Rain rain go away, we keep having to harvest another day! Some things can be harvested in any sort of weather, like the carrots, for instance, which were all picked in a rainstorm two weeks ago. But today’s box includes things like basil, which really shouldn’t be picked wet because it will rot faster. Many plants become susceptible to fungus if you handle them when wet, like potatoes and tomatoes and beans. Plus, walking on your garden when it’s wet compacts the soil and makes it harder to work with and less easy for things to grow. So for many reasons, we’ve had enough rain here at Circle M! Now it’s time to let the sun shine hot and let the tomatoes and squash get ripe! Here’s what’s in the box:

New Potatoes – These bright-skinned new potatoes are a rare treat not available to anyone who isn’t privy to farm market produce. The tender skins are soft, not suitable for shipping, and the potatoes must be refrigerated and eaten in weeks, rather than stored for months like the potatoes bagged up in stores. We hope you can take advantage of these bright New Reds, which are red all the way through, the Chieftains, which are orange-red on the outside and white inside, and the darling All Blues, which are purple inside and out. All of these varieties are at their best boiled or fried, with the moist texture we appreciate in salads, rather than the fluffy dry texture of a baking potato. We’ll have Rio Grande Russets for you to bake and mash in a few months.
Cabbage – Danish Ballhead cabbage from our stores in the cooler. We can’t say enough about what a good year it’s been for brassicas. These cabbages, older and denser than the first we brough to you, are a bit spicier. Yum! Try our Cabbage Carrot Slaw.
Carrots – Carrots also had a banner spring at Circle M. Here are more of the heirloom White Satin, Atomic Red, Purple Haze and Scarlet Nantes (which are just orange!) we sent along last week. We’ve also include some “Kissing Carrots” this week. These crazy twisted sculptures are for fun, but also serve as a good example of what happens to carrots when the soil isn’t tilled at least a foot deep. We planted these in an area of soil that was fertile, but that we had tilled only to about a depth of six inches. The carrots stopped growing down and started growing around instead! Nevertheless, they taste great and we thought you’d find them funny.
Mini Purplette Onions – We think these are almost too pretty to eat. But if you don’t they’ll rot, so make sure you do! We like them raw in potato salad or sprinkled over simply cooked beans like black-eyed peas.
Kohlrabi – These are the last of the spring kohlrabi, and some have gotten woody in the middle from the few days of heat we’ve experienced. We can’t tell which from the outside, so your best bet is to peel shallowly, then begin cutting from the outside of the ball. It will be tender and tasty until the very middle, which you might find to hard and want to discard. Try small cubes in our slaw recipe.
Cucurbits – No, this isn’t some fancy gourmet food! Cucurbitaceae is the plant family which includes cucumbers, squashes, zucchinis, melons and pumpkins. We thought we’d have both cucumbers and summer squash for all of you this week, and the vines are loaded with fruits, but the cool weather of the past week has meant slow growth for them. You’ll each get something from this family, either white or green cucumbers (all ripe!) or yellow squash or zucchini. At this tender age, don’t bother peeling any of them – just slice and enjoy!
Herbal Bouquet: Parsley, Lemon Balm, Chocolate Mint, Sage
Chives To Plant – We use chives so much in the summer, we thought you’d like to pot these up or pop them in your garden to use a few every day.
Basil – PESTO season is here! See our recipe starter below. The Red Rubin purple basil can be used interchangeably with large leaf sweet variety. We also sent along some tiny-leaved Lemon Basil to spice up your pesto, to sprinkle over a Caprese salad.
Broccoli Greens – We hoped to have Swiss Chard for you in the box this week, but we had some poor germination of our early crop, and the next crop has grown so slow in the past few cold weeks that the plants aren’t ready to be picked yet. So, as a substitute cooking green, we’ve sent along bunches of Broccoli Leaves, which we use like Kale or Collards. The broccoli has just about stopped making florets, but the cool weather inspired the plants to send out these tender new leaves, which are very tasty. Try the Steamed Greens with Lemon Balm Cream recipe below, and save it for when you do get Swiss chard and collards and kale later in the season.
Flowers -The flowers are starting to take off in our gardens. Here we have the interesting chartreuse colors of Envy zinnia and bupleurum, setting off the bright blooms of sweet peas.

Cabbage Carrot Slaw
We adapted this from The Joy of Cooking. The cabbage is the main thing, but then add crunchy veggies that will give you the colors you want. We’ve done shredded beets, diced red pepper, you name it.

3 cups diced cabbage
1/2 to 3/4 cup combined shredded carrots, zucchini and/or kohlrabi
1/8 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley and/or lemon balm
Grated zest of one lemon

Combine, then toss with 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Add two to three shakes of hot pepper sauce, if desired. Grind peppercorns to taste. Serve with roasted pepitos (shelled pumpkin seeds) to sprinkle on top.

Basic Pesto
Pesto is really whatever you want it to be – some kind of herb, usually basil, chopped and blended with olive oil, nuts and parmesan or some other hard cheese and served over pasta. We’ve hear of everything from garlic mustard pesto to garlic scape pesto. Oh, and you will want some garlic in your pesto, too. Here’s a starting point.

2 cups basil leaves, removed from stalks (add parsley, lemon balm or other herb if desired)
1/2 C grated Parmesan
1/3 cup pine nuts (or walnuts, which are a lot cheaper and still pretty good)
2 medium garlic cloves

Combine in a food processor til a paste forms. Then slowly add, with the machine running, 1/2 cup of olive oil or more to achieve the consistency of a thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Use immediately, or it will turn black (thought it will still taste fine!). Or, cover with a fine film of olive oil and refrigerate for up to a week. We freeze ours in ice cube trays or old yogurt containers, so we’ll have some in the winter.

Steamed Broccoli Greens with Lemon Balm Cream
This basic recipe can be used with all sorts of greens: turnip or radish greens, kale, collards, Swiss chard, beet tops, etc. We adapted this from Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables. If you haven’t seen his movie yet, grab it off Netflix and watch it this summer for some real CSA inspiration

1 pound greens, stems removed and discarded, leaves sliced crosswise into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup butter
2 TBSP flour
1 C half/half or heavy cream
1 TBSP chopped fresh lemon balm
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Place chopped greens in a steamer basket (or metal colander) over 1 1/2 inches of boiling water, cover. Steam until tender, about 20 minutes. Meawhile, melt butter in a skillet over medium low heat. Sprinkle in flour and stir to form a thick paste. Stir in 1/4 cup of the cream, then gradually add the rest while stirring constantly until it becomes a runny sauce. Add lemon balm, salt and pepper to taste, and continue cooking while stirring until thick. Pour over greens and toss to coat well. Terrific as a pasta sauce, or a side dish for pork chops or bbq ribs.