week 2

Cooking in Season
Week 2
We have little green tomatoes already. My sister and grandmother, anxious to get tomatoes after a disappointing no-tomato season last year due to early blight, started planting tomatoes in late March. One or two tomatoes would sneak out of the greenhouse and get planted and covered. When the cold got too much, they would wait for the thaw and then try it again. I’m not sure how long the ones that are bearing have been in the ground, but I’m pretty sure they got a decent head start. And I can’t wait for fresh, vine ripened tomatoes. We also have baby peppers already.The squash are starting to flower. The cucumbers have baby pickles with flowers on the tips as they climb the fence. The lettuce sighs at the thought of getting harvested and wilts immediately and the kale is under attack from some leaf munchers. The broccoli has all but given up the fight. We’re hoping for the warm weather crops to pick up the slack.
Watch your baskets as garlic is sneaking in soon. We grow a bunch of different types and although I had all hopes of labeling, something got lost in translation. We have at least 6 different types and then after I couldn’t find any more in the dead of winter this year during a thaw, some grocery store garlic went in the ground as well. We have a native American red, some strong German red, softneck white, hardnecks, Music Pinks, and a few I’m sure I’m forgetting. We are harvesting from the past 4 years of planting garlic, so some head up better than others, but all are pretty much delicious.
Anyway, this week is just for the beets. The year before we started doing the CSA, Jason and I had a much smaller garden with a little beet patch that ended up yielding 38 quarts of pickled beets! We tried to eat one jar per week, but when we were burnt out on beets, we realized that we needed help eating all of our veggies. Hence the CSA.Anyway, beets as a vegetable are very under appreciated. It seems as though most of the people who really value them have lived through the depression and savor them at the early bird salad bar. I would just ask you all to give them another chance with this recipe, greens and all. They are high in folate, manganese, iron, potassium and fiber and I love that the green are also edible and delicious.Here’s a recipe from cooks.com that’s great. You also have peas in your baskets (most of you) and the larger ones can be shelled and thrown in the skillet when the greens are added. Smaller sugar snap peas can be added whole.
Ingredients1 bunch beets with greens 1/4 cup olive oil, divided 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons chopped onion (optional) salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Wash the beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on, and remove the greens. Rinse greens, removing any large stems, and set aside. Place the beets in a small baking dish or roasting pan, and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you wish to peel the beets, it is easier to do so once they have been roasted.
2. Cover, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife can slide easily through the largest beet.
3. When the roasted beets are almost done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for a minute. Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until greens are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the greens as is, and the roasted beets sliced with either red-wine vinegar, or butter and salt and pepper.
Email me if you need help shelling peas. They’re way better than out of a can! - Janee