June 11 - Harvest post 2

Here is what the milk house looks like just after the harvest and just prior to bagging everything up. There is barely enough room for me and Brittany to move around in there. This usually doesn't happen until the end of the season. I don't know what we're going to do when squash and potatoes come in.
Here is the chard that is in your share this week. Below this photo is one where it is in the garden still nicely collecting sunlight, vitamins and rainwater. This chard is bunched for braising, steaming or souping. Like the full sized spinach that is also in your share, most people consider it too large to eat raw or in salads. I disagree but I love vegetables more than the average person. Whatever floats your boat as they say.

Also in your share this week are turnips. This particular variety is a favorite of mine as it has a nice earthy, distinctly turnip flavor. The smaller ones are good for salad sliced thinly like radishes. The larger ones are good for salads too but should be cut up and boiled first to tenderize them. If you're not familiar with preparing turnips you can google them to find some tips. Some people peel them. I don't because it removes too many vitamins...including B12 which is found in bacteria living in the soil. If there is a blemish on the turnip I'll simply use a potato peeler or a sharp knife and leave the rest. Cut off the green tops and the tap root and you're good to go.

This is also a good time to explain a bit about the breakdown between full and half shares. Usually we try for roughly twice as much of any given thing in the full shares. With the turnips it broke down as 18 oz for full shares and roughly 10 oz for half shares. Nature doesn't recognize our nifty little measurements so we have to make do and get as close as we can. For instance, some folks got one large turnip and a couple small ones. One of the full shares, I'm not sure who, actually got one huge turnip that weighed exactly 18 oz. That's one of the deals with the CSA. You get what the farmer has available when it's available in whatever form and quantity is available. I do my best to ensure everyone gets the same amount depending on their share size. Later in the season I hope to have some radishes that were actually bred as salad radishes. They don't really taste like radishes but it's like eating a sugar cube. They are amazing! Enjoy and please let me know if you have questions about anything in the share.