Tonight’s share includes:
Brocccoli
Sorry, no photo. The heads didn’t get as large as we would have liked, but with the recent hot temps, they were looking like they might flower, so we cut them. Hopefully the plants will produce side shoots, which should be just as tasty as the main head.
Garlic Scapes
These are the seed stalks from hard neck garlic. They make a cool curly-cue. We pull them so the plant will direct all its energy toward making bigger bulbs. They just happen to also be very tasty. Use them like you would scallions or green onions/garlic. Here’s what they look like still on the plant:
Kohlrabi
While it sort of looks like an alien creature, Kohlrabi is related to broccoli. The part we typically eat is the swollen stem, not the root. It tastes almost exactly like broccoli stems. Peel the outer skin, which can get tough. Eat it raw, steamed, or cooked.
Lettuce
Three kinds of head lettuce tonight:
Buttercrunch, which is a butterhead.
Green Deer Tongue, which is an heirloom looseleaf apparently dating back to the 1740s.
Merlot, which is a small red leaf.
Scallions
Spinach
Sorry, no photo. But we’re probably near the end of our spinach. It doesn’t like the heat much.
Swiss Chard
We plant a multi-colored mix. We try to pick the leaves while they’re still on the small side in order to avoid overly-tough stems. If you haven’t tried chard before, you’re in for a treat. It has a taste similar to spinach, but the stems add a nice crunchy texture. Use it as you would spinach in sauces, or just steamed.
Salad Turnips
Oops, no photo of these, either. Sorry. They’re the white, radish-looking things. But with less zing and more crunch. Use them like you would radishes.
Finally, here’s a peak at the “Blue Bubble,” our washing shed that we covered with a blue tarp to keep the sun away.
