Week 2
I was telling a customer on Saturday how even though Kelly and I spend every day in the garden we are frequently amazed by something we didn't see coming.  Sometimes it is a nice surprise and sometimes it makes you want to go home and go back to bed.  Today's surprise was small but delightful.  After checking for several days in a row last week and then giving up I finally spotted my first peas on a new variety of snow pea we are growing.  They have a stunning purple flower (all the other peas we grow have white flowers) and a bright yellow pea that really stands out against the green leaves.  I hope this pea tastes as good as it looks.  The peas are very small at the moment but  the plants are covered with them.  We should all be eating some in a couple weeks.  It is always nice to have something to look forward too.

We hope you enjoyed your first box of veggies.  We ate garlic scapes at least three times in the past week.  We try to eat them as much as possible during their short two week season.  We also had some sautéed kale with polenta and poached eggs for dinner a couple nights ago.  We were pleased that the kale still has a mild spring flavor.  Hopefully you found it as delicious as we did.


Today's Veggies

Lettuce
Summer Turnips aka Tokyo Turnips - When you see these you might think we are giving you radishes again but they are a bit different.  Don't think you like turnips?  Chances are you will like these.  They are sweet and tender.  You can cook them but we recommend you try them raw first.  We think they taste best that way although many people enjoy them cooked as well.  The greens are delicious too.
Carrots
Beets - People tend to love them or hate them.  If you think you hate them but haven't had them since your mother served them out of a can please give them another try.  There are some cooking suggestions below.
New Potatoes - This is our first dig of the season.  The variety is purple viking.  It has a purple skin with pink stripes and a white flesh.  It is the most unusual potato we have ever seen.  New potatoes have a very thin skin that can be rubbed off with your thumb.  They will not keep the way a mature potato would.  You should eat them this week.
Snap Peas - They have a string but the pod is edible.
Strawberries - Today will be the first picking.  There might not be many, there is a good chance you will be able to eat them all before you even get home.  Hopefully the rain didn't get them too dirty.
Garlic Scapes
Cauliflower - Large Share only
Spinach - Large Share only 


Cooking Beets

Beets take quite a while to cook.  We like to cook a bunch and then store them in the fridge.  They are great tossed in a salad.  Because they take a while to cook I often forget about them until the pot boils over or runs out of water.  Since I am so easily distracted I like to cook them in the oven.  I toss them with oil, a little salt, wrap in foil and pop in a 375 to 400 degree oven until tender.  If they are small this might take 30 minutes.  Larger beets will take up to an hour.  Once they are cool I slip the skins off in a bowl that I set in the sink.  Kelly's favorite way to cook beets is to mix them with carrots and roast them.  In the fall we often include other veggies but this time of year it is usually just beets and carrots.


Roast Beets and Carrots
Carrots
Beets
Olive Oil
Garlic Scapes or Garlic
Salt and Pepper

Heat your oven to 400 degrees

Wash your  beets and carrots.  Cut them up so they are about the same size - around one inch pieces/wedges.  You don't need to peel your carrots and if the beets are small there is no need to peel them either.  We do half carrots and half beets.

Toss them with oil, salt, pepper and  and spread them out on a cookie sheet.  You don't want them to crowded or they won't caramelize.

Cook for about a half an hour.  Take them out of the oven and add some chopped garlic scapes.  Mix with a spatula and pop back in the oven until tender and brown on the edges.  If they start to brown before they seem to be getting tender you can put a little foil over them.

Once they are done you can eat them as is or toss them with some fresh parsley or thyme.  They are also delicious tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with a bit of goat cheese or feta.

See you later.