It’s CSA 2022 week 4, and it’s clear that our farmers at Beaverland Farms are starting to harvest new-sown crops. This week’s box includes little Tokyo (hakurei) turnips, which are crunchy and mild: similar to radishes, but all white. We have more rhubarb and spinach, as well as a big bunch of stinging nettles.
Why nettles, you might ask? Tender in spring, these taste like a wild version of spinach: heartier, and somehow very ‘green’. One must be very careful in handling them, though, because they will sting, if your skin encounters the little hairs on the leaves and stems. If you handle them in the kitchen, wear gloves. Once they’ve been blanched in boiling water, the sting is gone, leaving only delicious greens.
My CSA 2022 week 4 box holds:
- rhubarb
- spinach
- carrots
- salad (hakurei) turnips
- pea shoots
- stinging nettles
- chives
I’m planning to turn the nettles into a good green soup, which will also use up the last of the leeks and potatoes from weeks 2 and 3. More ideas that come to mind from this box of good stuff:
- rhubarb crumble take 2 because we love it
- roasted carrots with chive butter
- carrot ginger soup
- stir-fried pea shoots with garlic
- frittata, with spinach, dill, & feta
Follow the season with me, and I’ll show off my CSA box, including ideas of how I might use all the good stuff. Feel free to chime in with comments or questions.