Weekly Share November 9th – 15th

Nelson Carrots
Hakurei Turnips
Chinese Cabbage
Flowering Brassica or Broccoli Raab
Arugula or Mesclun Mix
Scallion
Cilantro
Chiles
Fresh Ginger or Lemongrass

This week’s post is being written a few days late, as we worked through the weekend, spending Sunday with some work share members planting our 2016 garlic crop. It was such a productive day that we were able to get all our pepper plants and latter tomato successions cleaned out of the fields, stakes and all. This is often a task that gets put aside as we are perpetually under-staffed and it can be a bit tedious with only 2 people. Yesterday we knocked it all out in addition to separating 175lbs of garlic heads (individualizing all the cloves), fertilizing 900’ of bed space, planting 9000 cloves of garlic, and mulching it all with a 4” layer of straw. The crew was amazing and we had a bit of fun in the process. It is always such a relief to get the garlic going and a reminder that our next season is already underway.

Every year this week’s share seems to be filled with crops that inspire Asian preparations. As we are heading into late Fall and the days seem noticeably shorter by the week, we find that provincial Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Northern Thai Cusine is soothing, warming, and delicious. We find ourselves pulling out the Japanese Farm Food cookbook with its simple and delicious recipes a few times per week. In this week’s share the cooking greens are in the brassica family, often categorized as rapinis. Flowering brassica, also known as yu choy sum, a flowering relative to bok choy is in the greater Asian greens family. In the Serious Eats Field Guide to Asian Greens, flowering brassica is also known as yu choy, check it out here. Broccoli Raab is related to turnips and therefore has a slightly more bitter pungency, but would be delicious in the following Pork and Flowering Mustard recipe from Japanese Farm Food. The Turnip Greens in Soy Sauce and Carrot Slivers Stir-Fried in Soy Sauce would be a delicious pairing for a meal with fish and rice. We hope you are reveling in the abundance of greens before the cold sweeps in and wreaks a little havoc. Enjoy the Share…..Brian and Autumn

Japanese Farm Food – A wonderful article about Nancy Singleton Hachisu’s mindblowing cookbook followed by recipes including Turnip Greens in Soy Sauce

Choy Sum (Asian Greens) with Garlic Sauce

Pork and Flowering Mustard Stir-Fry 

Napa Cabbage, Carrot & Scallion Kimchi 

Glazed Hakurei Turnip 

Glazed Sea Scallops with Wilted Napa Cabbage Slaw – try adding a little fresh ginger and cilantro to the slaw

Carrot Slivers Stir-fried with Soy Sauce– Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu

3 Tbls rapeseed or light sesame oil
2 small dried peppers, torn in half
4 cups julienned carrots
2 Tbls soy sauce
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Add the peppers and warm until fragrant. Turn the heat up to high and throw in the carrots. Toss several minutes over high heat until the carrots have softened but not wilted. Test for doneness by sampling a piece or two. Splash in the soy sauce and toss for a couple of seconds to draw the soy sauce flavor into the carrots. Ratio: vegetable: oil: soy sauce- 1cup: 2 tsp: 1 ½ tsp