C.S.A. Week 1

The C.S..A. timing always feels like a funny contrast to the farm season. By the time the C.S.A. starts, we have been farming since mid-March. The C.S.A. jumps in just at the start of us having enough items harvestable on a regular basis beyond the greens we have been taking to the early farmers’ markets. It coasts along with us, as one by one, in ever faster succession, things ripen in the garden. There is a period of time in mid-July when every time we turn around, it feels like there are red tomatoes on the vine, orange peppers loaded on heavy plants, and purple bean flowers that elongate into edible pods seemingly overnight. Then in August, when the days are shortening, we bring in good crops like onions and squash to cure and dry for winter storage. September brings cool nights and we stop worrying about weeds for the year, instead focused on cover cropping areas of the garden that have been harvested bare. The C.S.A. ends here, and we continue through October harvesting thousands of pounds of root crops to live in our cooler. The greenhouse will switch gears to winter greens, and we will take a brief pause before starting up our winter cooperative C.S.A.

In the Share:

• baby beets

• new fire head lettuce

• bibb lettuce

• bok choi

• swiss chard

• purple scallions

Sautéed Swiss Chard

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of fresh Swiss chard

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, sliced

• Pinch of dried crushed red pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon of whole coriander seeds (optional)

1. Prep the chard stalks and leaves: Rinse out the Swiss chard leaves thoroughly. Either tear or cut away the thick stalks from the leaves.Cut the stalk pieces into 1-inch pieces. Chop the leaves into inch-wide strips. Keep the stalks and leaves separate.

2. Sauté garlic and crushed red pepper flakes: Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan on medium high heat. Add garlic slices, crushed red pepper, and coriander seeds (if using), and cook for about 30 seconds, or until the garlic is fragrant.

3. Add Swiss chard stalks: Add the chopped Swiss chard stalks. Lower the heat to low, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Add the chopped leaves: Add the chopped chard leaves, toss with the oil and garlic in the pan. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes. Turn the leaves and the stalks over in the pan.

Serve immediately.