May 12, 2019
Welcome/Welcome Back to Delicious Local Eating!
By Linda Dansbury

I hope you are as excited about the start to this year's season at Anchor Run as I am. The weather in April was excellent for crop growing, so the pick up room will already have an abundant supply of nutritious, delicious veggies. The heat-loving plants have not had time to grow and bear fruit yet, so there will be mostly greens for at least a few weeks. Abundant in particular are greens for salads! I eat salads nearly every night, varying the dressings with the seasons. The spring lettuces are tender and mild so don't need heavy dressings. Our website is designed to help you more easily enjoy your harvest. There are literally hundreds of recipes that are chosen or written around what is available from the farm. If you click on 'For Members' at the top of the website, there are several choices one of which is 'Recipes'. Click on it and a search bar will come up - if in the next couple of weeks you type in Salad Dressings, a long list comes up. Maybe a few will catch your eye. Or, if you type in Vinaigrette, several will come up that are wonderful with the farm greens. Most of the dressings keep in the fridge for about a week or more, so if you make 1 or 2 at a time, you will have enough for a week of yummy salads.

Green garlic, also known as spring garlic, is simply immature garlic. It looks like scallions or spring onions, except the leaves are flat and of course it smells like garlic. Green garlic should be stored in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 2 weeks, but best used within 1 week. Wrap the green garlic in a damp paper towel and place it in a plastic bag; or for a non-plastic alternative, stick the green garlic in a tall glass with some water in the bottom. To prep, treat it like a small leek: trim off the very bottom of the bulb (the roots are actually edible too, once the basal plate -- the part that holds the roots to the plant -- is removed), and use all of the tender white and light green parts. Dark green leaves can be saved for stock, or used to add flavor to a soup - pop them in whole, like a bay leaf. Use it wherever you’d use regular bulb garlic or green onions, or use it in recipes specifically designed to highlight its unique mild garlic flavor. Add raw green garlic to salads, dressings, and sauces. Try it braised, grilled, or pickled. Add it to a frittata, a soup, or pair it with other spring treats like asparagus. Put green garlic in pasta and rice bowls. I found a seasonal recipe that seems perfect for these cool, dreary days - Asparagus and Spring Garlic Soup.