Hi members — Below please find a few additions and updates for the share this week. We are so excited to have such a great list of fresh produce for you!
PRODUCE – Produce is from Flores Family Farm (George, Omar and family) Hague, Va unless otherwise indicated.
- ramps – via our Chef friend, Jimmy Sneed. These are sustainably foraged for us and are alliums (onion garlic family). they will have wide green leaves, and white bulbs and a pungent scent. Use the leaves for pesto. try –ramps on grits, ramp compound butter, pesto, ramped up crostini with fresh ricotta and pea shoots they are excellent on pizza and can be pickled – which are great in savory cocktails. I love this Green Goddess dressing with ramps – add in your spring garlic, and I have subbed in yogurt for milk.
- spring garlic – This will have long flattish leaves like a flat grass and a pungent scent. It might have bulbs. Use this like you would garlic or onions — chop it up and add it to salads. Put this in your green goddess dressing. Here’s a quick guide. Here are spring garlic fried eggs
- .spinach – these will be fluffy green leaves.They are great in salads, pesto, sauteed. Try this potato crusted spinach fritatta. Make Spinach paneer!
- baby bok choy – -Otherwise known as Chinese white cabbage is a staple ingredient in Asian dishes. The tender dark green leaves and crisp off-white-colored stalks provide a nice fresh crunch. The greens have a spinach-like taste with a very mild bitterness. I like to add them to my veggie kimchi, or I like to roast them. Roasted Bok Choy or try bok choy in vinegar oyster sauce; or vegan pho with bok choy and mushrooms and garlic why not! sautéed 5 spice bok choy and mushrooms 10 minute lemon garlic bok choy
- brussels sprouts, Old Tavern Farm, Quinton, VA – look like little cabbages – you can eat them raw or cooked –pot stuck brussels sprouts, brussels sprouts with chorizo beer hash – caesar shaved brussel sprouts salad with chickpea croutons
- shitake mushrooms – Schofield Farm, Dinwiddie, VA- shiitake easy sauteed mushrooms. You can also substitute butter for the oil if you like butter. Her are some other recipes to try. Here is a guide to storing mushrooms. If your mushrooms dry, don’t throw them out – save them for savory mushroom powder. Its delish.
- Kalettes – Yay! these are one of our favorites! They are a hybrid of kale and brussels sprouts so you can use recipes for either of those. If they arrive on the stalk, you will have to pick them off and discard the stalk. You can cook the leaves as well. They are good raw, roasted, boiled, baked, sauteed. Here are recipes
- rainbow carrots – carrots are versatile and everyone loves them. They can be roasted, eaten raw, baked and boiled. Here are some easy recipes. I am dying to make this vegan carrot bacon that is floating around on Facebook!
- broccoli, Old Tavern Farm, Quinton, VA – broccoli and za’atar soup with tahini cream (vegan), quick and easy Thai coconut soup (use your mushrooms, bok choy too.)
- kale, Old Tavern Farm, Quinton, VA – This will be dark green, leafy green. You will strip the leaves off the spines, unless they are tiny. Kale is not just for salad or sautee. Here are a whole bunch of ways that go beyond that. You can also use the kale spines. try goatcheese lemon pasta with kale! ; kale goatcheese tart; kale caesar salad
- apples – Saunders Bros, Piney River, VA – These have been in storage since fall and are still great eating. Here are some recipes.
- onions – Old Tavern Farm/New Kent, VA red candy and yellow
- cucumbers – Sion House Farm/Westmoreland, VA – greenhouse grown fresh and delicious!
MEATS – Meats might change
- cornish hen – herb roasted cornish hen
- ground beef – Here are some tips for cooking grass fed beef.
- Polyface bratwurst – these are excellent and great for a quick dinner. sheetpan sausages with broccoli, kale and chick peas
- Polyface breakfast links – these are mild enough kids love, but flavorful enough adults love them too. Easy to break apart when frozen if you forget to defrost.
BREAD
- Billy Bread rustic sourdough – Legendary in Richmond! Here are some ways to use sourdough bread. when you get it and you plan to keep it on the counter – please take it out of the plastic bag so that it can breathe. If it gets moisture trapped in there, it will mold. I keep mine the in the fridge in the plastic bag after the first day.
DAIRY
- Cheese -Curds and Whey RVA – Fresh Mozzarella – This is authentic Brooklyn Italian cheese with great flavor and texture. We are excited to be offering more of John’s Italian meal kits too! Watch for these.
