Category Archives: stir fry

What to Do With Your Share—Week 3

csa, fair share farm, kansas city, napa cabbage, stir fry, sustainable agriculture

This “Sprummer” weather has really been something so far. We have learned over the  past 10 years that all you can do is go with the flow, and adjust your growing practices to fit the situation. In our case that has meant harvesting up to a month earlier than in the past and irrigating starting n April. A few more than anecdotal examples of this seasonal shift are in our past blogs and harvest records.

This year the strawberry harvest is already winding down. In 2010 we spotted the first ripe berry in mid-May and didn’t pick a full quart until tomorrow, the 23rd  of May. Other years showed a similar timeframe, with the first harvest somewhere at the end of May.

Likewise, the sugar snap peas are in full flush at the moment. In other years, it would be at least two weeks before we would start picking them. Best case with all of this, you eat better earlier in the year. Worst case, we’ve screwed up the balance of atmospheric gases with pollution, and we won’t be able to count on a “regular” season of weather too often.

Napa cabbage

The Share
Opportunities abound for delicious meals with this week’s vegetables, and any that you have left from last week. Remember, that for most all of the greens that we give you the best place for them is in a bag in your vegetable crisper. They will last over a week in such storage conditions. Vegetables will dry out in a fridge if not in a bag, so be sure to keep them happy.

First, a couple links to recipes. If you look to the right, you will see a link to member Emily Akins’ blog Everything Begins With an E. Her post of May 15this for braised lettuce with peas..just the thing for your share. If lettuce has accumulated, here is a good chance to eat some in a new way.

Re: the peas, you can “string” the sugar snap or snow peas and cut them into small pieces as a substitute for individual peas. Remember, with both types of peas we give you the pods are edible, but it helps to snap off the top and pull off the string (see photo). Try the recipe on that link too.

The turnips will be in the shares for a while, so keep our curried Hakurei turnip recipe in mind.

Raw Stir Fry SaladOur suggested recipe for this is an Asian vegetable salad/slaw, or as Rebecca noted, it is a “raw stir fry.” It started as we pulled a Chinese cabbage last week to check them out. I wanted to make a slaw, but felt that was a little too normal and finely chopped. So I cut up the more solid ingredients (turnip, radish, cabbage stem) into chunks while chopping up the greens. Tossed with an Asian sauce it really is the same ingredients as a stir fry, but raw.

Ingredients:Any that your want from your share. It is a good use for the Chinese cabbage. Also good in it would be radish, turnips, turnip greens, peas, broccoli, onion. Cut greens fine and other parts chunky for a good mix of textures.

Dressing:For a slaw-like taste I go for a dressing that is about half oil and half sharp tasting liquid (ie, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, fish sauce). You can try the following and adjust to your taste:
5 tbsp sesame oil, 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp chopped ginger.

Method:
Prepare vegetables and mix well in a large serving bowl. Toss with dressing. Serve as is or over warm or cold rice. Garnish with cilantro and crushed peanuts.

Week 1: What to Do With Your Share

csa, fair share farm, leeks, lettuce, stir fry, sustainable agriculture, thousand island dressing

Welcome to the 2012 Fair Share Farm CSA. In this section of the blog we will give you recipe ideas and other suggestions for enjoying your share to the fullest. This weekly blog will serve as a jumping off point for you to explore your possiblities. The recipes we post are all tested, and often created, right here in our kitchen. We suggeest the following supplemental sources of information each week:
Fair Share Farm Recipe Page—This website page is a compilation of some of the recipes we have recommended in the past. It was compiled several years ago, so it does not include all of our recipes. You can use the search bar or menu to find what you are looking for.

2004-2006 Fair Share Farm Newsletters—Prior to the blog we posted newsletters every week. An archive of them is on our website. You can look at newsletters from weeks with the same date as the week of your share for some probable cooking options.

This blog—As with the newsletters, you can search out what we were doing in previous years to find recipes appropriate for that week’s share. Also, you can use the search bar in the upper righthand corner to look for things.

Use the Google and the internets—The early days of CSA’s consisted of mimeographed newsletters. Today, if you have internet access, the possibilities are endless. Find something tasty? Link it in our comment section or post it on our facebook page. We would like everyone to signup.

So…on with the show. We have a great first share this year. So nice that the encores could be difficult, but that is our job after all. Just no more hail storms please.

Before our feature recipe of the week, here are a few past ones that are known favorites. New to leeks? Try an Asparagus and Leek Fritatta, or if you don’t get your asparagus until next week, try Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Garlic.

The bok choi is perfect right now, so get the wok out and have a stir fry. Hope we don’t have to tell you what to do with the strawberries, but a nice option is presented below.

Butterhead Lettuce Wedge Salad with Strawberries and 1,000 Island Dressing
Rebecca and I saw a recipe similar to this on a cooking show this winter, and it stayed with us. The butterhead lettuce in your share is an Italian seed variety know as Regina di Maggio. They are the light green lettuces with the head in the center. The tender leaves combined with the thick dressing are a nice textural combination. Needing a knife to eat it makes it feel so civilized, like you are living at Downton Abbey.

Ingredients:
1 butterhead lettuce
Spring onion
Radishes
Strawberries

Dressing:
Combine in a bowl and blend 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tbsp chili sauce or catsup, 2 tbsp chopped pepperoncinis or relish, 2 tbsp EV olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Peel the loose outer leaves away from the lettuce head and save them for salad or other use. With the root end still on, cut the lettuce head into sections (top to bottom). Keeping the root on allows you to wash and drain it without it falling apart.

To serve, cut off root and set wedges in individual bowls, cut side up. Top with chopped onions, radishes and strawberries. Top with dressing.

Welcome to the Vegetables

leeks, newsletter, stir fry

Welcome one and all to the 2011 Fair Share Farm CSA. The fields are in great shape this Spring and we are hoping for a bountiful season. For those of you who don’t know, this part of the blog is written by me, Tom the Farmer. It is the spot you can go to get ideas for cooking each week’s share.

Depending on time and personal energy, you may find a recipe from a recent meal here at the farm, a list of tried and true favorites, or other suggestions for cooking up your veggies (or all of the above). You can also search the blog, or go to our website and; a) search the Recipe page or b) check out our 2004 – 2007 Newsletter archive. In all cases you will find recipes that we have tested and tasted, and that each use a large array of share items.

Since the 2005 CSA seaon we have had leeks in the first week’s share. This week’s amount is heftier than normal, since we have to dig an entire bed before they flower, and want to get them to you while they are still fresh.

Once we made leeks as staple of our shares we found that those unfamiliar with this noble allium quickly fell in love with it. Part of the reason has been our suggested recipe. If you are new to leeks be sure to try Angel Hair Paste with Leeks and Garlic Saute. Last year’s Asparagus and Leek Fritatta is also a winner. It is a good way to use the small bunch of asparagus. In future years, when our new patch is producing we plan on this item being a larger share.

Stir Fry Season
This week’s recipe is a variation on the stir fry recipe in last years Week 2 blog. I recommend reading that blog post, as it references an excellent article on the basics of stir frying. We received lots of comments last year on how stir fry’s became a delicious “go to” meal for many members.

On Saturday we had a hankering for just such a meal, especially after staring at these prime vegetables in the fields all week long. But as we pulled the ingredients together we realized that we had no ginger root in the house. We did find some candied ginger in the freezer though, and substituted it with great results.

Spring Stir Fry 2011
While suspiciously similar to last year’s recipe I hope that it serves to illustrate that for many CSA share recipes you simply use what you have.

Ingredients
2 tbsp sesame oil
1-1/2 tbsp chopped candied ginger (or ginger root)
2 green garlic (bottom half) You can also add green onions
3 to 5 radishes
1 to 2 bok choi
6 to 8 lovage leaves (optional)
Cilantro for garnish

Sauce:
You can use the sauce from last year’s recipe, or as we did, simply look in your fridge and find all of those Asian sauces that may be in there. We used a combination of oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili garlic sauce and fish sauce.

Method
First step is to ready the ingredients. For the bok choi you will want to chop the stems and the leaves separate. Likewise with the radishes, chop the root and the tops separate
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside
Heat a wok or large skillet, add the sesame oil
Add the candied ginger, stir and cook for 30 seconds
Add the radishes and green garlic, stir and cook for 2 minutes
Add the bok choi stems, cook for 1 minute
Add the greens from the bok choi, and radish, and the lovage, cook 1 minute
Add the sauce and cook for 1 more minute

Serve immediately over hot rice and garnish with cilantro if desired