Grocery List Week 25: Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberries
Strawberries are starting to boom, my friends. So far, you've been picking exactly as fast as they have been ripening. We never know what the pace of ripening will be, but stay tuned and we'll update you via email when things change. You are welcome and encouraged to come any day, any time, repeatedly. It'd be helpful to me if you text me the field report - did you find abundant, or scant picking? - so I can keep everyone updated. I'm at (518) 645-4658. With a heat wave coming I expect they will come ripe fast now.
We're not big jam makers at my house but we do process them right away, washing, topping and slicing them, and adding a tiny amount of sugar so they will hold nicely in the fridge for a week. That is, if they make it that far. I've been hearing from several of you that you've made big plans for the berries before picking, but eating them fresh on the way home is too tempting. If the patch gets ahead of our collective strawberry desires, we'll open it to the public for some strategic you-pick days, but we have not gotten there yet. If you need a refresher on how to pick cleanly, see below! And if you are not physically able to pick we have berries for you.
Finally, I said we'd have syrup jarred for you this week but the work got ahead of us and we had to let that task go. We should have it for you next week.
Lettuce
The biggest star this week is actually not the strawberry but the lettuce. Check out the list of delicious that the vegetable team is bringing in today. Beth says, "If we had a 'must take a minimum of 4 heads per adult' category, this would be the week for it. I need them to be eating salads at every meal. Pack in the greens while they are plentiful and stunningly fresh!!!" You got it, members?
In support of that goal, let's talk about dressing. I am in the less is more camp, and Mark is a maximalist. For me, nothing beats a light application of simple vinaigrette when the lettuce is as perfect as it is right now. For the last couple weeks I've been doing this: mince the green garlic (now switching to scapes), add apple cider vinegar, oil, a little dijon mustard, a tiny splash of maple syrup and a few leaves of the mexican marigold that we were selling at the plant sale - it's a dead ringer for tarragon. Whisk everything and add a little salt and fresh pepper and you're done. The usual ratio of acid:oil is 1:3, and you can adjust from there.
Maximark leans more into the sour cream and mayo based dressings, different every time but something along these lines. I do love something like that every once in a while, especially on a perfect tender leaf of butterhead, or over a crisp wedge of iceberg.
Garlic Scapes
We are in the heart of garlic scape season and they are wildly abundant and still tender right now. Let's see if we can keep up! These are the flower stems of the garlic plant, which are removed to put more energy into the bulbs. You can use them any way you'd use garlic. There are loads of recipes out there for garlic scape pesto and I endorse that idea wholeheartedly. For a fast pasta dish this week I sauteed a big handful of finely chopped scapes in a generous amount of butter, cooked the pasta, reserving about a cup of the pasta water, then tossed the cooked pasta with the scapes and butter plus a beaten egg (which cooks in the hot pasta); add in enough of the pasta water to make a silky sauce and a little olive oil if it needs it. Then finish with a bit of lemon zest, salt and pepper.
Bread & Baked Goods
Courtney from the Drifter's Loaf is on vacation this week so we don't have fresh Drifter's loaf in the store today. However, we got a sweet delivery from Courtney before she left, and the loaves that didn't sell right away are in the freezer for sale now. This week we will start stocking products from Crown Point Bread, too. We'll have Yannig's fresh French-style breads, baguettes, pastry, and croissants in the store for the weekend. I'll try to post on Facebook when they arrive, with huge thanks to Barbara Kunzi for doing the pickup in Crown Point. We could not do it without her. These two talented bakers have different styles and I love them both so much!
Mark is making a light snack for distro bistro today. Light, because we are all heading over to Reber Rock Farm for their first in the summer series of on-farm dinners we're collaborating on, and we hope you are heading that way too. Tonight, Reber Rock is serving their pastured organic chicken, done Jamaican style, from 5pm-8pm, with live music from the Ploughman's Lunch. I know it's going to be fun and delicious. Pricing is $18-$27 per plate, with vegetarian and a la carte options available. We are wishing Reber Rock a terrific first night! The first Essex Farm dinner will be Friday July 4th, $20 plates, open to the public. Help us spread the word! See below for the full schedule of dinners.
More props to Barbara K: she made us a batch of cream cheese this week. Hooray for that. Look for limits.
I better wrap this up and get back out there. We'll look forward to seeing you in the strawberry fields, forever (but especially this coming week). Pick, and pick again. We're so grateful to you, members, for powering the great green world of Essex Farm!”
— Kristin
PS, If you are picking up over the weekend and notice we're out of or critically low on something, would you please send me a text at (518) 645-4658 so I can refresh it? Thank you!
Estimated Availability for Members This Week
Green = abundant, eat with abandon
Yellow = Somewhat limited supply, enjoy but don’t go nuts
Red = Limited supply, take just enough for one meal
Vegetables
Green
Beets
Escarole
Cabbage - Red, green
Carrots
Celeriac - here are some ideas
Chard
Collards
Curly Kale
Garlic (getting a bit tired but still usable!)
Garlic Scapes
Head Lettuce, Green/Red Butterhead and Romaine
Onions, red and yellow
Parsnips
Potatoes (also getting tired but still usable!)
Radicchio
Salanova Lettuce Mix
Shallots
Scallions
Yellow
Asparagus
Fennel
Green Garlic
Rhubarb
Red
Broccolini
Fruit
Green
PYO strawberries
Important Notes:
To keep the patch productive and efficient for the season please pick cleanly, meaning you should stay in one place and pick everything in a given area that is ripe before moving on, rather than walking the whole patch for the biggest, juiciest individuals.
Beth says, a ripe strawberry is red red, shiny red, red like you would want your Corvette to be, but some varieties can be truly ripe while the tips remain white.
If you come across a mushy berry, pick it and chuck it well outside of the patch.
Please do be careful not to step on adjacent plants, and teach kids to be careful where their feet go.
If you are not physically able to pick your own, talk to Brooke at distro or shoot me a text at (518) 645-4658 and we will have some picked for you, like we did with the cherry tomatoes last year.
Herbs
Green
Chives
Sorrel
Thyme
Sage
Chamomile
Mint
Oregano
Dandelion
Parsley
Rosemary
Red
Basil — look for it on the sign-in table
Cilantro
Dill
Value-Added Products
Kraut/Kimchi
Lard
Beef Tallow
Hot Sauce
Eggs
Unlimited — we are supplementing this week with some certified organic eggs from Curtis Latrimore. Our new pullets arrived last night!
Farmer Only Raw Dairy
Our raw milk does not provide the protection of pasteurization.
Buttermilk
Cultured Butter
Sour Cream
Fresh Cream
Skim Milk
Whole Milk
Yogurt
Cream Cheese! (look for limits)
Grassfed and Pastured Meat
Pork — assorted cuts (arriving today from the butcher)
Lamb restocked! — Ground, leg, and chops
Beef — Ground
Bones — Beef, lamb
Offal — Lamb, pork, beef
Grains, Beans & Dry Goods
Everything not grown by Essex Farm is certified organic.
Note: We have more products than we have room for on the grain table, so check the buckets under the table if you're looking for something.
Beans — Black and Pinto
Cornmeal — coarse ground
Chickpeas
Steel Cut Oats
Rolled Oats
Millet
Pancake Mix
Popcorn
Sea Salt (Cargill)
White Bread Flour
White Pastry Flour
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Whole Wheat Bread Flour
Wheat Bran — Available on Request
Wheat Berries
Please be advised that consumption of raw or undercooked foods including meats, poultry, dairy, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.
This week's share is brought to you by: Anne Brown, Gracie Broughton, Beth Davis, Nicholas Johnson, Kristin & Mark Kimball, Barbara Kunzi, Brooke Wise, Lotta Hauswaldt, Joanie McMahon. Thanks to Nora, Will, Jackie, Jori, Kathleen and Gwen, for the help this week!
