Doorstep Harvest Newsletter 5-25-13
News from the garden: tatsoi (goes inside Braising mix) was planted, but it scarcely put out leaves before it bolted! The same happened with some radish that we planted. Many strawberries are set, and ripening for next week! Just today the birds found them, so we will need to but some bird netting over them. Rhubarb is almost ready, so next week you can make a rhubarb-strawberry crisp! Peas are blooming and beans are up. Potatoes look good in the heat and rain. Hoping to transplant winter squash out this coming week. This week, again, I will be featuring foods high in iron. Some foods that help with iron absorption are vitamin C, vinegar, fructose, protein, meat, fish and poultry.
JJ Salad mix: giving 1/3 lb salad this week! All the new rows of salad, in addition to the nice rains, have made the salad really grow well! Included in your bag of salad is a small bag of flowers. These are to be added to the salad. You also get an extra “head” of lettuce. One cup of leaf lettuce contains .6 mg Fe, but only 7.8% is absorbed.
Braising mix: because this is a full delivery, we have ¼ lb or more of each ingredient. The braising mix doesn’t just have to be stir-fryed; it can also be boiled, steamed, chopped into salad, etcetera…
J 1/3 lb Kale: for wikifact, refer to the pamphlet attached. Kale is quite the incredible plant! Kale contains 1.8 mg Fe
JJ ¼ lb Chard: One cup of Chard contains 3.2 mg Fe
J ½ lb Mustard greens: one cup of mustard greens contains 2.7 mg Fe
JJ Spinach: ¼ lb Our cool season varieties of spinach are bolting in the heat, This may be the last spinach for quite a while. One cup of raw, chopped spinach contains 1.7 mg Fe, however only 3.5% is absorbed. Cooking the spinach helps with its absorption, as does adding vinegarish salad dressing, if eaten raw.
JJDandelion greens: ½ lb dandelion greens this week! Yes! You can eat dandelion greens! Enclosed is a great recipe called Dandelion Italiano. One cup of dandelion greens contains 1.9 mg Fe
Asparagus
Root Bag
JJRadish: use the greens in the braising mix, hamburger patties, or shed and add to salad for extra spiciness
JJCarrot: use the greens to make some good soup stock. Carrots may be winding down for a while, until our other plantings finish maturing.
JJBeet: just two, you can boil, then peel off the skins right away under cold water to take away the bitterer skin, or you can grate them into your salad of braising mix. Please use the greens as well, they can be added into the braising mix, or chopped into the salad with the beetroot.
JJOnion: just one, thought you might enjoy it shredded into your salad mix, or cooking.
JHorseradish greens: Reduce included recipe to 1/3 given amounts
Culinary Herbs: Oregano, thyme, sage, cilantro, and parsley. ¼ cup of chopped parsley contains .9 mg Fe
Tea herbs: Just put the tea herbs (separately, not together) into a jar or mug, and pour boiling water onto them, and let steep till cool. Add honey or stevia to taste. Consult drugs.com if taking medications to check interactions. Also, if trying herb for first time, drink small amount over period of days to test for any adverse reactions.
Comfrey: good for bones and teeth. 1 leaf is about 5-10 grams. Excessive amounts over long period of time can harm kidney however two leaves per person per week is low dose.
Lemon balm,
Bee balm (monarda didyma) otherwise known as Oswego tea. Provides the bergamot flavor of Earl Grey Tea. Use the leaves for refreshing beverage.
JJ= organically grown in my garden in town J=organically grown in my garden in the country J/J= parts are in both