Week 3

Finally, some sun! New items today were Chinese cabbage, peas, broccolini, kohlrabi (a cabbage that resembles a big purple turnip) and something completely new... garlic scapes. I checked out a description online, and a scape is the tiny upshoot of the garlic plant. It's very delicate looking—almost like a party favor. The green shoots curl up like ribbon and there's a tiny white bulb at the end. From what I've been reading, scapes have a lighter flavor than garlic cloves. I found a garlic scape pesto recipe that sounds delicious, but it looks like we'll need more (there were only 3 or 4 in our share).

We've really enjoyed learning about so many new vegetables. And it poses some good cooking challenges for us, too. We're hoping we can use the Chinese cabbage in a spicy cole slaw recipe for the July 4th weekend. I'll post the recipe and let you know how it turns out.

As for the rest of our visit, we tried to coax the lambs out of the barn for Lauren's entertainment. Farmer Justin recommended clapping for them, and sure enough, two of the lambs came out to greet us. Lauren called for number three, who was actually stuck under the barn and had to be rescued. Drama at the farm!

We also visited the fields where we'll be picking our own bouquets. So far, it looks like there are cosmos, gerbera daisies and another flower I couldn't identify. The turkeys watched us from a cage nearby. Man, they are scary looking birds. Hopefully they won't be too intimidating when it comes time to choose our flowers.

At home that night, we made a stir fry with bok choy, radishes, broccolini and spinach. I don't know why parents are so pleased when their children eat their vegetables, but I had an overwhelming sense of pride watching Will - who is almost a year old- eat his dinner in tiny fistfuls. When he was finished, he had a little green piece of broccolini stuck to his cheek and rice all over the kitchen floor. Lauren loved the peas. Every time we opened a pod for her, she said, "Farmer Justin's peas" with a satisfied grin on her face. At age two, it's so cool that she knows exactly where her vegetables come from. It's only week three, but the CSA has proved to be well worth the investment.