The first week of the Blessing Falls CSA spring season is finally here! We are so excited to share the fruits of our labor with you! Deliveries are Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. On March 31, Austin area CSA members should have received their weekly email reminder with your specific delivery date and address verification.
Share contents for this week:
Spring Week 1 – Full Share
Half share:
Shallots, Broccoli flowers, Cilantro, Carrots, Lettuce (double portion), Kale, Swiss Chard
Full share:
Shallots, Broccoli flowers, Cilantro, Carrots (double portion), Lettuce (double portion), Kale, Swiss Chard, Strawberries, Asparagus, Broccoli, Micro greens
(Share contents may change slightly throughout the week depending upon harvest availability.)
More Details on This Week’s Share
Our vegetables are never sprayed with any toxic or dangerous chemicals. We try to clean your produce as best we can before delivery, but you may want to give them a rinse before using them. Some vegetables don’t store well after being washed so those may have small amounts of dirt on them since we try to deliver the freshest veggies possible.
The Asparagus and Strawberries were grown by our good friend and fellow farmer Alex Bernhardt. We have learned so much from him over the past few years. Bernhardt’s Fruit and Veggie Farm is located just a few miles from us in Elgin.
Microgreens are tiny lettuces and other mixed greens just past the sprouting stage. Use these on salads, in sandwiches, or as a quick snack.
You may be unfamiliar with fresh shallots, so here is a helpful bit of information on them.
Shallots are interesting little vegetables. Some people describe them, in terms of taste and function, as a cross between an onion and garlic, however they are indeed a member of the onion family. Shallots have a really nice way of incorporating themselves more fully into sauces or custards (such as a quiche) whereas onions, even if chopped finely, will largely maintain their shape so you’ll have little bits of onion in your recipe. Shallots caramelize like an onion, although their mild flavor is closer to garlic. One nice thing about shallots is that they do not give one bad breath, the way onions and garlic do and they are more easy to digest. Once you cut into a bulb of shallot you often find two, or three cloves. This is where it gets tricky when a recipe calls for a certain number of shallots, rather than a specific amount like “2 tablespoons, minced.” A general rule of thumb is that “one shallot” refers to one shallot bulb, regardless of how many cloves are inside once it has been cut. (Source)
Our shallots are harvested fresh so they don’t have a dry papery skin like those you would buy at the store, however you can use them in the same way as dried shallots. Fresh shallots can be stored in a cold, moist place for short periods and won’t keep as long as dried shallots. They can also be chopped and frozen in freezer bags.
Kale Salad with Sauteed Apples
Kale is one of our favorite vegetables to grow. It has a long season and countless health benefits. We’ve tried many kale recipes and this is one of our favorites: Kale Salad with Sauteed Apples. This recipe also uses shallots, another veggie in your share this week, and would be great with some microgreens on top to add an extra crunch.
Swiss Chard can be used just like spinach and is a great substitute for any spinach recipe. It’s also great stir-fried. Here’s one interesting idea for chard and carrots. We haven’t tried this one, so let us know how you like it if you decide to try it.
We hope our CSA members have fun trying a few new things this week. After the months of preparation, we’re excited to start the season and look forward to sharing a wonderful harvest in the spring and summer to come! We welcome new members to join the CSA, where you’ll receive fresh local produce weekly delivered to your home or workplace, available throughout the greater Austin metropolitan area.