SEASON'S 1ST HARVEST

Harvest mornings start early and this year our first 'official' CSA harvest was no exception. There was a damp chill in the heavy air, dew, and fog floating across the trees out of the valleys.  It was gorgeous.  What a way to start the day.

We gathered four types of lettuce - Amish Deer Tongue (loose leaf), Forellenschuss (romaine), Sunset (loose leaf), and Red Leprechaun (romaine). 

Then two different green mixtures - Elegance Greens Mix (Pac Choi, Red Mustard, Mizuna, and Leaf Broccoli) plus Spectrum Greens Mix (Red Mustard, Green Mustard, Chinese Cabbage, Pac Choi, and Tatsoi).  Then came beet greens - Bulls Blood Beet and a Yellow Beet.  We enjoy our greens mixed in with our lettuces for a salad with a punch.  It doesn't take much of the greens to spice up a normal lettuce salad.


Finally three types of onions and two types of radishes.  The long, slender radishes were French Breakfast and the ones most people would recognize are Scarlet Globe.  Toss in a smidge of cilantro and you have the makings for a salad deluxe or a radish sandwich.

RADISH SANDWICH

via Culinate - from the book Local Flavors by Deborah Madison

A good radish sandwich can be nothing more than sweet butter spread on bread and tipped with sliced radishes and sea salt. But this is an easier way for getting the radishes and butter on quickly (and getting them to stay on), especially if you're making radish sandwiches for a crowd.

6 radishes - keep the tender greens attached

4 T organic butter - softened

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest from an organic lemon

- Salt

Baquette slices for serving (or nice crusty bread of your choice - maybe from Rabbit's Bakery)

1.  Wash and trim the radishes and their leaves.  Thinly slice the radishes into rounds, then crosswise into narrow strips.  Each should be tipped with color.  Chop the leaves.  You should have about 1/2 cup.

2.  Mix the butter with the lemon zest until it's soft and then stir in the chopped radishes, radish leaves, and a few pinches of sea salt.  Spread on slices of crusty baquette and serve.

Remember to spin your lettuces and greens out before storing in your fridge.  If you do not own a salad spinner for around $20 you can purchase a Zyliss two serving spinner.  No other spinner does the job like a Zyliss -  Easy Spin Salad Spinner.  We've tried a lot of them and always come back to the Zyliss.