Happy Summer! This box represents the end of the spring harvest and includes some of the fleeting treats of that transitory season. Some, like the purple radishes and white turnips, grew faster and hotter than we usually see, since the heat has come on pretty fast and furious here in the past week. Others are at their perfect peak – like the salad mix. Boy, is the salad mix crisp and fresh right now.
We’ve loaded you up with all sorts of greens for these first few boxes because many of these can’t be grown in the heat. Hope you’ve enjoyed them – you most likely won’t see so many again until fall. But we are trying to nurture the salad mix and arugula for at least another box by covering them with shade cloth and keeping them well watered. Right now our front field is dominated by lots of damp fabric as we try to keep the greens, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage happy in the hot dry weather we’ve suddenly experienced. Ugly, but practical.
The good news about all this heat is that tomatoes, summer squash and cukes are going to be very early this year. We’ve already got good-sized fruit on all those vines, and you will be getting some of them very soon!
We’ve loaded you up with all sorts of greens for these first few boxes because many of these can’t be grown in the heat. Hope you’ve enjoyed them – you most likely won’t see so many again until fall. But we are trying to nurture the salad mix and arugula for at least another box by covering them with shade cloth and keeping them well watered. Right now our front field is dominated by lots of damp fabric as we try to keep the greens, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage happy in the hot dry weather we’ve suddenly experienced. Ugly, but practical.
The good news about all this heat is that tomatoes, summer squash and cukes are going to be very early this year. We’ve already got good-sized fruit on all those vines, and you will be getting some of them very soon!
Here's what's In The Box! Use first things first:
Circle M Spring Salad Mix (bagged): So many treats in this mix! Pea shoots, white arugula flowers and spicy pink radish flowers. Curly hot cress. We LOVE mixing up the salads and we hope you like it.
Herb Bouquet: Cilantro, Parsley and Mint (bunched) : This fragrant bouquet has so many amazing flavors in it! You should have no problem identifying them by smell or taste, but we do have pictures below if you need help. Store in a glass with a half inch of water in the fridge.
Head Lettuce: You’ve each gotten a crisp head of either green Royal Oakleaf or Red Iceberg. Save this head until you’re done with the salad mix because it will last longer. Wash well leaf-by-leaf when you are ready to use because the wind has whipped a fair amount of sand into the heads.
Arugula (bagged): YUM! You either love or hate this and I love it. We had several amazing arugula dishes this past weekend at Merchant – off the square in Madison. We put some great recipes in the Box 2 Recipes blog post, but you can also just eat arugula like salad, or add it in. We like it on top of pizza, and that’s one of the dishes we had at Merchant, which is a terrific restaurant, by the way – check it out!
Frisee Endive: This little heads of curly bitter greens are an English favorite not so well known here, but we had a great wilted frisee salad at Lombardino’s in the winter. Try sautéing mushrooms and shallots in olive oil, then pouring the hot mix over a few leaves of the frisee. Salt and pepper it – then enjoy! These leaves can be added to a raw salad, but they are really best lightly cooked.
Broccoli Raab (bagged): This is now the replacement for broccoli heads in my kitchen. You’ll find this bagged in your box and it looks like a bunch of yellow flowers, green buds and blue-ish leaves with stalks. Chop up the whole thing and lightly sauté! Wonderful over brown rice, quinoa or faro.
Purple Radish with Greens : These purple radishes are a bit on the hot side, so cooking them isn’t a bad idea to soften and sweeten, if you don’t dig spicy. The greens are VERY tender and nutritious and you should cook and eat them in something. We’ve included a number of recipes this week on the Recipe blog. Mix with the turnip greens and arugula for a bigger meal.
Salad Turnips with Greens: One of our favorite spring treats here at Circle M. We had a great crew lunch with these this week. Wonderful eaten raw, terrific cooked – these are a sweet cabbage-y root that can get spicy in the heat. Some of these are hot, some not. Use the greens, too. Great recipe on the recipe post.
Sorrel (bagged): Back by popular demand! We got such a great response to this last week, with so many wonderful shared recipes, we had to pack it again. These bags are a bit smaller, as sorrel is really happier in cool weather and we didn’t have as much to pick this week.
Basil Plants to Grow: These bagged balls of dirt are hardened off and ready for you to plant in your own garden or pot. Keep basil pinched back from the top, and it will make a big bushy clump you can harvest from literally every day all summer. Yay, summer!
Herb Bouquet: Cilantro, Parsley and Mint (bunched) : This fragrant bouquet has so many amazing flavors in it! You should have no problem identifying them by smell or taste, but we do have pictures below if you need help. Store in a glass with a half inch of water in the fridge.
Head Lettuce: You’ve each gotten a crisp head of either green Royal Oakleaf or Red Iceberg. Save this head until you’re done with the salad mix because it will last longer. Wash well leaf-by-leaf when you are ready to use because the wind has whipped a fair amount of sand into the heads.
Arugula (bagged): YUM! You either love or hate this and I love it. We had several amazing arugula dishes this past weekend at Merchant – off the square in Madison. We put some great recipes in the Box 2 Recipes blog post, but you can also just eat arugula like salad, or add it in. We like it on top of pizza, and that’s one of the dishes we had at Merchant, which is a terrific restaurant, by the way – check it out!
Frisee Endive: This little heads of curly bitter greens are an English favorite not so well known here, but we had a great wilted frisee salad at Lombardino’s in the winter. Try sautéing mushrooms and shallots in olive oil, then pouring the hot mix over a few leaves of the frisee. Salt and pepper it – then enjoy! These leaves can be added to a raw salad, but they are really best lightly cooked.
Broccoli Raab (bagged): This is now the replacement for broccoli heads in my kitchen. You’ll find this bagged in your box and it looks like a bunch of yellow flowers, green buds and blue-ish leaves with stalks. Chop up the whole thing and lightly sauté! Wonderful over brown rice, quinoa or faro.
Purple Radish with Greens : These purple radishes are a bit on the hot side, so cooking them isn’t a bad idea to soften and sweeten, if you don’t dig spicy. The greens are VERY tender and nutritious and you should cook and eat them in something. We’ve included a number of recipes this week on the Recipe blog. Mix with the turnip greens and arugula for a bigger meal.
Salad Turnips with Greens: One of our favorite spring treats here at Circle M. We had a great crew lunch with these this week. Wonderful eaten raw, terrific cooked – these are a sweet cabbage-y root that can get spicy in the heat. Some of these are hot, some not. Use the greens, too. Great recipe on the recipe post.
Sorrel (bagged): Back by popular demand! We got such a great response to this last week, with so many wonderful shared recipes, we had to pack it again. These bags are a bit smaller, as sorrel is really happier in cool weather and we didn’t have as much to pick this week.
Basil Plants to Grow: These bagged balls of dirt are hardened off and ready for you to plant in your own garden or pot. Keep basil pinched back from the top, and it will make a big bushy clump you can harvest from literally every day all summer. Yay, summer!
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