pick-list:
Broccoli - Strawberries - Radishes - Arugula - Kohlrabi - Cilantro
This week the berries ripened, the broccoli was harvested, and rain fell! Hallelujah! Also this week we got slammed on the internet, trash talked in the field (PYO)- and goodness knows what happened at the farmstand. As I’ve discovered, farming during a pandemic can be rough. Emotions run high, and there are varying opinions on maintaining healthy practices (especially when we are still learning about this virus). BUT, thank goodness for the land! Thank goodness for the crops! Our home along the Connecticut River Valley is pumping out food- the fields are full- and we, your farmers, are here to grow and provide.
My original note to you all- the weekly CSA update- went into a rabbit hole of frustration. And then I spent the morning harvesting radishes, cutting and bunching cilantro, and from there I moved onto broccoli and cut crown after crown until the bushels were good and full and the numbers were counted, and I was mostly done for the day.
You see, the news and information are moving so fast that it feels like a full time job just to keep up. BUT we don’t have time for that right now. OUR days begin at 4:40 am 7 days a week. At that time we move right to the fields to pick, and then to the pack-shed to wash and pack, and back to the fields to weed and plant, and at the end of the day- if we have anything left- we preserve. Right now, our job is to grow food and for the most part we are damn good at it. We clearly do not excel at customer service (except for you all at the farmstand, yall kick ass) or responding to emails, but we can feed a community and we can provide jobs, and if that’s the best that we can do, then it’s not half bad. So despite the disgruntled remarks heard in the past 7 days about our COVID guidelines and customer service, (we’re doing the best we can) this is what I know: our days are packed, our crew is incredible, rain fell, we planted more kale, I had the first tomato of the season, yall remain the loveliest community of people to pick vegetables for (seriously, I’m very grateful to you all for signing on this season), and everything smells like strawberries.
TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:
Kohlrabi:
FUN FACT, it not everyone’s favorite veg. In fact, as I was reaching peak buffness after slicing 3 kohlrabis in a row using a mandolin, my dear roommate/friend Rich commented, reason #17 why no one likes kohlrabi (hard to cut). But let’s prove Rich wrong here people!! Kohlrabi is beautiful and a pretty fast grower compared to its sister vegetable, the cabbage. As a result you can use kohlrabi to make early season kraut, slaw, etc… I made the following recipe the other night, and it became an easy favorite, and Rich approved.
Kohlrabi "bulbs" fall somewhere between the size of golf balls and softballs. The smaller they are, the sweeter they are, which is desirable for this recipe since you're serving them raw.
¼ cup tahini
1 tablespoon honey
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
Kosher salt
½ cup coarsely chopped mint
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
⅓ cup finely chopped toasted pistachios
3 medium kohlrabies (about 2 pounds total), peeled, thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Mix tahini, honey, 2 Tbsp. oil, and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice in a small bowl to combine; season with salt.
Toss mint, chives, pistachios, and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl; season with salt. Add kohlrabies, vinegar, lemon zest, and remaining 1 Tbsp. lemon juice; toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Spread tahini mixture over plates; top with kohlrabi salad.
Serves 2 as a side
1 pound fresh broccoli
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
A few pinches of pepper flakes, to taste
Finely grated zest of half a lemon, or more to taste
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, minced
Juice of half a lemon, or more to taste, to finish
Heat oven to 425°F (220°C).
Prep your broccoli: Wash broccoli well — seriously, there is always a stem-colored worm hidden in the florets when I buy organic or from a farmer’s market, hooray for fewer pesticides! — and pat dry. Slice straight through the broccoli stem(s) as close to the crown of florets as possible. The crown should naturally break into several large florets, and you can cut these down into more manageable chunks. I find that less mess is made and less broccoli rubble is lost when I cut not down through the florets tops to halve chunks but up through the attached stems. (See 2nd photo above.) After cutting through the stem, I use my hands to break the floret the rest of the way in two. Don’t let the stems go to waste. I peel off the tough outer skin and knots and cut the stems into 1/2-inch segments; they cook up wonderfully this way, and at the same speed as the florets.
Drizzle the first tablespoon of oil over your baking sheet or roasting pan and brush or roll it around so it’s evenly coated. In a large bowl, toss prepared florets and stems with remaining olive oil, garlic, pepper flakes, salt and lemon zest until they’re evenly coated. Spread broccoli in an even layer in prepared pan.
Roast for 20 minutes, then use a spatula to flip and move pieces around for even cooking. Roast another 10 to 15 minutes, checking every 5, until broccoli is toasty and as crisp as you like it. (As you can see, we like a serious char on ours.)
From the oven, taste a floret for seasoning and add more salt and pepper flakes if needed. Shower with fresh lemon juice and eat immediately, as-is or follow one of the adventures below.
7 More Insanely Delicious Things To Do With Crispy Broccoli
Give it the pangrattato and crispy egg treatment that we tossed with spaghetti in February, for a most excellent full meal.
Give it the escarole salad with pickled red onions treatment — pecorino and hazelnuts ground together and sprinkled on the vegetables, plus some pickled onion ringlets. You can skip the lemon, as the pickling juices provide sufficient tangy contrast.
Smash the broccoli between two slices of grilled bread with burrata, fresh mozzarella or even crumbled goat cheese.
Skip the lemon juice and instead finish the broccoli with sesame-miso dressing. Sprinkle with toasted black and white sesame seeds.
Finish it with this lemon-garlic-tahini dressing. And why not some crispy chickpeas and chopped pistachios, too?
Can you imagine David Chang’s Fish Sauce Vinaigrette on these? I can hardly handle how delicious it would be.
Finally, this could easily be riffed into a bowl with quinoa or another grain.