July 27, 2010

Veggie roll call

The weather has been incredible and we’ve finally been able to put our black fly nets away to enjoy the sun properly!


While our cabbages and peas are booming, the zucchinis and cucumbers are coming along nicely. Within your herb bags you’ll even find an edible orange flower from our zucchini plants; it has a squashy flavor and will look great atop your salad lettuce. As well, in the greenhouse, the tomatoes are downright intimidating, surpassing us all in height with multitudes of fist-sized green tomatoes. They’re on their way! The potatoes have even begun to flower so it won’t be long now.

Within your share bags, you’ll find:


* Snow peas
* ½ of a purple cabbage
* 1 bag of Egyptian onion tops (like spring onions)
* Swiss chard and kale mix
* 1 bag of Rosalind Red Premium broccoli leaves
* 1 head of either romaine or simpson lettuce
* 1 bundle of beet greens and turnips
* 1 bundle of Egyptian onions
* 1 herb bag with oregano, mint, sage, parsley, basil, mâche and an edible zucchini flower


One of the in your herb bags (at the very bottom) is called mâche;
it is a gourmet French salad green with a mellow flavor. It is an extremely slow-growing green so those that wish to grow it need to be pretty determined. But, as you’ll soon see, it’s worth it! It was historically forged by European peasants and has since become generously cultivated. Like many foraged plants it has a high nutrient value including vitamin C, vitamin B, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids. You can use it in a salad mix to add an earthy flavor to your salad or even better, chop it up and toss it into a salsa.

What do you do with the Rosalind Red Premium broccoli leaves? You’ll find them in a separate bag in the full share bags. They are great if cut up very finely lengthways and sautéed with olive oil, soy sauce, garlic and onions. We know this because they were an excellent addition to our lunch today!

The picture to the right that looks like something that crash landed on earth, is the Egyptian onion that produced the onion bulbuls you’ll find in your full share bags or even at market if you attended last week. The Egyptian onion is an amazing addition to the farm in that it doesn’t just create one onion bulb in the ground, but many miniature onion bulbs on top that just keep coming and coming all season!
And not only are the bulbuls edible, but the stalks are too, making this crop an endless source of onion goodness for the entire summer. The bulbuls are best used the same way you would use regular spring onions!
Hope you enjoy them!

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