This week there will be Pea Tendrils, Green Garlic, Radishes, Spicy Salad Mix, Shallot Scapes, Baby Lettuce Mix, Asparagus & Arugula in you share.
Pea Tendrils are the top growing portion of a pea plant and taste like a snap pea, sometimes called pea shoots. They can be eaten raw in a salad or lightly cooked. To cook, place damp pea shoots in an empty saucepan over medium heat. The water clinging to the damp shoots is enough to steam them. Cover and heat just until wilted. Store dry in an open produce bag in the crisper draw of your refrigerator or in your salad spinner.
Green Garlic is an immature garlic plant that is picked before the garlic starts to form a bulb. All the small garlic cloves that will not amount to a large garlic bulb we plant and pull them up as a spring treat. They have a mild garlic taste and can be eaten raw or used in place of garlic cloves. The white bottom portion and the lighter green portion are edible. Store in the refrigerator either in a closed produce bag or covered container.
Spicy Salad Mix is made up of baby Kale, baby Tatsoi, baby Red Mustard, baby Mizuna (asian mustard) & baby Arugula. It is good raw as a salad but could also be used in a stir fry or cooked some other way.
Shallot Scapes are the flower stalk of a shallot plant and a delicious spring treat they taste like a strong gren onion and are good raw in a salad or cooked in a recipe in place of green onions. Store as you would a flower (in a cup with some water at the bottom but in the refrigerator.
If you don’t already own a salad spinner, I recommend that you acquire one. It is not necessary but it will make life easier. Lettuce, Spinach, Pea Shoots, Leafy Greens don’t like to be soggy when stored and properly drying out your greens and storing them properly will help them last longer. We wash our greens and then spin the excess water out 2-3 times, empty the water from the bottom of the spinner and store our cut up greens in the salad spinner where any additional water can drain off. This keeps them crisp and fresh for at least a week.
Please also remember to wash your vegetables before using them. We do not “wash” the vegetables. We rinse off field dirt or hydra cool vegetables when needed. We avoid adding water to vegetables if possible. Vegetables stay fresher when they are “dirty”.
Another tip to help your veggies stay fresher longer is to give them a hair cut. If the top portion of a root crop is edible you will receive that root with it’s top still attached. When you get home cut the tops off and store separately. Carrots, Beets, Turnips & Radishes all have tops that are edible but if left attached will suck the life out of the root leaving it pithy (soft).
We love to make pizza with different vegetables! If you can’t figure out what do do with a vegetable cook it up and put it on pizza!
We like to use this recipe for a quick pizza crust Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Asparagus is especially good on pizza or you could try this White Arugula Pizza and substitute your Spicy Salad Mix for the Arugula.
Other recipes for this weeks share