Kohlrabi
I usually greet CSA members on the first day with samples of kohlrabi, because new members have rarely tasted it before. I’m sorry I couldn’t do samples this year due to COVID, but I hope you will give kohlrabi a try! Here’s a bit about it: Kohlrabi is a purple alien-looking vegetable that is popular in Europe. It is crisp and sweet, with the texture of a radish but no bite to it. Peel off the tough skin and slice it. Delicious raw. I just put out a bowl of them before dinner and the kids eat them up as appetizers. Kohlrabi raw slices are great with hummus or ranch. You can slice it into matchsticks and sautee lightly in a stir-fry, or shred it to combine into a slaw. Enjoy!
Farm Chi
With Napa cabbage in its prime, it’s a great time to make some kim chi. I’ll probably put up a few jars this week. At House in the Woods Farm, we call it Farm Chi. Our friend Sarah dubbed it Farm Chi and taught me how to make it--she would put all kinds of vegetables in it, whatever she brought home from the farm. My batch will likely include Napa cabbage, chopped garlic scapes, slices of kohlrabi or turnips, chopped scallions, chopped bok choy, and ribbons of tatsoi. Here is a link to the blog with the story and the instructions. Of course, Napa is very versatile. Enjoy it as a wrap, a coleslaw, or a stir-fry.
Your Garden, not your Grocery
The farm is more like your garden than your grocery store. You are receiving selections of our harvest, straight from our fields. Sometimes they are harvested in pristine shape; those are beautiful days! Sometimes a few bugs have munched on a leaf; so be it. A grocery store would peel back a leaf with the tiniest hole in it. This is one of the reasons why you get much bigger heads of lettuce at the farm: we are not peeling it back to perfection. We plant a lot of different crops and if one or two don’t work out, we all still eat really well. Just like it's your garden.
How to Wash Your Greens
Sometimes there are tiny aphids on greens like lettuce that have been under row cover, protected from bigger predators. Aphids wash off easily. Break apart the bouquet of greens and rinse them in a large bowl, with room to separate. Sometimes it takes a few rinse cycles to wash away aphids. A little salt in the water can be helpful. While you are swishing your greens, be grateful that your produce is organic and there were no chemicals involved in the growing of it, and wash away a few bugs.
House in the Media in May
Get your copy of the Frederick Magazine’s May edition. House in the Woods Farm is featured in a big article with lots of photos.
Also, Ilene was interviewed for a podcast series by Jonathan Cook out of New York. It is about the personal benefits of gardening during a time of crisis. I am in Episode 1 so far, with more to come. To listen to it, go to AGardeninCrisis.com
