbed and the quinoa grains are tender, about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a blender, combine the tahini, lime juice, olive oil, maple syrup, water, salt, and mint leaves; blend on high until smooth and creamy. Season with more salt as needed. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, kale, carrots, and snap peas.
In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt together and pour over the vegetables. Toss well and lightly massage the liquid into the kale and cabbage, then let marinate for 5 to 10 minutes.
Preheat a dry skillet over medium heat. When hot, toast the coconut, stirring often, until golden brown and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
Finish the salad: Add the quinoa and coconut to the vegetable bowl. Toss well to combine. When ready to serve, dish out portions and allow guests to pour the dressing on their salads.

Recipe borrowed and adapted just slightly from Naturally Nourished by Sarah Britton

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

June 24, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Beets!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Green Top Red Beets:
Omelette with Beet Greens & Parmesan (See Below)
Roasted Beet & Kale Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts (See Below)
Chocolate Beet Muffins (See Below)

Fennel:
2019 HVF Fennel Blog Including 25 Fennel-Centric Recipes!
Roasted Beet & Fennel Burgers

Violet Queen Salad Turnips:
Miso Roasted Japanese Turnips
Sheet Pan Salmon with Broccoli, Turnips & Turnip Greens Chimichurri

Garlic Scapes:
Pickled Garlic Scapes
Roasted Garlic Scapes with Sea Salt

Purple Scallions:
Soy Sauce-Marinated Flank Steak with Scallions
Cucumber Scallion Salad

Rainbow Chard:
Green Curry with Brown Rice Noodles and Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard and Mushroom Galette

Zucchini and/or Sunburst Scallopini Squash:
Spaghetti alla Nerano (Spaghetti with Fried Zucchini)
Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Green and/or Silver Slicer Cucumbers:
Grilled Cucumbers with Feta
Samin Nosrat’s Vietnamese Cucumber Salad

Kohlrabi:
Kohlrabi Sticks with Beet Hummus
Kohlrabi Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette

Broccoli:
Sesame Garlic Noodles with Broccoli, Basil and Crispy Tempeh
Homemade White Pizza with Broccoli

Sugar Snap Peas:
15 Minute Spicy Shrimp and Snap Pea Stir-Fry
Sugar Snap Peas and Pasta

Strawberries:
Strawberry Beet Cupcakes
Perfect Strawberry Scones

Roasted Beet & Fennel Burgers
photo from thepigandquill.com

Welcome back to another week of CSA box cooking! The look of the box is starting to change as we can officially celebrate the start of summer! This week we’re introducing the first of the beets, harvested with the tops still on which means you get two vegetables in one! This week’s featured recipes give you options for utilizing both the roots along with the green tops. In fact, you could start your day off with a healthy dose of vegetables with this Omelette with Beet Greens & Parmesan (See Below) and a Chocolate Beet Muffin (See Below)! What a great way to put both parts of the beet to good use! I also included a tasty recipe for Roasted Beet & Kale Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts (See Below), just in case you have a bunch of kale still in your refrigerator from last week.

This week we’re also harvesting the first of our fennel, another early summer vegetable that actually pairs well with beets in recipes such as these Roasted Beet & Fennel Burgers. I also included a link to our 2019 HVF Fennel-Feature Blog which included a listing of 25 Fennel-Centric Recipes! There are recipes in the list that will guide you in using all parts of the fennel from the bulb to the stalks to the feathery fronds!

Samin Nosrat's Vietnamese Cucumber Salad
photo from alexandracooks.com

We do still have a few more heads of lettuce to send your way within the next few weeks, but it’s time to start weaning yourself off of lettuce salads and transition to summer vegetable salads! We just started harvesting cucumbers which means it’s time to start getting creative with refreshing cucumber salads such as Samin Nosrat’s Vietnamese Cucumber Salad. We also have a pretty little bunch of the new Violet Queen Salad Turnips which can be used raw in salads or you could cook them in one of the recipes suggested for this week.

Sadly, this is our final week for strawberry harvest. The season is never long enough, but I have to say the berries have been pretty darn delicious this year! If you don’t eat them right out of the container, use them to make Strawberry Beet Cupcakes or
Perfect Strawberry Scones!

This is also our last week for garlic scapes which means we might be harvesting fresh garlic as early as next week! We’re also coming to the end of our scallions in another week or two. That means we’ll be moving on to fresh cipollini onions and/or Sierra Blanca white onions that I like to call “Burger Onions” because they are so delicious sliced thinly on a grilled burger! Richard also dug a potato plant earlier this week, just to see what’s happening underground. They have a ways to go, but there were about 8 small potatoes the size of a big gumball on the plant! Just a few more weeks until we start sending new potatoes!

I hope you enjoy this week’s selections and I look forward to seeing you back here again next week! –Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Beets

By: Chef Andrea Yoder

Description: Beets are typically available starting in mid to late June with availability extending through December and sometimes even into January and February. There are some beets better suited to harvest for storage and others that are intended for harvest with the green tops for fresh eating. We grow three different colors of beets including the traditional red beet as well as golden and Chioggia beets which have a bright pink skin and are candy-striped inside! A common question many ask is “What is the difference between the different colors of beets?” In general, all of our beets, regardless of color, are sweet and earthy. Red beets have more of the traditional earthy beet flavor. Chioggia and golden beets are generally more mild in flavor, but typically are as sweet or sweeter than the red beets. Individuals who don’t care for beets generally like and will eat golden beets, which is a good place to start for those who are still learning to like them.

Preparation & Use: Both the beet root as well as the green tops are edible and both are very nutritious. Beet greens are generally eaten cooked, but may also be used raw. Beet greens are very similar to Swiss chard and these two vegetables may be cooked similarly and used interchangeably in recipes. Prior to use, wash them well in a sink of cold water and shake or spin off any excess water.

Shaved Fennel and Beet Greens Salad

As for the beet root, this portion of the plant is typically cooked, however they may also be eaten raw. Thinly sliced or grated beets are a nice addition to salads and slaws. As for cooking, beets are generally either boiled or steamed on the stove top or roasted in the oven. The cooking time will vary depending upon the size of the beet. The general recommendation is to cook beets with their skins on and the root tail intact. For red beets in particular this minimizes the leaching of the water-soluble color compounds from the beet. Once the beets are cooked, the peel should be easy to remove. You know a beet is fully cooked when the beet easily slides off a skewer, fork or cake tester stuck into the middle of the beet.

Red beets do contain a water-soluble nutrient called anthocyanin. This is an antioxidant that also gives red beets their color. It will stain your hands (temporarily) and the color will bleed onto other ingredients if you’re using them in a salad, soup, or otherwise. Golden beets and Chioggia beets don’t lose their color or bleed color onto other ingredients. If you are looking to preserve the beautiful candy-striped interior of a Chioggia beet, it is best to roast them.

Caramelized Fennel and Beet Pizza

Beets pair well with many other ingredients including vegetables such as fennel, celery, carrots, red onions, shallots, garlic, arugula and other salad greens along with other root vegetables. They also go well with fruits including apples, oranges, lemons, pears, avocadoes and pomegranates. Additionally, beets pair nicely with goat cheese, feta cheese, blue cheese, butter, nuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, to name just a few ingredients.

Storage: It is best to store beets in the refrigerator. If you get beets with the green tops still on, remove the tops and store them separately in a plastic bag. Try to use them within 5-7 days. Store the beets in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. They will last longer than the greens.

Health and Nutrition: Beets and their greens are packed with fiber, calcium, iron and vitamins A, C, and K to name a few. The greens have a higher content of iron compared to spinach. In natural healing circles, beets are known for their ability to purify the blood and the liver. Their iron content, though not terribly high, is of the highest and finest quality making it an excellent blood building food. These colorful root vegetables also contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.

Beet Recipe Collections:

20 Beet-Focused Recipes:

Omelette with Beet Greens

photo from acouplecooks.com

Yield: 1 serving*

2 cups chopped beet greens (and thin sliced tender stems)

2 cloves garlic (may substitute 1-2 garlic scapes), minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

½ Tbsp butter

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Chop the beet greens. Mince the garlic.
Sauté the filling: In small 8-inch nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the greens and cook for about 1 minute. Just before tender, add the garlic, Parmesan cheese, and 1 pinch kosher salt and cook until just bright green. Remove from the heat and place the greens in a bowl.
In another small bowl, whisk the eggs, ½ tsp water, ⅛ tsp kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper until fully combined, about 20 seconds.
Cook the omelette (takes about 1 minute total): Heat the same nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, with the pan handle facing towards you. Add the butter and swirl the pan to fully coat. Wait until the butter starts to become foamy with large bubbles, then pour in eggs. When a skin just starts to form (10 to 15 seconds), add the greens in a line from left to right.
Run a small spatula under the far edge of the omelette to release it from the pan. Start to pull the eggs up and shake and tilt the pan to spread out any uncooked egg and allow it to cook. Using the spatula, roll the eggs up and over the cheese. Cook another 10 to 15 seconds until just barely set. The outside should be a pale golden and the inside soft and creamy (for a harder cooked omelette, you can cook it several seconds longer). Turn off the heat.
Flip the omelette out of the pan: Hold a plate in one hand. Pick up the pan with your right hand, thumb up, and quickly turn the pan upside down over the plate so that the omelette rolls onto the middle of the plate, folding over itself into a rolled shape. Serve immediately.

*This makes 1 omelette—double, triple, or quadruple as desired.

This recipe borrowed from acouplecooks.com.

Chocolate Beet Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

4-5 oz cooked beets, peeled (about 1 cup quartered)

½ cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar or ½ cup maple syrup

½ cup plain yogurt

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

Powdered sugar (optional)*

Semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)*

Flaky sea salt (optional)*

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tray or line with muffin papers.
Put the cooked beets, oil, eggs and vanilla into a blender or food processor and puree. Add the sugar or maple syrup and yogurt and whiz again briefly to combine. Set aside.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon and ground ginger into a medium mixing bowl and lightly mix to combine. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until combined. Pour the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about ¾ full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and an inserted skewer or toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove the muffins from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

NOTE: If you’d like to jazz these muffins up a bit, here are a few suggested variations.

Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of each muffin before you put them in the oven.
Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt on top of each muffin before you put them in the oven.
Once baked and cooled, dust muffins lightly with powdered sugar.
Whip up a batch of Cream Cheese Frosting to spread on top of each muffin….which may turn it into more of a cupcake.

Recipe adapted from veggiedesserts.com.

Roast Beet and Kale Salad with Maple Candied Nuts

Yield: 2-3 servings as an entrée or 3-4 servings as a side dish

For the salad:

1 ½ cups raw beets, peeled and quartered

1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup walnut halves or pecans or coarsely chopped almonds

3 Tbsp pure maple syrup

¼ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

⅛ tsp fresh cracked pepper, plus more to taste

4 packed cups of green curly or lacinato kale, washed and sliced thinly into bite-sized pieces

¼ cup feta, goat or Boursin cheese (a diced avocado makes a great vegan and paleo alternative to creamy cheeses in salads!)

For the dressing:

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

½ tsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove grated very finely minced

A pinch of sea salt

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place beets in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, enough to cover each piece lightly. Spread beets in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
While the beets are roasting, prepare the rest of the salad. Add the walnuts (or other nut) to a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook until they are fragrant and start to brown in places, shaking the pan frequently. Quickly pour the maple syrup over the nuts and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the maple syrup has almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Immediately remove the nuts from the pan and place them on a plate or baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper, separating them from each other as much as possible. Let cool to room temperature.
Make the dressing: Combine all the ingredients EXCEPT the oil in a medium-sized bowl. Stir to combine. Slowly add the oil in a thin steady stream while whisking the dressing constantly. If the oil starts to build up at all stop pouring it and whisk the dressing vigorously. It will take you about 1 minute to whisk the in the oil. Taste the dressing and season it with extra salt, to taste.
Assemble the salad: Place the kale in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Add the cheese and pour some of the dressing over the kale. You will likely not need all the dressing, so start with about half of the quantity and add more as needed to lightly coat all of the kale. Toss to combine and let rest for a minimum of 10 minutes before you finish assembling the salad. When ready to serve, either prepare individual portions on plates or make one large salad on a platter. Top the kale with the roasted beets and drizzle with a touch more dressing if desired. Sprinkle the maple candied nuts over the salad and serve!

Recipe adapted from theendlessmeal.com.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

June 17, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Kohlrabi!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Garlic Scapes:
Tempura Garlic Scapes
Roasted Garlic Scape Hummus
Lemon Garlic Scape Compound Butter

Green Scallions:
Steak with Scallion-Ginger Sauce
Swiss Chard and Spring Onion Risotto

Red Oak Lettuce:
Red Oak Lettuce Salad with Spiced Popcorn, Drunken Cherries & Gouda
Peach and Oak Leaf Lettuce Salad with Honey-Shallot Vinaigrette

Strawberries:
Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert
Healthy Greek Yogurt Strawberry Pancakes

Lacinato Kale:
Lacinato Kale Caesar Salad
Curried Lentils with Kale and Coconut Milk

Rainbow Chard:
Swiss Chard Salad with Lemon, Parmesan and Breadcrumbs
Garlicky Swiss Chard & Chickpea Stir Fry

Green Zucchini and/or Sunburst Squash:
My Favorite Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Cheddar Cheese Savory Muffins

Kohlrabi:
Kohlrabi Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette (See Below)
Shaved Kohlrabi Salad with Basil and Parmesan (See Below)
Kohlrabi Recipes from Dishing Up The Dirt

Sweet Baby Broccoli:
Broccoli and Kohlrabi Fried Rice
Broccoli Melt with Fried Egg

Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert
photo from lifeloveandsugar.com

Hello Everyone!

I hope you’ve been surviving these hot days we’ve had as of recent! We’ve had to take extra water breaks and pace ourselves, but the work goes on and many of the vegetables are really taking off now! We’re excited to be picking our first zucchini and (hopefully) cucumbers this week. We’re also in the peak of strawberry season and the sugar snap peas are just starting to mature. This week’s box still has a fare amount of greens in it, but we’re starting to get a little more variety now starting with this week’s kohlrabi!

For some reason, kohlrabi always seems to be one of those vegetables that doesn’t get a fair shot. Yes, it looks a little different than some vegetables and you have to peel it, but once you get past those two minor facts, the sweet, juicy, dense flesh inside is so good! Its mild flavor makes it a good candidate for a wide variety of uses. In the fall and winter when we have storage kohlrabi I often use it in soups and I like to roast it in the oven. However, given we are in the heat of the growing season I’ve opted to include two tasty salad recipes this week. The first is a recipe for Kohlrabi Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette (See Below), which was inspired by our crew from Mexico. Last fall we had some kohlrabi on our “take home pallet” and I convinced a few of our crew members to try it. I told them it was actually very similar to jicama, which they are more familiar with. Turns out, many of them found out they really like kohlrabi! They eat it as they would eat jicama. Fresh with a squeeze of lime and a little chili powder. This was the thought I had in my mind as I put together this refreshing salad recipe. The second recipe this week for Shaved Kohlrabi Salad with Basil and Parmesan (See Below) comes from one of my frequently visited blogs, alexandracooks.com. This is a super simple recipe with basic, but full flavors. If you’re looking for more recipe ideas to utilize kohlrabi, check out this website along with Andrea Bemis’s dishingupthedirt.com. Both of these ladies are experts in seasonal eating and have some great recipe suggestions!

Lacinato Kale Caesar Salad
photo from thekitchn.com

This week’s greens are little more hardy than some of the greens we’ve had recently. Both lacinato kale and rainbow chard can be eaten cooked or used raw in salads such as this Lacinato Kale Caesar Salad or one my favorite Swiss Chard Salad with Lemon, Parmesan and Breadcrumbs.

The strawberries are likely in their peak this week and we’ve been picking every day to keep up with their ripening! If you don’t just eat them out of the container, then consider using them to make this Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert or enjoy them for breakfast with these Healthy Greek Yogurt Strawberry Pancakes.

As we look ahead to next week, we anticipate we’ll be harvesting cucumbers and beets! Fennel is coming up soon as well, but it may need another week or so. We also hope to pick more peas next week, but we’ll have to see how things go over the next week or so. Have a great week and I’ll see you back here next week for more seasonal recipe ideas!—Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Kohlrabi

By: Chef Andrea Yoder

Description: Kohlrabi is a crisp, juicy, sweet, mild flavored vegetable. While kohlrabi is in the cabbage family and resembles a turnip, it grows differently than both. Many people mistake kohlrabi for being a root vegetable that grows under the ground, but it is actually an enlarged stem that grows above the soil level. The stems and leaves shoot up from the bulbous part to give it a unique appearance unlike any other vegetable. We grow green, purple and white varieties, but there really isn’t any distinguishable difference between the three once they are peeled.

Preparation & Use: Kohlrabi can be prepared in many different ways, both raw and cooked. It may be sautéed, stir-fried, braised, roasted, grilled and baked. The simplest way to eat it is to peel it and munch on slices plain or with just a touch of salt, a little lime juice and some chili powder. It can also be shredded and used in slaws with a variety of dressings or sliced and added to sandwiches or salads. If you ask Farmer Richard what his favorite way to eat kohlrabi is, I guarantee he’ll say, “Creamy Kohlrabi Slaw!”

Kohlrabi Slaw

While kohlrabi pairs well with creamy sauces and is great in refreshing salads, it is actually an adaptable vegetable that also pairs well with a lot of other flavor profiles from around the world. Don’t be afraid to use kohlrabi in curries or stir-fries. You may also come across some recipes for stuffed kohlrabi that is baked, a concept that descends more from European cuisine along with a variety of soup and stew recipes.

To use kohlrabi, first remove the fibrous peel from the exterior of the bulb prior to eating. You can do this easily by cutting the kohrabi into halves or quarters and then peeling away the outer skin with a paring knife. The flesh is dense and crisp, yet tender, juicy and sweet with a hint of a mild cabbage flavor. The leaves on kohlrabi are edible as well, so don’t just discard them. They have the texture and characteristics of collard greens, so you could use them in any recipe calling for collards or kale. They are also good eaten raw. Just make sure you slice them thinly and toss them with an acidic vinaigrette to soften the leaves.

Storage: To store kohlrabi, cut the stems and leaves off. Store both leaves and the bulbs in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. The leaves will keep for about 1 week, and the bulbs will last up to several weeks if stored properly.

Kohlrabi sprouts in the greenhouse.

Health & Nutrition: Kohlrabi is an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium. It is low in calories and sodium, and contains indoles, which are believed to be potentially significant anti-cancer compounds. These plant compounds are not destroyed with cooking of the vegetable.

Cultural & Historical Background: The name for kohlrabi is derived from “khol” meaning stem or cabbage and “rabi” meaning turnip.

Growing Information: Kohlrabi is seeded in the greenhouse in early March and transplanted to the field as early as possible in April, along with other vegetables in the same family of brassica crops including broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Kohlrabi is reliably one of the first of this family of vegetables to be ready, so it has earned its “niche” in seasonal eating while we wait for broccoli and cauliflower to make heads. We also grow a slightly different type of kohlrabi in the fall that is intended for long term storage. We hope to include storage kohlrabi in your boxes most likely in December!

Kohlrabi Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette

Yield: 6 servings

2 Tbsp lime juice

Zest of 1 lime

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

¼ tsp stoneground mustard

1 ½ tsp honey

¼ tsp chili powder, plus more to taste

Pinch of cayenne pepper, ground (optional)

¾ tsp salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ cup sunflower or olive oil

3 cups kohlrabi, small dice

2 scallions, lower portion minced and green tops finely sliced

1 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped

¼ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

3 ounces queso fresco or feta cheese, diced or crumbled

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, lime zest, vinegar, mustard, honey, chili powder, cayenne pepper (if using), ¼ tsp salt and freshly ground pepper. Whisk well to combine. Slowly drizzle in oil while continuing to whisk. Let set for 5-10 minutes, then taste. If it tastes a little flat, add a little more vinegar and/or a bit more salt. The heat of the chili powder will continue to develop with time. For the best flavor, you may want to make the vinaigrette several hours or a day in advance of putting together the salad.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the diced kohlrabi, scallions and cilantro. Season with ½ tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine.
Pour about half to two-thirds of the vinaigrette over the vegetables and stir to combine. You want to have enough vinaigrette to thoroughly coat the vegetables, but not so much that it pools in the bottom of the bowl. Add more vinaigrette as needed to your liking.
Taste the salad and season with additional salt, pepper and/or chili powder as needed.
Just before serving, stir in the pumpkin seeds and cheese.

Recipe created by Chef Andrea Yoder.

Shaved Kohlrabi Salad with Basil and Parmesan

Photo from alexandracooks.com

Yield: 4 to 6

1 to 2 kohlrabi, more or less

Nice, flaky sea salt such as Maldon or kosher salt

2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar, or more as needed

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Fresh herbs such as basil, chives, tarragon, or dill

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, shaved with a peeler, to taste

Cut the kohlrabi in halves or quarters and peel away the outer skin using a paring knife.
Slice the kohlrabi thinly, nearly paper thin, using a sharp knife or a mandoline.
Season it: Spread the slices of kohlrabi out in a large bowl, sprinkle evenly with the salt. If you have to layer up the slices, season one layer, then season the layer on top. Sprinkle with the vinegar and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes or until the slices soften and are pliable.
Add the olive oil and basil (or other herbs) and toss with your hands to coat. Taste. Add more salt and vinegar to taste as needed. If you want to add more olive oil, do so as well.
Add the parmesan and toss gently. I like to add the parmesan at the very end or even shave it over top to prevent it from getting too broken up, but this is mostly for aesthetic reasons. Serve.

Recipe borrowed from AlexandraCooks.com

Please note, the author has written this recipe as a loose guide. You can adjust the ingredients to your liking based on the overall quantity you with to make.

Strawberry Production 101

By Andrea Yoder & Richard de Wilde

FlavorFest Strawberries packed in
pints and ready for CSA boxes!

Strawberries are in the peak of the season right now and we are picking nearly every day just to keep up with the pace of their ripening! We do not grow many fruits in our valley, but we take pride in our strawberries and try to deliver the best tasting berries possible. It is no small task and requires planning in advance to make it happen. In fact, right now we are managing two strawberry fields. We have the field we are currently harvesting and we have a new field that was planted this spring. We only harvest from a field for two seasons before we destroy the field, but in order to have a continuous supply of berries from year to year this means we have one year where we have two fields to manage! So this week we thought you might find it interesting to learn a little more about how we produce these tasty little berries.

At Harmony Valley Farm, we use the “Matted Row” system of strawberry production. This means we plant bare root dormant strawberry plants in early spring. We source our plants from Nourse Farms in Massachusetts. When they arrive they are frozen and don’t look like much. Our goal is always to get them planted as soon as we can after we receive them, weather permitting. We space them about 16-18” apart and plant two rows on a bed. The first year we do not harvest fruit from these plants, which are called mother plants. While they will produce blossoms, we snip them off to shunt the energy in the plant towards producing daughter plants instead of fruit. Generally the amount of fruit a first-year plant would produce is not that great, thus it is more productive to forego the fruit and allow the plant to become more established. The main strawberry plant will send off new growth called runners. These runners will produce the daughter plants that will set their roots into the soil thus propagating our strawberry crop! As the daughter plants become established the rows start to fill in and widen.

Freshly shaped beds with black drip irrigation
lines coming out of the ends of the beds.

Before we can transplant the strawberry plants, we have to prepare the field. Despite the fact that Richard has been growing strawberries for over 30 years, we continue to find ways to improve our production system every year. In recent years we’ve started burying drip lines under the beds so we have a way to deliver water and nutrients to the plants. This can get a little tricky because the lines have to be buried deep enough that they don’t get tangled up in any mechanical cultivation equipment or get damaged by transplanting and weeding crews. Their placement on the bed and the depth of the placement need to be correct for these reasons as well as others. In a drought year these

drip lines are crucial for keeping the field productive as we cannot use any overhead irrigation

methods once the plants have started to set fruit.

In order for a field to be productive and efficiently managed, we need for all the pieces of production to come together in near perfect alignment. This year Rafael got innovative and used his experiences and observations gleaned from previous strawberry field challenges to create a modified implement. He calls this new tool a Canoe Shaper and we used it this year to prepare the beds and lay the drip tape. The purpose of the shaper was to prepare straight beds for planting by shaping the beds and laying the irrigation drip tape all at one time. This new method also increases our options for mechanical cultivation. The canoe shaper uses the dirt from the middle of the bed to shape two mini beds that are able to better support the plants and allow the drip tape to be buried at an appropriate depth. Essentially, this modified implement allows us to build a solid foundation for all the field activities that need to happen throughout the life of the field. So far Rafael is very pleased with the results. The irrigation team is also pleased with the field. Having the drip tape properly buried means less damage to the lines from weeding and cultivating tools, which in turn means less leaks they have to repair! While we will have to hand weed the field at some point, thus far we’ve been able to deal with most weeds with mechanical cultivation.

Transplanting the mother plants.

We’ll see how things go the rest of the season, but so far it seems that a little innovation may have helped us achieve our overall improvement goals!

This year we also widened the spacing between each bed so we have more room for the harvest crew when they are picking. They utilize little picking carts to keep the harvest totes off the ground. We don’t want them to damage the plants so we ask them to walk gracefully in the field, like ballerinas. None of them are classically trained dancers, and while they are graceful, we found it is easier to preserve the plants by just giving them more space to walk and place their carts.

Over the course of the first year, we control weeds with mechanical cultivation and hand weeding. We also provide nutrients and watch for any disease or pest problems that may need our attention. In late summer we seed a cover crop of Japanese millet in the field which helps to shade out weeds. Japanese millet cannot survive a frost, so it will die off with the first hard frost we get in the fall. The benefit of this is that the millet will then become mulch for the field, how convenient! In the fall the plants will start to produce the embryos or buds in the crown or base of the plant for the following year. In addition to the mulch created by the millet, we will also heavily mulch the field with straw after the ground freezes but before it snows. All of this mulch helps to insulate and protect the new growth in the crown from freezing and thawing over the winter. When spring rolls around and the temperatures start to warm up, we have to walk through the field and loosen the straw mulch with a pitch fork so the new growth can push through. We leave the mulch in the field where it helps to fill in the spaces between the plants, choke out the weeds and provide a clean bed for the strawberries.

Japanese Millet planted
in between rows of strawberries

The mulch isn’t removed too soon though or the plants will start to blossom and are at greater risk of being damaged by frost. If the blossoms are damaged by frost, they will develop a black center and will not produce a berry. This spring we experienced a late freeze, after the plants had already started to blossom. In situations such as this we have to be ready to respond by covering the field with large row covers. These are basically huge blankets to keep the strawberries warm and protected from frost.

Black centers in blossoms mean no fruit will form.

This year we planted 5 different varieties of strawberries. We select the varieties based on their ripening season, flavor, color, disease resistance and production. Every year we evaluate the plants and the characteristics of their fruit to decide which varieties we like best and want to plant again. In California and Florida, two major strawberry producing states, the varieties they plant are “ever-bearing.” These varieties have longer ripening seasons and have been bred to be a firmer berry with a longer shelf life to hold up to shipping. While these strawberries often look pretty, their flavor is no comparison to any local berry you will get in early summer. The berries we plant are “June-bearing.” While our season is shorter in comparison, we select varieties that ripen at different times so we can extend our season as long as we can. The hot, dry weather we’ve had this year has resulted in berries that are smaller in size, but they are quite tasty as the flavor is concentrated into a smaller package!

Jaime & Gerardo removing
the blossoms from the mother plants.

After the harvest is done in the first year of production, we “renovate” the field. This means we destroy some of the plants to promote more runners and daughter plant production for the next year. When harvest is finished in the second year of production, we destroy the field. Why do we do this when the field is still producing? Well, we like to keep our patch as clean as we can and free from perennial weeds. The older the patch, the greater the chance that weed seeds such as dandelion and thistle, will make their way into the patch. A young, clean patch will usually have greater production and yields.

As you can see, there is a lot involved with strawberry production! We hope you are enjoying this year’s crop and perhaps next year we’ll be able to resume our Strawberry Day event. While eating strawberries out of a CSA box is a tasty experience, nothing compares to standing in the field and eating a freshly picked strawberry right off the plant, still warm from the sun. That is one of life’s simple pleasures.