CSA Session 5 week 4

This weeks basket has Bok Choy, Yellow Carrots, Watermelon Radish, Red Radish, Purple Radish, Garlic and a head of Red Lettuce.

We've been working on a Salad every day for 30 days, so here is a weeks worth of salads.

Italian Salad

Carrot Salad

"Pink Goo" Salad

Fajita Salad

Cranberry Kale Salad

You Eat With Your Eyes Salad

Chef Salad

Rollups (Saladish)

These Salads are all a good way to use your greens and try something new. My favorite was the You Eat With Your Eyes Salad, but the Rollups were pretty good too and they technically are salad (since it has the greens)

Enjoy!

Maggie

Mama Linda adds: this basket is great for stir fry, too. In stir fry recipes, I’ll use the stem of the bok choy like celery, chopped and sautéed. Then, slice up the leaves and add them the last 2-3 minutes of cooking. 

But don’t take my word for it. This one has a nice orange sauce with it. Or, if the warm weather inspires you to fire up your grill, here

is another recipe featuring bok choy and radishes. In the mood for soup? This one looks delicious — I’ll let you know, because it’s definitely on our menu for this week.

CSA Session 5 week 4

It has been a long winter.......

With school kicking into high gear, 2 new sets of standards for 5 grades, 2 brand new curriculum series for 2 subjects at 5 grade levels, posting to my website has been a challenge and honestly haven't had time. If I did have time, I usually filled it with something else that had to be done! Well this is what we have been doing this winter. Due to school and a very late spring, everything got pushed back last fall and we didn't get crops in the ground as soon as I would have liked. Therefore I paid the price. I don't have as much produce this winter. That was a double edged sword. Less produce meant, I was unable to do our online market, less winter income. However, I am thankful that we don't have much produce available because we have had a little more family time and I haven't had to run myself ragged to get everything done. Also with the winter we have had so far, I probably would have been more upset with loosing crops. So in the end it all worked out! We have had enough produce to supply the winter market we attend in Manhattan. We got enough planted to make a nice big display and I feel as if I am the largest locally grown produce vendor in the winter there. If I had all 6 high tunnels in production right now, I know I would say I was. Well I try to take a picture at each market before anyone shows up to buy. Sometimes they are good, sometimes I am an in a big hurry! Here is what our winter market offering have looked like this winter. November 2nd November 23rd December 7th December 21st The day following this market, I got sick and eventually was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, needless to say it was a very uneventful Christmas break! January 4th February 7th We still have 3 more winter markets. I am hoping to plant a few things to try and attend the last two. We will be out of town for the next market in February. Winter markets have been very good for us, it is just a challenge to get everything harvested and processed when there is snow on the ground or freezing temps. It is a challenge that I am use to. I just wish I was able to afford to build a nice indoor packing facility!

It has been a long winter.......

Ginger-Sesame Chicken with Carrots and Bok Choy

Here is a really yummy recipe that used everything we had on hand from the garden. I added my adaptations. It had a very nice balance of spice, but if you aren't a spicey person, you may want to omit the crushed red pepper.

ENJOY!

Ginger-Sesame Chicken with Carrots and Bok Choy

Adapted from http://ellysaysopa.com, Food & Wine, as seen on Proceed with Caution

1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar (used white vinegar)
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1.5 Tbsp. canola oil (used olive oil)
3/4 lb. Carrots
3/4 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1″ pieces
3/4 lb. bok choy, sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips ( we used frozen pepper strips from the garden)
2 scallions, sliced, green parts separated from whites
2 Tbsp. freshly minced ginger ( 2 tsp of ground ginger)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

In a medium jar or bowl, mix together the chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch slurry, rice vinegar and crushed red pepper. Shake or whisk well. (I marinated the chicken it this sauce and then, took out the chicken and added the sauce at the end.)

Heat 1/2 Tbsp. of the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then add to the hot oil and cook through, about 4 minutes. Remove from skillet.

Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the pan. Add the carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Stir in the bok choy, red pepper, white slices of scallion, garlic, and ginger and cook until crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes.

Return the chicken to the skillet. Shake or stir the sauce, and then add it to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until slightly thickened, about a minute. Stir in the sesame oil and scallion tops and serve.

Ginger-Sesame Chicken with Carrots and Bok Choy

Salad Bar

Anyone want a salad?

The whole big building


Lettuce Bed


Black Seeded Simpson


Red Sails



Green Oakleaf


Red Oakleaf


Winter Density Romaine


Rouge D'Hiver


Jericho Romaine


Winterbor Kale


Red Russian Kale


Bed of Napa Cabbage, Bok Choy, Kale, Romaine



Napa Cabbage


Red Cabbage


Spinach

Salad Bar

Fall and Winter Garden

To all my RVP customers, I wanted to share where all your produce is coming from this fall and winter. Want to learn more, www.rvp.locallygrown.net My fall and winter garden consists of 3500 square feet of high tunnels and 1000 square feet of low tunnels.

Here is Hoop A
From left to right, Radishes, Beets, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Haikuri Turnips, Some left over broccoli, Lettuce, Napa Cabbage, Joi Choy, Red Choy, Tatsoi, Longevity (a type of tatsoi I guess), and Arugula.



They all still need mini hoops and row cover to cover them, but that is on the to do list.

Hoop C
My most mature crops and most recently planted.
Left to right, Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, Under the cover Green onions, Bok Choy and Napa Cabbage, Freshly Planted Haikuri Turnips and Carrots



Hoop D
This building grew Bell peppers and Cherry Tomatoes this spring and summer. I tore out the cherry tomatoes. Too overgrown and slowing production. The bell peppers are great. They are loaded and I have been picking bunches every week for the Farmers Markets.

Outside rows are bell peppers and under the row covers I have spinach and lettuce. I just transplanted the 250 plus lettuce plugs yesterday and the spinach is coming up or getting its true leaves. I still have grasshoppers in here and they love spinach. They don't mind the lettuce, but they will eat the spinach down.



On to the Movable Buildings. I have two movable buildings and I have crops growing outside and I am going to move the buildings over the crops soon. One probably this week and the other one once I loose the green beans or in about two weeks.

M1

Haikuri Turnips, Beets, Carrots, Carrots, Haikuri Turnips


M2 Has the same crops growing in it as M1.



M1 also has green beans growing inside.


Low Tunnels Broccoli and Cauliflower.
I have over 400 broccoli and cauliflower planted. They will go under row cover soon. I have to get a lot of other stuff done first!





The first low tunnel hoop.



Brussel Sprouts

They go planted too late, but we are going to see what happens.




Last outside planting of Green Beans.

This was a last second Hail Mary Planting. I have rinsed the frost off of them once and I have picked 40 pounds of beans off of the first picking. I am hoping to get 1-2 more pickings!

Fall and Winter Garden