CSA #5 (6/24/25)
This is the time of year when you probably don't want to spend much time in the kitchen, and Henry's vegetable fields oblige!
You can make a fabulous stir-fry using every single item in your CSA share this week. Or you could put most (if not all) of them on the grill -- see Food Notes below.
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In Your Share This Week
BROCCOLI -- And some of the heads are as big as your head!
CARROTS -- Excellent as a crunchy snack, or in a stir-fry, or grilled.
CHOICE of Lettuce or Radicchio — Both are great in salad -- or in stir-fries, or grilled! See Food Notes below.
GREEN CABBAGE - Make a cool summer slaw, or saute it in butter or olive oil along with your onions for a delicious side dish. It's also great cut into slabs and grilled, or stir-fried with carrots and broccoli.
ONIONS -- Just about every dish benefits from onions, so add them liberally to whatever you are making! If you find you have too many, snip the tops off and keep them for weeks in your refrigerator.
CHOICE of Sugar Snap Peas or Fava Beans -- Enjoy the last of these cool-season crops. If you're not familiar with the buttery fava beans, give them a try. Just take the beans out of the big pods and boil them in salted water for a few minutes.
Food Notes: Radicchio
Pliny raved about the beautiful radicchios of the Veneto region in his Naturalis Historia, noting that in addition to being tasty they're good for insomnia and purifying the blood. He also said it was the Egyptians who bred radicchio from its wild ancestor, chicory.
In the Middle Ages, radicchio was especially popular among monks, who welcomed anything that would add zest to the simple, predominately vegetarian diets prescribed by their orders. But radicchio was not limited to monastic kitchens; it also figured prominently on the tables of nobles, both cooked and raw. In 1537, Pietro Aretino advised a friend who had a garden to plant it, saying he much preferred it to "aroma-free lettuce and endive." So don’t let the word "bitter" put you off radicchio -- it is simply another dimension of flavor, a deeper, earthier flavor. And when you cook radicchio, the bitterness fades, and the sweetness comes to the fore.
Grilling isn't probably what comes to mind when you think of lettuce and radicchio, but it's incredibly easy, and infuses the leaves with smokiness and great flavor. You can keep it simple, with just olive oil, salt, and pepper, or dress it up with parmesan, or other salty cheeses just after grilling
GRILLED LETTUCE or RADICCHIO
1 head of lettuce or radicchio, cut vertically through the core
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
1 lemon, cut in half
2 ounces fresh parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
Make sure your grill grates are clean, and brush them with a little oil. Turn grill to medium high.
Brush lettuce or radicchio halves liberally with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, both the cut side and back side. Then sprinkle each half with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Grill for 3 minutes, cut side down, pressing with your tongs to make sure the lettuce gets a good sear. Flip and grill for 2 more minutes.
Remove from grill, sprinkle with a little more salt and fresh black pepper to taste. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, then squeeze fresh lemon juice over each half.
Use a grater to shave fresh parmesan on each half if desired.
Farm Notes: HOT!
It seems like the the Solstice flipped a switch, lurching us directly from late spring to high summer. Henry said Sunday was the hottest day of this very hot week, and each succeeding day is supposed to be a degree cooler -- but it's still pretty brutal out there, for man and beast.
But Henry always says, "It could be a lot worse!" Which is true.
What mitigated the heat the past few days were the breezes, which do wonders to cool sweaty, working bodies. Henry also said that, while the one-two punch of too much rain followed by too much heat has pretty much ended the pea season, the summer crops are loving the moisture, heat, and many hours of sunlight each day. So it won't be long before you see summer squashes and other delights in your CSA share.
But this week be sure to enjoy the last of the peas and spring lettuces. And enjoy some of the first of the broccoli and cabbage, which should hold up in the field for a few more weeks if it gets just a little bit cooler.
Read the original CSA Food & Farm Notes here.