Welcome to Week 2 of the Wellspring CSA.  I hope everyone enjoyed their first share and found delicious ways to use some of the more unusual veggies we gave out.

   As Angie and I both touched on last week, it was a challenging spring for growing vegetables.  After the fields thawed and dried out enough for us to plant things in the ground, we had to contend with an extended cold streak that delayed or completely halted seed germination leading to sparse and slow growing stands of a number of crops.  After things started to warm up, we had some intense pest pressure we had to control and a couple more plantings that failed due to poor seed germination and a couple of poor management decisions.  Each of these hardships and crop failures on there own are not of great concern because as a diversified operation we have a number of other things to take their place, but when everything is taken in combination it leads to a decrease in the number of crops ready for the first couple of shares.

   The upside is that I am learning how to manage the farm better everyday. I have a great crew supporting me in this endeavor, and the crops in the ground are looking vibrant and growing well.  As a result of these positive influences the shares will be increasing in the bulk and number of items. 

   The most exciting of the items this week (at least for me) is the strawberries.  We were in an interesting spot with the strawberries this week.  A large number of them were ripe and needed to be harvested before they got over-ripe, but there were not quite enough to supply everyone with as full of a pint as we would have liked.  We went ahead and harvested the berries, so they could be eaten and enjoyed by you all instead of rotting on the vine.  There were a ton of blushing and white berries in the patch so the next couple of shares should have a greater number of red, ripe, delicious berries.  We also got a much-needed rain during the harvest so the berries were packed wet.  Unless they are going to be eaten in the next day or two, the berries should be allowed to dry before storing them in the fridge. 

Breakfast Tacos with Avocado Radish Salsa 

from The Year in Food

Serves 4

For the salsa:

1 large avocado, scooped out of skin and diced
1 small bunch radishes, thinly sliced (7-8 radishes)
1/2 small onion, minced
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 jalapeno, minced
juice of 1 lime
1/4-1/2 teaspoon sea salt, to taste

For the tacos:

8 corn tortillas
8 pastured eggs
1 cup crumbled feta
oil for cooking
hot sauce if desired

First, prepare the salsa. Slice the radishes with a mandoline if you have one, or carefully with a very sharp knife. Combine the radishes with the avocado, minced onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice. Add 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and adjust according to your taste.

Next, heat a large skillet over a medium flame. You may have to fry the eggs in batches - use two skillets if serving at the same time is important. When the skillet is hot, add enough oil to cover the bottom. Fry eggs according to your taste, about 4-5 minutes, until whites have set. Set eggs aside and warm the tortillas in the skillet.

Place one egg atop each tortilla. Serve with the salsa, feta cheese and hot sauce.

Pac Choi - This is like a smaller, more tender version of bok choy. It is great in stir-fry or a noodle bowl. Try sauteing it with garlic and ginger with a drizzle of sesame oil over it. These guys are also great for the grill and can be grilled whole with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Use in place of the bok choy in the recipe below and sub in the mustard greens for the tatsoi (another Asian green in the mustard/brassica family with similar flavor). 

Hanoi Noodle Soup with Chicken, Baby Tatsoi, and Bok Choy
adapted from Saveur

8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, peeled (or 2 stalks green garlic, chopped)
� cup fresh cilantro leaves
� cup fresh mint leaves
2 whole chicken breasts, bone in
1 lb. bok choy, chopped
� lb. �"-wide bahn pho (Vietnamese rice noodles)
3 tbsp. finely chopped scallions
4 oz. baby tatsoi or 1 bunch mustard greens (or kale or radish greens)
Tuong Ot Toi (Vietnamese hot sauce)

1. In a medium stockpot, bring chicken stock to a simmer over medium heat. Add ginger, garlic, � cup each of the cilantro and mint leaves, and chicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. 

2. Remove chicken and allow to cool. Tear each breast into about 6 pieces, discard bones. Strain broth and return to pot over low heat. Add bok choy and simmer 5-10 minutes. 

3. Soak noodles in hot water until softened, 5-10 minutes. Cook noodles in boiling water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse well with cold water. 

4. Divide noodles among six bowls. Add chicken pieces, scallions, remaining � cup each mint and cilantro, and tatsoi (mustard greens). Pour hot broth and bok choy over top. Serve with hot sauce. 

Lemon Balm - This is an herb from the mint family that can bring that same bright, lemony flavor to a dish, but in a more subtle manner than full blown lemon juice or zest. You can use it in fruit salads (perhaps you want to try a chiffonade of it over the top of some sliced strawberries with ice cream! I am fairly sure that still qualifies as fruit salad...), to add flavor to beverages (add a few leaves to your water bottle), or toss with steamed vegetables,or spice up marinades for fish or lamb, or you can steep the leaves (fresh or dried) in hot water for a tummy-taming tea. You can also freeze chopped lemon balm leaves in ice cubes to add later to your summer beverage of choice. Can't use it all right now? Preserve lemon balm by drying or stashing in vinegar.

Strawberries - You know what to do.