First CSA delivery of the summer
May 11, 2008
Well…it’s officially summer once the CSA starts arriving! My household is participating in the Harmony Valley Farm CSA this summer and Thursday was our first delivery.
We received sunchokes (jerusalem artichokes), chives, spinach, parsnips, rhubarb, and ramps. We made mashed sunchokes and potatoes the other night and it was pretty delicious.
CSAs are Community Supported Agriculture, which is essentially a farm share. They are a great way to get fresh, local produce. I recommend joining one – you won’t regret it!
May 12, 2008 at 8:40 am
Wow, that’s quite a delivery for the first of the season. Looks great!
May 12, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Nice variety. The ramps look so nice and fresh. I love sunchokes, my customers aren’t too into them though. I end up eating them all.
May 13, 2008 at 7:36 am
I love sunchokes too, and these were a little more watery than I’ve seen – kind of like jicama. They were still delicious though.
I’m not sure what to do with the ramps or the sorrel yet…any ideas?
May 13, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I like sunchokes best raw, sliced in a salad or a
sandwich, kind of like water chestnuts. I tried cooking
them once and wasn’t wild about the flavor. I’m glad
you’re getting a CSA- my roomies and I had a share last
year from Harmony Valley but I’m the only adventurous
eater in the house so we had too much stuff just sit
in the fridge- like sorrel, rhubarb, parsnips, ramps…
I know you’ll have some gourmet recipes to use them up
with though….do share as the season progresses…
May 13, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Oh, I just noticed that you were wondering what to do
with the sorrel…one thing I remember from my childhood
was my mother occasionally buying a quart jar of Manischewitz or some other Jewish place’s version of
Schav, or sorrel soup. She remembered it from her
childhood in NYC. I never had any but it was an interesting green color. I think there wasn’t much in there except the sorrel- and she probably did what we
did with many soups, put a dollop of sourcream in it
before eating. You might find a recipe out there….
May 15, 2008 at 11:04 am
I’m jealous! My farm box doesn’t start until June. What are ramps?
May 15, 2008 at 11:41 am
Ramps are like onions. In the picture above, they’re on the far left and look sort of like green onions but they’re a little purple.
You can eat both the bulb and the broad leaves. A common description of the flavor is a combination of onion and strong garlic.
In the past 2 years I’ve noticed ramps are getting a lot more attention on restaurant menus – perhaps because of the move towards more local produce and ramps are plentiful in the spring.
They’re really popular in the South but are making their way across other regions of the US now.