CSA Shares February 18-20

Hello RCF CSA subscribers! This week’s shares are getting the first full run of our high tunnel collard greens, and we’re excited to share these lion’s mane mushrooms with you from Asheville, see more below.

Bakery Shares

Wheat honey loaf

Pita bread and hummus

Pancake mix with blueberry compote

Rice pudding

Spaghetti or fettuccine / 2x Pizza kit

Produce Shares

Lion’s mane mushrooms

2x Carrots, beets, turnips or rutabaga

Sweet potato

Fuji or Pink Rose apples

Lettuce / Collard greens / Kale or swiss chard

Lion’s Mane Mushroom

Lion’s mane is a traditional Chinese medicinal, containing antioxidants and beta-glucan, packed with health benefits including support for neuronal health. “Lion's mane may benefit older adults with mild cognitive impairment, according to a small study published in Phytotherapy Research in 2009. “ — https://www.verywellmind.com/the-benefits-of-lions-mane-89474 We found this one pictured above right in our back yard, on the other side of the creek, under a big rock wall, right on a cow’s trail—don’t worry, your’s are coming in clean from Asheville!

A gentle saute with subtle garlic, butter & white wine, will get you a “lobster-like” taste. I’ve included a recipe below with weekly meal planning suggestions.

This week on the farm….

The less glorious side of the operation includes a lot of decomposition and mud. We’ve been slow to flip some spent crops through these wetter cold months, including letting last summer’s okra patch die out enough to be manageable. This healthy crop grew to over 10 ft tall, with woody trunks 3” thick. Instead of waiting till drier days to get the bush hog to this patch, I went after it with my FAVORITE NEW TOOL ~ electric pruners ! An hour and a half later, one eighth acre piled and headed to the compost pile. This field is our wettest. It’s due for its first run of cover crop this spring. With our heavy clay soil, we’re adding organic matter back to the soil a season at a time to improve our crop production and support our soil ecosystem for the long term. Our cover crop blend includes alfalfa, hairy vetch, crimson clover, and oilseed radish, aka, those cold hardy daikons we’ve been enjoying all winter.

Maybe the best part about a farming operation is the excitement of a big push each winter to plan out your year ahead. New summer seed is on its way, and we’re picking up pro mix to start those seedlings in the greenhouse. Early spring crops will be sown directly and covered with frost-blanket as soon as we can get a few drier days.

Meal Planning Suggestions

Bulgogi beef lettuce wraps

with sesame slaw, kimchi & white rice

Prepare beef and rice. I’ve previously included specific instructions for a marinated London broil preparation and specific steps to nail your sticky rice even without a rice cooker (see previous blog posts below). This week’s full meal is in the style of another of Jamie’s favorites from the time he spent in Korea. Bulgolgi refers to a dark barbecue sauce made with tamarind and cane sugar. If this isn’t quite enough of a meal for you, a bowl of spicy ginger beef broth can take this meal over the top.

Sesame slaw banchan: Banchan refers to the varying accompaniments served with a Korean barbeque. Use a veggie peeler to get wide ribbons of carrot and cucumber. Hone your chefs’ knife or use a mandoline to cut daikon radish, onion and apple into thin long sticks 1/8” x 1/8”. Add sprouts or micro greens and toss together with sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, a splash of soy sauce, grated ginger & lemon zest, sesame seeds, salt & a touch of crushed red pepper if you like the heat.

Serve sliced beef, sticky rice, slaw with wide lettuce leaves, kimchi, gochujang (hot pepper paste) and red chili garlic sauce (like Huy Fong’s) for extra heat, and let each diner build their own wraps.

Dinner 2: Lion’s mane scampi with semolina pasta

A quick, easy meal if you’re getting our bakery shares! We’re stocking your freezer with fresh semolina pasta we extrude in our original restaurant location in Johnson City. This week’s options are spaghetti or fettuccine, both excellent options for this dish. See the recipe linked below, then finish this dish with some fresh fennel, serve with a simple side salad with roasted beets, or add some sauteed greens to your pasta.

https://veggieveggievici.com/lions-mane-mushroom-shrimp-scampi/

If you’re NOT getting our bakery subscriptions, 1—why not, you should :D, 2—try out this made from scratch fettuccine, that really requires no special equipment. First step missing from these instructions is to blanch your basil for 15 seconds (then shock with ice water), to preserve that brighter green color they’re getting. This is an egg based recipe, which is a great binder. Our extruded pasta has no egg. It can be cooked from refrigerator-thawed in boiling water within 4-5 minutes. You can also thaw it, lay it in a single layer on a sheet pan, and air dry it to store in the pantry instead of the freezer.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12067/a-farewell-to-basil-fettuccine/

Grain Bowl

Lunch/Brunch: Hemp heart grain bowl with sauteed lion’s mane, hearty greens, sesame slaw, fried egg, kimchi, chili garlic sauce, sprouts and/or microgreens

Like lettuce wraps, grain bowls are an easy loose framework to keep plenty variety in your routine without having to get too far from the original framework. We first tried out hemp hearts as a non-dairy ice cream option for a hemp store in Jonesborough. I’ve found they have a role much like chia seed—a quarter cup serving can suppress your appetite throughout the day. These an easily be exchanged for any other grain option. We did this first on our short-lived breakfast menu at Main Street Pizza with a mix of quinoa and arborio rice.

Breakfast 1: Pancakes with blueberry compote and apple butter

If you’re receiving our bakery shares, you have it easy for breakfast this week!

Breakfast 2: Rice pudding with baked cinnamon apples

Snack: Roasted sweet potato wedges, pita & hummus