CSA Day!

Wow! We've been building and plowing and seeding and planting and weeding for months and now the CSA season is finally here. We're so excited meet you and share the beginning of the spring bounty! Tomorrow at Buckingham Friends Meetinghouse will be the first share pick up for Full Share Members and and Half Share Group A.

​When you arrive (and please don't arrive before 3:30!) there will be a sign-in sheet to check off your name. The share will be laid out along the porch and there will be signs labeling produce and choices that are available.

The greens are growin and they're coming your way!​

Your share this week will include:​

head lettuce

salad mix, arugula

asian greens

pea shoots

kale ​

collard greens

escarole

chinese cabbage

kohlrabi

radishes

turnips

swiss chard

broccoli raab

​Spring cookin'! Recipes for ya!

​Braised Escarole With Garlic and Lemon Juice

1 head escarole, about 1 pound

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

1/2 lemon, cut in thin slices

2 cups water or chicken broth

Pinch sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Break off the leaves of the escarole and wash them individually, taking care to remove any soil at the base of the stems. Shake the leaves dry, stack them up, and slice the escarole crosswise into ribbons about 1 1/2-inches wide.

Place a large deep skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Toss in the garlic, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and lemon slices; cook and stir for a couple of minutes, tossing to combine. Nestle the escarole into the pan and saute until it begins to wilt and shrink down, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the escarole with a pinch of sugar and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the water and cover the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes until the escarole is tender.

Pasta with Garlicky Broccoli Rabe

Adapted, just a smidge, from Gourmet, September 2006

The original recipe calls for spaghetti, but I prefer short, chunky pastas that are spear-able by toddler forks. I fell for a “toscani” shape, though it also looks like campanelle, “little bells.” I think it looks like pretty, pretty locks of hair.

So, unless I think the texture of a salt really makes a difference in a dish, I usually default to table salt in my recipes, because it’s cheap and everyone keeps it around (and, better that someone uses a coarse salt for a table salt volume and undersalts a dish than the other, irreversible, way around). But! Not here. Please don’t use table salt. Most table salt is iodized and that iodine can turn your garlic a weird bright blue/green color. It will still be safe to eat but look… disturbing. Trust me, I learned the hard way.

1 pound pasta, whatever shape you like (but chunky ones will match up better with the rabe)

1 pound broccoli rabe, heavy stems removed, remaining stems and leaves cut into 1- to 2-inch sections (I attempt to match my pasta in length)

1/2 cup olive oil

5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more or less to taste

About 1 heaping teaspoon Kosher salt (or more to taste)

To serve: Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Bring a huge pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and five minutes before its cooking time is up, add the broccoli rabe. It will seem like too much for the water, but with a stir or two, the rabe should wilt and cook alongside the pasta. Drain rabe and pasta together and pour into serving bowl. In the same pot or a tiny one, heat the olive oil with the garlic, pepper flakes and Kosher salt over moderate heat, stirring frequently for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the garlic becomes lightly golden. Pour mixture over pasta and toss to evenly coat. Shower with freshly grated cheese and eat at once.

​yum.

​Oh boy oh boy. We can't wait to meet you and we're looking forward to an awesome season.

​Malaika, Amanda, Matt, Candice, Natalie, Josh, Kidogo and Lucky