Purslane was part of our latest CSA share. I’d never had it before. This small green is actually considered a weed, but it’s edible. I was game to try it. After some noodling around on the web, I decided to just go with a simple salad (you can see the purslane best up at the top left of the photo – the small leaves). I cleaned the purslane and stripped most of it from its stems which I didn’t want to eat. I mixed it with an equal portion of other salad greens, then I cut up some black cherries to add to the salad. I mixed up a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, herbs, a bit of sugar and some garlic and dressed it with that.

The purslane has a mild flavor. It’s a milky, juicy kind of green. I didn’t mind it, but I wasn’t wildly excited about it either. I would probably skip it in favor of other greens, but it’s nice to be familiar with something that grows wild and is free for the foraging if you ever come across it. Have you ever tried purslane?

Purslane was part of our latest CSA share. I’d never had it before. This small green is actually considered a weed, but it’s edible. I was game to try it. After some noodling around on the web, I decided to just go with a simple salad (you can see the purslane best up at the … Read more →

Our CSA (Root Down Farm) started pick up in June and I’ve been bringing home lots of wonderful veggies. Today was the first day the u-pick section was open and I brought home my first flowers of the year. Aren’t they beautiful?

The CSA moved its pickup and U-pick location this year and they are right down the street from the family farm. My family farm that is. My great-grandfather was a farmer. My grandfather and his brother took over the business and turned it into a successful greenhouse business, which is now run by my uncle.  The CSA is on land that was owned by a neighboring farm/greenhouse family. It’s kind of funny for me to go there, so close to where I spent so much time as a child. The home my great-grandparents lived in, where my grandfather was born and where my grandparents and my mother lived is a stone’s throw down the street from the CSA pick up. It’s kind of nice to be back in the neighborhood, noodling around in the fields, picking flowers like I used to do with my grandmother.

We’ve had many delicious CSA items this year. I’m loving the peas most of all. I love to eat them raw, out of the shell for lunch. We’ve had lots of garlic scapes so I’ve been making lots of sauces and pestos and freezing much of it. I bring home lots of greens to feed my son’s tortoise (kale and collard greens). Zucchini, cucumbers,  and squash are wonderful. For a few weeks there were radishes and salad turnips, which I am not a fan of. Napa cabbage has been coming home the past two weeks so I think I’ve got to make some sweet and sour cabbage with it or maybe a stir fry. And there is always plenty of lettuce and salad greens. This week’s newest item is purslane, which I’ve never cooked with. I think I might make some soup with it.

I love going each week and being surprised by what’s there.

While I was in the U-pick field today I also picked a bunch of basil (in the front in my photo) since someone is nibbling on mine in my herb garden! My parsley has also completely disappeared. I suspect the rabbits have been at work.

Our CSA (Root Down Farm) started pick up in June and I’ve been bringing home lots of wonderful veggies. Today was the first day the u-pick section was open and I brought home my first flowers of the year. Aren’t they beautiful? The CSA moved its pickup and U-pick location this year and they are … Read more →