What a week it has been here at Circle M. Last Thursday’s wind and rainstorms knocked over our towering pea plants (trellises and all!) and the following day the Pecatonica River rose to cover the neighbor’s cornfield, the county road, and our lowest garden. Luckily, we had warning that the flood water was coming from the north, so we waded into the soggy rows and un-planted all the celery, celeriac and flowers we’d transplanted there in the past few weeks. Just in time, the onset of fierce heat did in our spinach plants, so we quickly tossed them out of the higher garden plots and popped the rescued plants in those newly-cleared beds. We don’t really want to complain about the rain, though, since it’s made everything in the ground grow like crazy. We’ve got overflowing boxes this week…

Circle M Early Summer Salad Mix – This greens mix features the European flavors of Arugula Blossoms and dark, nutty Mache mixed in with the lettuce leaves. Pair with a bright, citrusy dressing (check out our Green Goddess recipe below) and a tart cheese.
Spinach – The last spinach until fall. These more mature leaves are best cooked, rather than eaten raw in salads.
Head Lettuce – We’ve got beautiful heads of lettuce this week, either Red Flame or Canasta varieties are in your box. Unfortunately, that will be it for lettuce for a few deliveries. The quick onset of such hot weather made all the lettuce we had in the ground bolt. But we’ll start a new patch in our shady garden when the heat breaks that should start producing in a month or so.
Broccoli – We are so very proud of this tender, tasty broccoli, which is really tough to grow in spring, as both too-hot and too-cold weather will cause the florets to bolt. I’m sure we’ll begin to see some bolting now, but so far the conditions have been just ideal for this crop which we started back in March.
Snap and Snow Peas -The reward of long, cool spring weather is lots of peas. The chubby peas are snap peas, meant to be eaten raw. Just zip off the string from the side and enjoy. The Oregon Giant snow peas are fine raw, but best cooked, as they get sweeter with a little bit of heat. Saute in stir fry.
Scallions – One of my favorite childhood memories is making and eating scallion sandwiches in the summer with my dad. Bread, butter, sliced scallions and salt. Yum.
Basil Tips and Tarragon Not enough for pesto yet, but this little bit of basil is our first pruning of the plants to get them to branch out and make us a ton of leaves! Use in our Green Goddess Dressing recipe below. The thin-leaved tarragon is a surprisingly strong herb, use in tartar and Bearnaise sauce. But we like it for summer in lemonade. Make a fresh tart lemonade, and add two leaves of the tarragon in each glass. Add more to taste.
Baby Beets – Enjoy both the greens and the beets, as in this recipe at epicurean.com.
Salad Turnips – You love them or hate them and I LOVE them! These are Asian turnips, Hakurei and Red Rose meant to be eaten young and sweet. Generally, I eat them raw, just washed. But these endured some nibbler damage early in the season, and so they are a bit lumpy and bumpy on the outside. So I’d peel them and then dice into salads. Or slice and eat raw with a sour cream dip. Don’t discard the greens! They are super healthy – like nettles only less prickly! The nutritional info at one website blew me away. To put you over the edge, we’ve included Smoked Ham Bones in the box this week, so you’ll fix some real Southern style greens.
Radishes – In this weather, the radishes are getting a bit spicy. Both big and small, these vary in sweetness and heat – you’ll be taking your chances like when you get a big box of fancy chocolates. Slice these Easter Egg (round) and French Breakfast (red and white oblong) thinly, and put on buttered baguette slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. I DO like this for breakfast, but it also makes a nice appetizer for a light meal.
Pea Shoots – These bigger, tastier pea shoots are best cut in one-inch slices and sauteed, but they taste so great raw it will be tough to keep them around long enough to cook.
Smoked Ham Bones – We’ve included a small sample of this Southern staple for cooking greens, so you’ll give our Turnip Greens a try. Recipe below.
Herbal Bouquet: Our bouquet is mostly made of the minty-looking Lemon Balm, excellent in salad dressing, baked goods, fruit salads and tea. The Chamomile Flowers are just a few, but so pretty and also great in a calming tea. Cilantro, the finely cut parsley-like herb, is quite fragile, so it will probably get wilty before too long in your fridge. Put it in a vase of water in there and it will last longer, but you can use it whether it wilts or not. The grassy-looking Chives are indispensable in dip recipes, egg dishes and summer salads. Ferny Dill is the bomb with beets! And so many other things, too. The Garlic Scapes are the curly little tops off the garlic plants, and can be used just like the bulbs. Chop up the whole stalk, except any tough fibrous ends. We put some fragrant Sweet Pea Flowers in just for fun, though they aren’t generally used for food.

Calming Lemon Balm/Chamomile Infusion
Lots of you were brave and tried the Nettle Tea. Good for you! Now here’s another fun tonic to try – this one with calming and soothing properties. A good relaxation blend. Put a handful lemon balm leaves and a handful of chamomile leaves and flowers (stem is fine, too) into a quart jar, pour boiling water over, cover (the volatile oils in the balm are what give the great smell, and they’ll evaporate) and let sit for just 10 minutes before straining off. Add honey or sugar while warm, then drink warm or cold.

Roasted Baby Beets and Greens Salad

Scape and Shoot Saute
This easy recipe makes a nice topping for either pasta or Asian noodles or rice. Have some Bragg’s Aminos or soy sauce on hand to season, or add salt to taste while cooking. Heat on medium two tablespoons of wok oil and add a drop of sesame oil in a wok or large skillet. Finely chop two garlic scapes, stems included, and add to pan. Cook briefly and then add pea shoots chopped in one-inch pieces to pan, tossing just until slightly dark green and somewhat wilted. If you still have some chive blossoms, pull the bublets off two or three flowers and add them for the last minute or so. Remove and serve over rice, noodles or pasta. This is just gorgeous in a pasta salad dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon juice and salt/pepper.

Green Goddess Salad Dressing
2 TBSP lemon juice – fresh if possible
2 cloves garlic, or two scapes, diced thinly, stem and all
1 small handful of an herb – basil, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, lemon balm are all good choices
1 egg

Place all in a blender and mix until smooth. Add very slowly and blend til thick 1/3 C olive oil. When you make a salad, pour the dressing down the side of the bowl and toss lettuce in the bowl until coated. Salt and pepper to taste.

Southern Turnip Greens
1 pound turnip greens
1 smoked pork neck slice or hock
1 3/4 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 t sugar
Pepper, salt to taste.
Dash of crushed red pepper, optional

Cut off and discard tough stems from greens. Wash thoroughly and drain. Simmer pork and water in a medium pot for 15 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remover bones from water. Add the turnip greens, water, onion, sugar, pepper, and crushed red pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 40 to 45 minutes or until greens are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with vinegar or pepper sauce and cornbread.