Oniony Things

I use oniony flavored things almost every time I start cooking - so I try to add something oniony to each basket! 

Lettuces - both weeks I was able to include lettuces. Note: I choose my lettuce varieties according to taste and texture and flavor rather than storability and travel ability, so they won't last as long as the lettuce you'd get from the store. But they make great delicate, buttery salads! 

Building a Salad Dressing  
You don't have to feel you need a recipe for creating a salad dressing. 
You just need to be aware of four elements and then look around your kitchen, dig through your CSA basket, and start building your own new and exciting dressing.     

4 elements to a salad dressing:

1) Vinegar 
2) Oil (you can never really go wrong with Extra-Virgin, Organic, Cold-Pressed Olive Oil)
3) Backbone flavor: garlic or onion, pepper, salt, and a dash of sweet something 
4) Upfront flavor: Chopped Herbs and savory greens
And optional 5) - some protein/fat

You can use any type of vinegar from good old apple cider to fancy flavored vinegars; Just try to keep in mind your other ingredients and use a vinegar with a matching flavor.  

Although Extra Virgin Olive Oil is always a sound choice, a salad is the prefect place to use your delicate, more volatile oils like walnut, pistachio, and flax seed.  

You will probably always want to add something oniony - garlic powder, chopped fresh garlic, chopped chives, thinly sliced scallions or welsh onions, thinly sliced red onions, etc. And a dash of sea salt or seaweed usually helps round out the flavors. Experiment with red pepper flakes, paprika, and freshly ground black peppers.  

And adding a sweet usually really brings it all together - this could be a dash of fair-trade organic sugar, a dallop of brown rice syrup or barley malt, some chopped fresh stevia leaves, or a handful of berries or slices of pear. (If you used balsamic vinegar, your dressing will probably be sweet enough.)  

And don't forego adding chopped fresh herbs and spring greens! The protein/fat you choose is totally up to you - beans, nuts, seeds, chicken, shrimp, avocado, hard boiled egg, tuna, pork - all seem to go well in most salads. Adding a protein really makes the salad into a meal.  

And once you have artistically created it, don't skimp on the dressing - it is the fats in the dressing that helps you fully metabolize all the nutrients and minerals in the raw greens.     

Dark Leafy Greens

I think adding more dark leafy greens to your diet is one of the best ways to get healthier! And they are easy to add! Whenever you make something, consider whether some chopped greens could be added. They usually don't overwhelm recipes with flavor and especially if chopped fine, they are usually not offensive even to the pickiest non-green eaters! In the second basket, I included some small bunches of heirloom kales, which I am hoping to 

Simple Dark Greens Sauté    

REVIEW of some important organizational stuff to note:

I'll have the baskets ready to go at either 6:30 pm on Wednesday evenings or 10 am on Friday mornings. We encourage you to try to get to the farm as soon as possible after that time so you get your basket at its freshest, especially on hot days. If you're going to be very late, we may be able to put your basket in the fridge in the farm stand, but it is just a regular size fridge and it depends on whether I know when you're coming by and on space at the time. (First come, first serve.) We may also have to close the gate onto the property an hour or so after pick up time - as our chickens and dogs need some time outside even on CSA pick up days. In that case, we can leave your basket outside the front gate for you. If you come by and the gate is closed, then we are not available and you risk letting our dogs out or predators in so please leave the gate closed and email or call us and leave a message.

Note: If, during the course of the season, you find that you need to change your pick up time, please let us know at least a week ahead so we can adjust our harvesting schedule. Also, if you are running late or end up having to miss a pick up, please let us know a couple days ahead of time. We start harvesting for your basket the night before and morning of the pick up. We put a lot of effort into harvesting your basket and will do our best to accommodate your schedule so please give us as much lead time as possible into any changes you may need. Of course we really, really appreciate it when you stick to the schedule!!

Also, if you can't make a pick up - you can ask a friend to pick up for you - just let us know who is coming by. If you have to miss a basket completely, please do let us know ahead of time, and we will donate it to one of two great families who share in our CSA every year. They are good people and a worthy cause and truly deserve the good food, so you can feel that your missed basket is going to a good place.

Washing - A note on our veggies and greens - we do not officially wash our vegetables. We do sometimes rinse them off to cool them down after harvesting and so they look pretty, but you should always plan on washing your basket contents. Everything is grown in a open garden with bugs and birds and snails all around.

The Baskets - We use old fashioned bushel baskets for distributing our shares. It is important that you remember to return your basket each time you pick up. That way we can refill them for the week after. We will also be very happy to accept any egg cartons or pulp containers you are able to return to us! Thanks!