May 27 or 30 CSA

This weeks’ share contains:  2 small heads of lettuce, 1 head of frisee endive, 3/4 pound spinach, 1 bunch of shallot scallions, 1 bunch of garlic scapes, 2# each of Murasaki and Burgundy sweet potatoes, 2 pints of strawberries, 1# Tuxepeno grits.

The grits are ground from corn we grew last summer.  They are not quick grits…use the ratio of 4:1 water to grits and allow at-least 20 minutes cooking time.

Garlic scapes are the flowering tip of the plant that we remove so the bulbs will develop larger.  Use them as you would garlic for a mild garlic flavor.  They are good pickled as well.  The shallot scallions are young shallots.  Use them as you would an onion scallion.  The bulb part diced and soaked in red wine vinegar makes a great base for salad dressing.

The frisee endive is very mildly bitter and makes a great addition to fresh salad.  It is also good added to soup just before serving, so that it wilts but doesn’t get overcooked.

The sweet potatoes are from last falls’ harvest.  If you scrape the skin with a knife you can tell which is which.  The white-fleshed ones are the Murasaki.  They are less sweet, more starchy and have a slightly chestnut flavor to them.