On my kitchen counter is a piece of scrap paper with a running grocery shopping list. These days there are several items that might as well be permanently printed, because we buy them week after week. Cheese sticks for lunch boxes, tea for me, coffee for Chris…the staples. We all have our shopping habits and go-to meals. But when my veggie shopping list starts to take on this rote sameness, too, I know things have gone too far. That’s when CSA season rescues me from mundane routine. Suddenly, veggies that I’ve either stopped noticing in the grocery store or that never even show up there are clamouring for attention in my share. As a result, I get out of my cooking rut and dinners get more interesting. Suddenly, I’m topping my pizza with mushrooms and ramps instead of mushrooms and onions. The fast (and, admittedly, a little bit boring) baked chicken that I often make is zested up with fresh dill. And several behemoth parsnips (that some of you probably had to look up to identify last week!) are sending their sweet scent into the kitchen as they roast in the oven.
Cooking with vegetables that you have to look up to identify can be a bit daunting. Cooking habits die hard, especially during a busy week. But believe me, it’s worth it. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard an excited CSA member exclaim “I had never even heard of hakurei turnips before, and now I can’t get enough of them!” So all this is to say, I hope you embrace the opportunity to try new things this CSA season. There is a whole rainbow of flavors, textures, and colors out there when it comes to vegetables, so don’t just stick to carrots…try kohlrabi! It’s crunchier, zestier, cuter, and just as versatile. If you need convincing on this particular mystery vegetable, check out the song 37 Ways To Cook Kohlrabi (on spotify, apple, and amazon) written by two of our very own CSA members for The Vermont Farm Project musical. When we took our crew to see the musical last spring we all laughed out loud at the perfectly upbeat ode to this under appreciated vegetable!
And with that, on to the harvest; a tasty medley of the familiar and the mysterious!
Cheers
Norah and the Sweetland Crew
PS
Want to see 37 Ways to Cook Kohlrabi performed live? Most of the original cast of the VT Farm Project will be performing at Feast and Field on June 4! Get tickets here.
Week 2 Harvest
| Crops | Half Pint | Brimming Basket | Veggie Monster |
| Carrots | x | x | x |
| Asparagus | x | x | x |
| Red Lettuce | x | x | x |
| Scallions | x | x | x |
| Dill | x | x | x |
| Kohlrabi | x | x | |
| Green Lettuce | x | x | |
| Parsnips | x | ||
| Cilantro | x | ||
| Arugula | |||
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Farmers Choice Shares Includes items with x
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Free choice shares choose 5(HP), 7(BB), or 9(VM)
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What’s Cooking This Week
You can find ingredients for all of these recipes in our farm store! We source meats, dairy, grains, beans, sweets, and more from local and sustainable producers. Don’t forget to use your CSA member discount by entering your account phone number in our POS (member discounts are automatically applied to LocalLine purchases for off-farm delivery).