CSA share week #5 Saturday June 25th and Tuesday June 28th

In your share this week   
- Carrots
- English Shelling Peas (these have to be shelled before being eaten, they have a tough shell)
- Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
- Beira Kale- (Portuguese Kale, looks like collard greens)
- Green Zucchini
- Golden Zucchini
- Summer Squash
- Fennel
- Kohlrabi (you can also eat the leaves just like kale)
- Lettuce 

optional- U-Pick sugar snap peas, you can chose to pick your own sugar snap peas during the hours of your pick up day, e-mail me if you are interested bcalberg@yahoo.com.

Extras box- (or basket) where the give and take box is located next to the shares in the fridge we will now have extras of whatever we have in bulk at the time, right now that would be zucchini and summer squash and possibly lettuce, feel free to help your self. I'll try to keep you posted each week on what we might have extras of.

4th of July weekend- if anyone is going to be out of town and would like to pick up their share the Friday before the 4th instead of your usual pick up day Saturday/Tuesday let me know ASAP so we can plan accordingly.
  
Fresh pea risotto    
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken or veggie broth
3 tbsp.butter
1 cup arborio rice  
salt and pepper
1 cup peas (after shelling)
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 lemon, zested

1. In a small saucepan, heat the broth and 1 3/4 cups water over high heat until steaming. Cover and keep warm. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add the rice and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
2. Stir in 1 cup of the broth mixture, bring to a simmer and cook stirring, until the liquid is absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Maintaining a slow simmer, continue to add the broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and allowing the rice to absorb the liquid. Cook until the rice is tender and creamy, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter, the peas and 1/2 cup cheese and cook, stirring, until the cheese has melted. Stir in the lemon zest, season with salt and pepper. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

(Tip- save the pea shells, they make a wonderful soup stock which you can use for either the risotto or the Portuguese Kale Soup) fennel tops and carrot tops can also be used in creating stock for soups.

try shelling and eating the peas raw, they are incredibly sweet and make a fun snack.

Zucchini Fennel Fritters
2 medium sized zucchini coarsely grated
1 fennel bulb coarsely grated
salt and pepper
1 large egg
1/2 a cup all purpose flour
1/2 a cup olive oil
sour cream or plain yogurt

1. Place the shredded zucchini and fennel in a colander in your sink and salt with 1 tsp. of salt, allow to drain excess liquid for 10 minutes.
2. Whisk the egg in a large bowl, add zucchini, fennel, flour, and 1/4 tsp. pepper, mix well.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook in two batches. Drop 6 mounds of batter,( 2 tbsp. each) into the skillet. Flatten slightly with a spatula, cook turning  once until browned, 4 to 6 minutes on both sides. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat for second batch.
4. serve hot with sour cream or plain yogurt on the side.

Fennel- pairs well with many seafoods, especially mussels and salmon, also with sweet italian sausage.

Kohlrabi Chips
Very thinly sliced rounds of unpeeled kohlrabi
olive oil
salt
1. toss the kohlrabi with the olive oil, season with salt.
2. arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with a non-stick mat.
3. bake at 250 degrees, rotating sheet until crisp and deep golden, 35 minutes to an hour, transfer chips as they are done to a paper towel lined plate.

Beira (Portuguese) Kale- prepare like normal kale or collard greens, steamed, sauteed, braised, fried, or baked. You can find many recipes for traditional Portuguese Kale Soup online, this is a hearty soup that involves kale, potatoes, beans and sausage and is perfect for a cool rainy day. ( which at the moment of writing this it happens to be).

Parsley Carrot Salad - combine chopped or shredded carrots, chopped parsley, lemon juice to taste, a little olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Parsley is also very commonly used chopped and served on steamed carrots.
other suggested uses for parsley would be parsley pesto, tabouleh salad, Italian and mediterranean dishes.