Tumbleweed Harvest 2

Howdy folks! Welcome to week two of your CSA. We hope you all enjoyed your first box last week. If there are any leftover veggies remember you can always toss older greens into smoothies or our favorite-"compost" pasta. Whenever we come home from the farmers market with excess greens we always make a HUGE pot of pasta with sautéed veggies. Everything goes into it and it's a great way to use up any leftovers.

The past week on Tumbleweed it's been pretty toasty. With temperatures in the mid 90's things have been a little uncomfortable. Irrigating is a full time job when the forecast calls for such heat. However, we're staying on top of our chores and the plants continue to look healthy and happy. Each week the harvest list changes and your boxes will reflect that. However, there will still be some overlapping with certain crops that are particular to the season. Right now turnips and radishes are cranking in the fields and taste best this time of the year so you'll be getting them again this week. There's a great recipe below for turnips that is easy to whip up and so stinking delicious! Spring is also the time of year for a LOT of leafy greens so I hope you all continue to enjoy the spring bounty.

It's been really fun seeing everyone's Tumbleweed CSA recipes on instagram! You guys rule for posting your photos. It's makes our day to see what you all create with Tumbleweed produce.   

Alright, we hope you all stay cool this week and get to enjoy plenty of delicious meals with people you love. Cheers from the farm!

WEEK 2 HARVEST BOX

1. Lettuce-we grow 20 different varieties of lettuce so you all got two heads of different varieties. 

2. Red Turnips-These puppies are just as sweet as the white ones you got last week. Eat them raw, cooked or try the recipe below. 

3.Mustard Green & Mizuna Bunches-This spicy bunch makes the BEST pesto. If you like mustard you'll love whipping up a batch of pesto to add to burgers, pasta, sandwiches or eggs. Just blend the greens with a couple of garlic scapes, olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and sea salt. Whirl away until smooth and creamy. Taste test and adjust the pesto as need be.

4. Kale- we grow four different varieties of kale so you either got the green curly, red curly, red russian or Italian variety.

5. Garlic Scapes-These guys taste great tossed in olive oil, sea salt, smoked paprika and thrown onto the grill for 3 minutes per side. Try it!

6. Dill-try making quick pickled radishes with the dill and a few garlic scapes. Use this recipe as a loose guide.

7. Radishes-pickled them or eat them straight up!

8. Broccoli -try this roasted broccoli salad with hippie sauce

9.Elegance Mix-This week you all got a bag of elegance mix. This tasty mix is a combination of baby spring greens. It's got a little bite to it from the mustard leaves but there's also some sweetness from the baby bok choy. This tastes great lightly sautéed and tossed with roasted potatoes, pasta, or eggs. Go wild!

Miso Glazed Turnips 

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of turnips, with greens
• 2 Tablespoons white miso
• 2 Tablespoons good quality grass fed butter 
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
• pinch of fine sea salt

Directions

1. Stir together the miso and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of butter (reserving 1/2 Tablespoon)
2. Discard the turnip stems and coarsely chop the leaves. Cut the turnips into 1 inch chunks. Add turnips to a skillet with 1 cup water, maple syrup. 1/2 Tablespoon of the butter and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for about 8- 10 minutes.
3. Add the greens by the handful and use tongs to toss them with the turnips. Continue to cook until the turnips are tender, greens are wilted and the liquid has reduced to a glaze, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the miso butter and cook for 1-3 minutes longer or until turnips are golden brown and caramelized. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Tumbleweed Farm Harvest 1

Well folks, it feels like Christmas Eve around here! Taylor and I haven't slept much the past couple nights because of all the excitement and anticipation. We've actually been sleeping out in the fields (our version of sleeping next to the fireplace waiting for santa to come!) just so we can keep an extra close eye on crops that are the most susceptible to hungry deer. In fact, it's been lovely sleeping under the stars and thankfully our dog is scaring the deer away at night. 

During the daylight hours we've been busy weeding, planting summer crops, weeding, irrigating, weeding, spreading compost and weeding. It's a busy time around Tumbleweed but it's also a great time of the year to be farming in the Pacific Northwest. There's nowhere else we'd rather be!

We hope you all enjoy your first CSA harvest of the 2015 season. The fields are cranking with spring greens just waiting to be shared around your dinner table. If there is ever a questions about an item in your box please shoot us an email. We only grow things that we're pumped on eating ourselves and that grow well in our area. 

With all that being said, we hope you're hungry! Below is a list of the contents of your veggie boxes and a "recipe of the week" suggestion followed by a few photos from the fields. Happing cooking!

1. Garlic Scapes- This is one of our favorite spring treats! With a milder flavor than garlic cloves each scape is easy to chop, throw into pestos, pasta, grilled, fried or added to salad dressings. The season is extremely SHORT for this novelty crop so enjoy them while they're here!

2. Spinach- you know what to do! 

3. Radishes- the variety we harvested this week is French Breakfast. They have a nice mild peppery bite and taste best when eaten with a little good quality butter and sea salt. Be sure to remove the greens before storing in your fridge so they stay crisp! Save the greens for stir fries, pestos, or add to spring soups. 

4. Bok Choy- One of our favorite asian greens to grow. We love tossing bok choy on the grill, dicing it up and adding to stir fries or adding it to egg scrambles with a little sriracha and soy sauce for a simple breakfast.

5. Micro Greens- These tender greens are a great addition to any dish. Toss onto hot pasta, into sandwiches, served with eggs or simply add as a garnish to any dish you are making. 

6. Salad Turnips- If you haven't had the pleasure of eating a salad turnip yet, slice one up and eat it raw before cooking! We love adding raw turnips to everything from salads to sandwiches and even soups. However, they taste really good sliced thinly and thrown onto the grill!

7. Tatsoi -another one of our favorite asian greens to grow at the farm. Tatsoi is a mild green that can be served the same way you'd serve and eat spinach. It tastes great raw but also benefits from a light steam, stir fry or tossed on the grill

Recipe of the Week-

Grilled Bok Choy & Turnip Rice Bowls with Soy-Sesame Sauce 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 heads bok choy, large leaves trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 bunch turnips, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds (reserve greens for another use)
• 1 cup cooked edemame
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 3-4 radishes, thinly sliced
• handful of micro greens
• 3 Tablespoons sesame seeds

Soy Sesame Sauce

• 3 1/2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

Directions

1. Heat the grill to medium. Rinse the chopped bok choy under cold water to remove any dirt. Set aside. 
2. Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce. Taste test and adjust seasonings if need be.
3. Lightly brush the bok choy and turnips with a little bit of the sauce. Place the bok choy cut side down on the grill; cover and cook until tender. About 5-8 minutes. Place the turnips directly on the grill and cook, covered for 2 minutes per side.
4. Serve the grilled veggies with the cooked rice, edemame, radishes, micro greens and a few tablespoons of sesame seeds. Drizzle with remaining sauce and enjoy.

We'll leave you all with a few photos from the fields. See you next week!

1 Week to go

Well folks, we're almost there! Your first box will be arriving in exactly one week and we could not be more stoked to share the Tumbleweed bounty with you all. The fields are cranking and things are all looking really healthy. We've been on deer patrol a bit recently (even camping out in the fields with our dog and motion detector) and they seem to not be bothering us anymore. However, if they return, you may end up with a surprise package of venison in one of your boxes (just kidding, kind of...)

With that being said your first box will be packed with lot's of leafy greens and recipe suggestions for some of the more exotic items. We've been eating like kings recently and we can't wait for you all to enjoy the fresh flavors of the season too! We also wanted to let everyone know that all of our CSA members receive a 10 percent discount when you shop from us at the Hood River Farmers market (Thursdays from 4-7) or on site at the farm. We have eggs available at the market but we will not be supplying them in the boxes only because not all of our girls are laying yet and we won't have enough for everyone.  Our hope is to get you all eggs in the fall when our youngest gals start producing.

Alright, that's all from the fields this week. We can't wait to see you all next Tuesday. We hope your hungry!!!