According to a report released May 14, 2020 by the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners, supermarket organic produce sales in April increased by 20.5% in volume. Conventional produce volume was up 15.4%. The top four categories for the organic movement were packaged salads, carrots, apples and bananas. These four categories were responsible for more than half (52%) of the total organic retail volume.
You will not find apples and bananas in our CSA Boxes. Unfortunately, our carrots will not be as big nor as pretty as the ones available in the retail stores. We keep trying, but do find it next to impossible to produce carrots like those. And our salads will not be “packaged” in a plastic clam shell. Our greens shall require a triple wash on the part of our CSA Members. However, when it comes to salads, we shall claim the prize!
I recommend washing and chopping everything in your first CSA Boxes for some of the best salads you have ever tasted! Get creative and add the toppings of your choice. You might find some ideas under the Recipes “F – L” for greens and lettuces. The chois, endive, and tastoi are all hardy enough to stand up to the addition of protein such as grilled chicken tenders if there are meat eaters in the family. If a sweet tooth is more your style, try adding Craisins or even a light drizzle of honey to mix in with your dressing of choice. On the other hand, if you prefer to cook your greens, we have some suggestions for that method of preparation as well. To each his own–simply ENJOY!
As said before, I suggest reading prior Blogs as the contents of the CSA Boxes will be similar for the couple of boxes. Different greens will be added as they mature, but “spring time” is “greens time” in WNC. Included in this week’s veggies will be Ching Chang (spoon-shaped stems), Black Summer (spoon-shaped stems with darker leaves), Joi Choi (whitest stems), Tatsoi (darkest leaves–it looks like spinach), spring onions, and green kale–maybe some red kale. Wash, chop, and mix all together for a culinary delight!
The wildflowers are blooming and all of our CSA Members have now received their Start Date for the Cane Creek Asparagus & Company CSA 2020 Harvest Season. The soil seems to have accepted the five inches of rather gentle rain we have gotten over the past days. We really DO NOT need or want anymore, however. Robert was diligent about ditching to remove water which certainly helped. It is a muddy job. I could do a CSA Farmer TIDE commercial.
Cane Creek Asparagus & Company CSA 