Solstice

Happy Solstice! The bittersweet time of year when the days are so long but we are now headed back in the direction of the dark days of winter. It always seems to come too soon. Our crops are mostly thriving although our cold season plants have decided that it is much too warm and it is time to go to flower. We try to stagger our plantings enough so that we don't interruptions of harvest in some crops, but bolting is really getting in the way of our best plans. Once a plant shows signs of going to flower, it stops producing, it elongates and shoots straight for the sky to produce a flower that will be available for pollination. It's a quick process and we know that the crop will now taste bitter since it's energy is no longer in its roots or leaves, just in it's flower. It's an incredible thing to watch happen and while it gets in the way of our harvest, what a gift to be able to watch closely the life stages of every plant we grow from seed to sprout to growth to full production to flower back to seed. It's a magical world we live in.

Scenes from the farm: radicchio going to seed, planting the 2nd round of tomatoes, Duma and a lettuce pillow, our first tomato fruits!

What's in the share:

head lettuce

salad greens

arugula

specialty greens

peas

spring onions

turnips

beets

carrots

broccoli

cabbage

napa cabbage

kale

swiss chard

collard greens

fennel

radicchio

escarole

 

Crunchy Veg Bowl with Warm Peanut Sauce.

Ingredients

Servings: 4

Sauce

  • 2 red or green Thai chiles, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • ¾ cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • Kosher salt

Salad

  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • ¼ head of Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 3 scallions (or spring onions), thinly sliced
  • 1 golden beet, scrubbed, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 celery stalk (or fennel bulb), thinly sliced on a diagonal
  • 1 Persian cucumber, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
  • 1 large handful of bean sprouts
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
  • ⅓ cup torn mint leaves
  • Kosher salt
  • ⅓ cup unsalted, toasted peanuts, crushed
  • 4 cups warm cooked brown rice

Preparation

Sauce

  • Pulse chiles, garlic, peanut butter, coconut milk, brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and fish sauce in a blender until smooth. Transfer peanut sauce to a small saucepan and add ¼ cup water (if too thick, add a splash or so of water as needed). Heat over medium-low, whisking often, until smooth and hot, about 5 minutes; season with salt. Keep warm over low heat, whisking occasionally.

  • Do Ahead: Sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Reheat in a small saucepan over medium-low, whisking often, until warm.

Salad

  • Cook eggs in a large saucepan of boiling water 7 minutes (whites will be set and yolks still slightly soft). Drain; transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and chill until cold. Drain and peel; set aside.

  • Toss cabbage, scallions, beet, celery, cucumber, sprouts, cilantro, and mint in a large bowl to combine; season with salt. Top with peanuts. 


  • Serve salad with brown rice and eggs, drizzled with some peanut sauce, with more sauce on the side. 


  • Recipe by Andy Baraghani
  • Photograph by Alex Lau

 

Malaika Spencer1 Comment