2009 CSA Basket Journal #2; Volume 2
2009 CSA Basket Journal #2; Volume #2
May 20th
Good evening to you all after a most beautiful sunny day. We are pleased that the grounds have finally dried out enough for us to achieve our vine crop planting tomorrow and Friday. We will also be able to start the first round of hilling the potatoes. I did love hearing some of your stories on how you chose to eat and prepare all of your vegetables last week, so I will look forward to more throughout the season.
This weeks basket has such a wonderful variety of some really unusual and great greens, that are not just a paradise for making large bowl salad meals and other prepared recipes, but are really good for you. The best way to look at vegetables from a nutritional/health stand point in my opinion is not to try to remember exactly what the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals are for each vegetable, but to know for certain that every raw vegetable has many of these healthy nutritional aspects… so YES every time you eat one of our organic vegetable you are putting great components into your body. Beet Greens for example are higher in nutritional value than their roots, as they are richer in calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. The greens also contain magnesium, phosphorus, and B6. Beet stems and roots have the pigment that gives beets their rich, purple-crimson color, betacyanin, which is one of those great phytochemicals.
As far as recipes go I have already added about four new recipes to the Arugula’s Star Recipe Bank that utilizes your Arugula, Catalogna Emerald Endive “Dandelion Greens”, French Sorrel, and Leeks just to name a few. I would highly recommend the Brothy Spring Stew Recipe as it utilizes those Turnips and Turnip Greens, Leeks, and Rosemary.
I would also recommend looking at the following CSA Basket Journal Archives from last year in particular, as they highlight the French Sorrel and other uses for the Endive, and Beet Greens…
CSA Basket Journal #3
CSA Basket Journal #5
CSA Basket Journal #11
What Genus Specie Varieties your basket contains:
1.Mesclun Mix of Orach, Spinach, and Frisee Endive
2. French Sorrel
3. Baby Rouquette Arugula
4. Chioggia and Early Tall Top Beet Greens Bunch
5. Sweet Ann Sugar Snap Peas
6. Spring “Lyon” Leeks Bunch
7. Catalogna Emerald Endive “Dandelion Greens”
8. Purple Globe White Top Turnip Roots and Greens
9. Caribe Cilantro, Rosemary, and Wild Garlic Scapes