Welcome to Week 1 of the Growing Heart Farm CSA!
Pick up instructions:
Your shares, brimming with spring goodness, will be available at 407 Broome St in SoHo today, Wednesday, June 4th from 5pm-7pm. Buzz #7A to get in but go to #6.
This year your shares will be packed in a single green and blue reusable grocery bag. It will be quite full, so you may want to bring an extra bag or backpack if you have a long trip home. There will be a clipboard with a list of names; please check the box next to your name for the appropriate week when you gather your bag. Please return the canvas bag the next time you pick up! We are trying to reduce our use of plastic as much as possible and we rely on you to make that work.
If you are an every other week half share member, this week is an A week, so it is your week to pick up. If you are a B week member your first pick up will be next week.
In this week’s share:
- baby kale – dark green small leaves in a bag
- salad mix – mixed colored small leaves in a bag
- spinach – bigger flat greens in a bag
- lettuce – green and/or red head of lettuce
- mustard greens – bunch of large red and/or green leaves
- kale – bunch of dark green leaves
- rainbow chard – bunch of multicolored greens
- pac choi – head of green leaves with white stems
- kohlrabi – purple bulb with green leaves and purple stems
- radish – multicolored roots with greens
- chives – green shoots with purple blossoms (both shoots and blossoms are edible)
Farm News & Recipes
At this point in the season shares are going to be heavy in leafy greens, which are some of the healthiest vegetables available. Bunches of kale and chard are packed with vitamins A, C, E and K. The less common greens, like mustards and pac choi are abundant in B vitamins. All leafy greens contain phytochemicals that ward off disease and fiber that helps regulate cholesterol and blood pressure.
Though it may seem daunting to figure out what to do with so many greens, it never takes long to get through them. For a vibrant first course, dice some radishes, kohlrabi and chives and toss them with the salad mix, then dress with a honey mustard vinaigrette – a sweet dressing will help balance the sharpness of the mix. The kohlrabi, radishes, and chives can be made into a salad on their own, served as is or over baby greens. Kale, chard, and mustard can all be simply sautéed with garlic and shallots for a tasty and nutritious side dish. Pac choi, a close relative of bok choy, can be used in any number of Asian-inspired dishes.
We do our very best to keep all the produce cool and crisp, but if anything does get a little wilted on the journey home, just plunge it in cold water, dry it thoroughly, and store in a bag or wrapped in a towel in the fridge. We also try to harvest the nicest-looking vegetables we have available, and we wash all of them directly after harvest. That said, you may find a few cosmetic blemishes and a speck of dirt here and there, possibly even a bug. Please be understanding – this is part of small-scale organic farming.
Check out our recipe page if you need more inspiration. Enjoy your veggies!
