Fava Beans
Garlic Scapes
Hakurei Turnips
Mesclun Salad Mix
Lacinato or Russian Kale
Red Leaf Lettuce
Dill
Our 2025 CSA season is finally here. We are so glad you have decided to join us and as with every year, we aspire to bring you loads of delicious vegetable diversity. There will likely be a lot of eggplant (it is Virginia after all) and a few challenging items, and hopefully you all discover some new dish or a new vegetable love. So far this growing season seems less challenging than the last and we hope that continues. The fields are getting full with Spring and Summer crops, although we still have a lot of Summer planting to do. Most crops are growing strong. Our storage onions have taken a huge hit, due to the ever persistent onion fly pressure. For those of you who have spent many years in our CSA, you know there is always at least one crop that suffers. This is the beauty of being a small intensive market farm, we grow so many crops, we can survive the loss of a few, even though it makes us a little sad.
The new news on our farm is that we just had a new high tunnel put up, next to our first, this makes #5. The National Resource and Conservation Services, through the USDA has a grant program to help farms acquire high tunnels to improve sustainability, avoid erosion and extend the growing season. As the climate becomes increasingly erratic with heavy rains and intense wind, these covered unheated growing spaces are integral to being able to adapt systems when needed. We imagine this will be our final structure; but it is so welcome as we have been double or triple cropping in all our covered spaces over the past few years and we hope this additional square footage will allow us to rest these areas a bit more.
This week’s share will be large and with a lot of cooking and salad greens, we hope you are ready. Many crops have come on a bit early, so we have a lot that is ready right now. We have two fava bean successions and the first is already winding down and the 2nd is just beginning, so a perfect time to get you a little of this fatty, earthy, bean. If you are unfamiliar, check out the recipes below and the short article “Wait Stop! Don’t Peel Those Fava Beans!” They are delicious paired with dill, garlic scapes, and even blanched and added to a hearty salad. Unfamiliar with Garlic Scapes? When hardneck garlic begins the bulbing process, growing cloves, it pushes up a “scape” in the middle of the plant, which would eventually become the flower bud or seed head. By pulling out the scape, the plant focuses more energy on the bulbing, making for a potentially bigger garlic head. At this immature stage the scape is tender with a little crunch and has a superb garlic flavor without a ton of heat. They will store in a plastic bag for at least 3 weeks, so don’t feel rushed to use them all. A longish scape will be equivalent to 1-2 cloves of garlic. You can mash them, mince them, or use in bigger pieces for some garlic punch. They can be pickled using the brine for a basic dilly bean recipe, and after a six week wait make an amazing addition to any pickle plate. Other options for the scapes are making garlic butter (blend the scapes, mix with softened butter and a little salt, then using wax paper make the butter into a log roll, wrap in plastic wrap, freeze, and use as needed.) or garlic scape pesto (recipe below). Check out the recipes and enjoy the share….Autumn & Brian
Wait! Stop! Don’t Peel Those Fava Beans!
Garlic Scape + Mint Pesto Farro Salad with Kale + Chickpeas
Hakurei Turnips & Garlic Scapes with Sesame
Sauteed Greens with Olives (Misticanza)from Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden
The key to this dish is to cook it quickly at high heat so that you can taste each green in your mix.
extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (Use 2-3 garlic scapes)
¼ tsp dried chiles flakes
10 cups lightly packed torn mixed greens (such as kale, escarole, turnip greens, beet greens, chard)
kosher salt & black pepper
¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted & halved
2 Tbls lemon juice
Heat a glug of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes – don’t let it burn! Add the chile flakes and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the greens a handful at a time, tossing until wilted between additions (if you can, start with the tougher greens such as kale or escarole). Season generously with salt and black pepper and cook until all greens are wilted and softened, about 3 minutes more after your last addition.
add the olives and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more chile flakes, salt or lemon juice. Finish with a nice drizzle of olive oil.
Turnip Salad with Yogurt, Herbs, and Poppy Seeds Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden
Serve this dish right away; otherwise things may get a bit soggy.
1 bunch Japanese Turnips with their greens trimmed leaving ¼” stem
1 lemon halved
½ tsp chile flakes
½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt (not greek style)
1 cup lightly packed mixed herbs: mint, chives, dill, parsley, cut into 2” lengths
4 scallions, trimmed, sliced on a sharp angle, soaked in ice water for 20 minutes, then drained well
salt & pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup poppy seeds
Slice the turnips lengthwise as thin as you can. If you have a mandolin, use it; otherwise make sure your knife is sharp and just go slowly. Soak the slices in ice water for 15-20 minutes, then drain very well.
Rinse, dry, and roughly chop the turnip greens. Put the turnips in a bowl and squeeze in about half the lemon. Add the chile flakes, ½ tsp salt, and many twists of pepper, toss and blend. Add the yogurt and toss again. Taste and adjust the seasoning so they are quite bright. Add the herbs, scallions, and ¼ cup olive oil and toss again. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Scatter half the poppy seeds on the bottom of a platter or individual serving plates, top with the turnip salad, and finish with the rest of the poppy seeds. Serve right away.
Roz bel Ful Ahdar (Rice with Fava Beans) the New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
In Egypt this is prepared in the Spring, when fava beans are very young and tender. It is served hot as an accompaniment to meat, or cold with yogurt and a salad. Egyptians do not remove the skins of the beans.
1 pound fresh fava beans, shelled
salt
vegetable oil
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic or 1 green garlic stalk, minced white & greens
1 cup fresh dill, chopped
1 1/2 cups basmati or long-grain rice (wash)
pepper
2 ¼ cup water
Boil the beans in salted water for a few minutes, until they are tender, then drain. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and fry the onion until soft and golden. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or two. Then add the drained beans and sauté a little, stirring and turning them over. Add the rice, and stir until transparent. Add the salt, pepper, and chopped dill and pour in the water. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender.
Smashed Fava Beans, Pecorino, and Mint on Toast Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden
This is a loose pesto of fava beans and mint, with plenty of olive oil. Use it as a pasta sauce or as a dip for vegetables, spoon it over crushed new potatoes, or spread some on toasted country bread.
1 ¼ lb Fava Beans in their pods
1 stalk green garlic roughly chopped
4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves
salt & pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 – ½” thick slices bread
Shell the fava beans. Blanch beans for about 30 seconds in boiling salted water and then rinse well with very cold water. If desired, make a small slit on the bean, gently squeeze out two halves of the bean and peel off the membrane skin (it can be a little tough).
Put the green garlic and a pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse a few times. Add half the mint leaves and pulse a few more times so the garlic is fairly fine. Add the peeled favas and 1 Tbls olive oil and pulse again. Your goal is to bash up the favas but not completely puree them. You may need to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl between pulses.
Scrape the mixture into a bowl, season with some pepper, and stir in 1/8 cup grated pecorino cheese and the lemon juice, and adjust the consistency with olive oil so that its loose and luscious. Brush the bread on one side with olive oil and grill or broil until crisp. Arrange on plates, top with the fava mixture and the rest of the mint leaves, torn if their big, and finish with a nice shower of grated pecorino and a drizzle of oil.