Lancaster Farm Fresh: Week 4

I'm sorry, guys.  I really really suck.  I know I said I was going to blitz you, and then I didn't.  It was wrong of me.  I started a new job recently, and I'm still getting used to the new schedule, learning how to prioritize my time.  Anyway, don't let me bore you with details about how disorganized I am.  You're not here for that.  You're here for the vegetables, and I wouldn't want to disappoint.

Lest you think this is a picture of a full share, do not be fooled!  This is in fact half of a full share, which just makes it incredible how much vegetation we're getting from Lancaster.  I have been more than pleased with what we've been getting.  Split between two people, this is working out to be less than $14 each a week.  That's a steal, given that we're getting all organic vegetables.  Read on to see what exactly we received in our share in week 4.

Full Share

1 Head Green Romaine Lettuce from Riverview Organics

1 Bunch Green Kale from Eagle View Organics

1 Bag Arugula from Farmdale Organics

1 Bunch Pink Radishes from Friends Road Organics

1 Bunch Garlic Scapes from Misty Meadow Acres

1 Bunch Sage from Coyote Run Organics

1 Bunch Tatsoi from Hillside Organics

1 Bunch Fresh Sweet Onions from Liberty Branch Farm

1 Package Cremini (Baby Bella) Mushrooms from Mother Earth Organics

1 Bunch Cilantro from Noble Herbs

1 Pint Grape Tomatoes from Maple View Organics or Hillside Organic Acres 

Note:  Instead of grape tomatoes, we got strawberries, and we swapped the sage for another bunch of kale.  Yes, we've been getting a lot of kale!

Garlic scapes were the revelation in this week's share.  I've read about them, ate them once, but never cooked with them.  I made a simple pesto with them, and it did taste garlicky, but also very green.  The flavor of garlic was much less pungent and sharp than it would be with regular garlic.  I used half the pesto right away, and froze away the other half for later use.  As I ate up the garlic scape pesto, I thought to myself, oh, I ought to buy more and make a whole lot of pesto, freeze it, and save it away for a time when garlic scapes are not in season.  It made me realize what seasonal eating is truly all about.  As much as I'd like to have a whole bunch of garlic scape pesto to have whenever I want, I would have to make a lot of it in order have enough around to last me for all the time garlic scapes aren't in season, which isn't really reasonable given how little space I have in my freezer as is.  So what it boils down to is that I'll just have to enjoy garlic scapes while I have them, miss them when they're gone, and celebrate when they return next year.  A lesson learned in seasonal eating.

In related reportage, in addition to the garlic scapes,  the arugula, tatsoi, and radish were particularly tasty.  Everything else also fared quite well, except, sadly, for the strawberries.  Although they had a very potent strawberry flavor, they were a tad on the sour side and actually taste a bit past their prime.  They were definitely starting to mush, even though we ate them the day we received.  Disappointing for sure, and we were so excited to get strawberries.  Nevertheless, it was such a small part of we did receive, the disappointment was only a flash in the pan.