CSA Week 4: Summer
Farm Share Newsletter - June 24, 2023
Housekeeping
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CSA Week 4:
-Gai Lan
-Garlic Scapes
-Snow Peas
-Bok Choy
-Celtuce
-Fava Beans
-Thai Basil
Summer
It certainly felt like summer this week. For us, the solstice rings in the time of the year when there are not enough hours in the day to get through our growing to-do list. Harvests take longer and weeds take over.
The consistently warmer temperatures and dry days also marks a shift in our crop selection. If everything goes to plan, the first of the summer crops (in our case, cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplant) should be coming in within the next few weeks.
In the mean time, we must say goodbye to our snap peas, which are on their last leg. Our snow peas, however, seem to be taking off right now. The stalks from which we harvested fava greens just a couple weeks ago are falling over from the weight of fava beans. We roasted a few pods this week using this recipe.
We've never seem to grow enough gai lan, but are thrilled to finally have enough this week to include it in your box. This uniquely sweet green is most familiarly served boiled and then drizzled with oyster sauce. Maybe you've seen that preparation on a dim sum cart. I like to stir fry gai lan, and I've included a recipe for the way we do that below.
Celtuce is back, perhaps for the last time until late summer or early fall. Did you eat it raw or pickled last time? Try stir frying it this week.
We always try to include an allium (garlic scapes) and an herb (thai basil) in every box. I think these two would pair well together.
Stir-Fried Gai Lan With Hoisin Sauce
I don't have a photo this week because we didn't get a chance to make this dish. Also, the following is from memory, but, honestly, this is a substitution-friendly recipe that's really hard to mess up.
Ingredients
-1 bunch gai lan
-2 tbsp hoisin sauce (if you don't have hoisin, add a tablespoon of sugar or maple syrup and double the soy sauce).
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1/4 cup of water
-1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 tbsp minced ginger
-1 tbsp neutral, high-heat oil (vegetable, canola, avocado, peanut, etc.)
Steps
Chop your gai lan into 1-inch pieces. Separate the stems from the leaves.
Mix soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and water in a jar.
Heat oil in a pan on medium to medium high.
Add gai lan stems. Stir-fry for a minute or two, until fork tender. Add leaves, garlic and ginger, and sauce mixture. Stir fry for another 30 seconds to a minute or until most of the water cooks off.
'Til next week,
Steven