Welcome to the 1st share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2020 Summer CSA!  Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Salad Mix – Just lettuce this week.
• Bok Choy
• Rainbow Chard
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Garlic Scapes – As the hardneck garlic plants begin to develop their bulbs, they send up a flower stalk known as a scape. We harvest the scapes because they’re delicious and garlicky and also to help the plant focus on producing a larger bulb rather than seed production. You can use the scapes like you would a bunching onion
• Sweet Spring Onions – Many of our overwintered sweet onions have decided to bolt and go to seed rather than bulb up. We’ve decided to share the best of them with you anyhow, because there’s lots of tasty mild sweet onion still to enjoy.
• Carrots
• Celeriac – Also known as celery root, it can added a celery flavor when added to potato dishes, soups, stews, and mashes.
• Diana Radishes
• Zucchini – Just the first taste this week!
• Seascape Strawberries
• Dried Apples
• Tomato Plants – We have enough tomato starts for everyone to take home at least two! We’ll also have some extra pepper and eggplant starts, but those aren’t in individual pots and will need to be planted soon.

As we launch this CSA season, we want to acknowledge that we’re living in tumultuous times. It feels like we’re all grappling with important and serious issues both personally and as a society. It’s hard to know where vegetables fit in to the bigger picture today. But nevertheless we all still have to eat. Be well and stay safe friends.

It’s happening! We’re finally kicking off the 2020 P&C Summer CSA season! As we get things underway we’re excited to welcome back previous members (80% of you!) and welcome new members to the group. Hopefully you’ve been reading the member emails over the past couple of weeks and preparing for the season to begin. Don’t forget to check out the Summer CSA Member Resources page for all sorts of helpful tips and answers to CSA questions.

Unfortunately, as we approach this first CSA pick-up of the season we’re also all living with the current realities of pandemic life. As we’ve addressed before we believe the CSA pick-ups can continue to be safe places for all members to get their weekly shares. Please be both patient and efficient as you and other members move through the pick-up and choose your vegetables.  This may mean building in extra time for the pick-up process and potentially waiting in your car until other members have finished their pick-up.

Please also keep in mind the following things as we begin the pick-up process:

• We ask that any sick or vulnerable members send someone else to the pick-up if possible.  If that’s not possible, we can bag your vegetables for you and bring them to your car.  Please give us a head’s up via email/text beforehand so we know to keep a lookout.
• We’ll be checking off members on the sign-in sheet.  Just remind us of your name when you arrive and we’ll get you marked off to let us know your share has been picked-up.
• Please don’t forget your bags.  As usual, we’ll have bags available this week if you do arrive without bags, but you’ll likely want to remember to bring your own.
• Let’s all practice good physical distancing.  We ask everyone to keep in mind the recommended 6ft clearance of other people in and around the the pick-up location.
• Want to swap out an item?  Let us know and we’ll put it in the swap box area for you.  You can take things out of the swap box without assistance. Also, please choose items quickly and efficiently to avoid excessive touching of the other vegetables.
• For those members who split shares, the splitting table may be re-located if the weather cooperates at the Salem pick-up to allow for more space between members.  There will be a bottle of hand sanitizer on the splitting table for you to use prior to splitting shares. If you are friends or neighbors with your splitting partner it might be a good idea to split the share at home and arrange a drop-off.
• We love CSA kids! But please make sure they’re also practicing safe distancing in the pick-up area for the safety of all members.

If we all work together the CSA pick-ups can be safe and efficient for all members. Luckily, there’s enough vegetables to go around!

As we begin the Summer CSA season, we hope you’re excited for the adventure ahead. The greens of spring will inevitably give way to the fruits of summer over time, and hopefully we’ll have a few surprises along the way.

In future newsletters we’ll give you updates from the farm and point out some of the resources we’ve made available for members. Thank you for choosing to support our farm as you also choose to eat seasonally, locally, and organically!

Enjoy the vegetables and we’ll see you next week!

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Asian Chicken Salad with Snap Peas and Bok Choy

• 2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
• 5 fresh cilantro sprigs plus 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 whole green onion plus 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 8-ounce package sugar snap peas
• 3 baby bok choy, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 English hothouse cucumber, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 red jalapeño chile, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup ponzu*
• 2 1/2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

Fill medium skillet with salted water; bring to boil. Add chicken breasts, cilantro sprigs, and whole green onion; reduce heat to medium and poach chicken until just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to plate; cool. Add snap peas to same skillet; increase heat to high and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute.

Drain; rinse snap peas under cold water to cool. Discard whole green onion and cilantro sprigs. Coarsely shred chicken. Toss chicken, chopped cilantro, chopped green onions, snap peas, and next 3 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk ponzu, vinegar, oil, and ginger in small bowl. Add dressing to salad; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appetit, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/asian-chicken-salad-with-snap-peas-and-bok-choy-242110

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Spring Egg-Drop Soup

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
• 6 small spring onions, bulbs only, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 medium spring garlic bulbs, 1-2 garlic scapes, or 2 regular garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 pound asparagus, sliced on a diagonal 1/2″ thick
• 1/4 pound sugar snap peas, sliced on a diagonal 1/4″ thick
• 2/3 cup shelled fresh peas (from about 2/3 pound pods)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (or more) fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add carrots, spring onions, and garlic and season with salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 15-20 minutes.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Add asparagus, sugar snap peas, and peas and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat eggs in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon Parmesan, a pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon water.

Reduce heat to low and stir basil and mint into soup. Drizzle in egg mixture in 4 or 5 spots around pot. Let stand for 1 minute so egg can set, then gently stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice. Season soup with salt and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve soup topped with more Parmesan.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appetit by April Bloomfield, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spring-egg-drop-soup-51161050

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Pizza Bianca with Goat Cheese and Greens

1. Crust
   • 3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
   • 1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (from 1 envelope)
   • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
   • 1 teaspoon salt
   • 1 3/4 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour
2. Seasoned oil
   • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
   • 1 large garlic clove, minced
   • 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
3. Topping
   • 1 bunch Swiss chard (about 10 ounces), white ribs cut away
   • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
   • 1 large garlic clove, minced (or use a chopped garlic scape)
   • Yellow cornmeal
   • 8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
   • 4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

For crust:

Pour 3/4 cup water into large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. Let stand 10 minutes to dissolve yeast. Add oil and salt, then 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir until well blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking, about 5 minutes (dough will be soft). Shape dough into ball; place in large oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with kitchen towel. Let dough rise at cool room temperature until almost doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down; form into ball. Return to bowl; cover with towel and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare seasoned oil:

Mix oil, garlic, and red pepper in small bowl. Let stand 1 hour.

For topping:

Cook chard in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water; drain. Squeeze dry, then coarsely chop. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add chard and stir 1 minute. Season to taste with salt.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Punch down dough. Form into ball; place on floured work surface. Cover with kitchen towel; let rest 30 minutes.

Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet. Sprinkle mozzarella over dough, leaving 1-inch border. Scatter chard over mozzarella. Top with goat cheese. Brush crust edge with some of seasoned oil. Set aside 2 teaspoons seasoned oil; drizzle remaining oil over pizza.

Bake pizza until crust is brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven; brush edge with seasoned oil and serve.

From Epicurious.com via Bon Appetit, https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pizza-bianca-with-goat-cheese-and-greens-106098

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