Week #4. Strawberries continue.

Erika and Jessica, the owners of Giant Jones Brewing Company, came to pick berries this week, to make into organic strawberry soda.  How cool is that?  Jessica has worked on her concoction for a few years and says it’s low in sugar and high in flavor.  I can’t wait to try it.  Erika was the executive director of FairShare CSA Coalition for many years.  Any farmer gatherings in Madison tend to gravitate to their brewery.

We picked lots of berries too!  Thanks to everyone who came to the farm u-pick this past weekend.  That was one of our best u-picks.  The berries and weather were both perfect.  Everyone was in a great mood and the plants were loaded.  I neglected to take any photos.  Shoot.  Believe me, it was a good, good day.

The later berries are still coming on strong.  Check your email for this week’s u-picks.  These might be our final u-picks.  It depends on the weather and the upcoming heat could be hard on the berries.  We do hope to pick again for next week’s CSA boxes. 

Napa cabbage

Your napa cabbage started to flower, so we harvested it a bit early.  There’s a flower stalk in the middle that you can snap out or chop and include in your cooking.  The stalks that I checked were all quite tender.  Bolting (early flowering) happens when you grow napa cabbage, bok choy and other Asian greens in spring.  Alternating temperatures stimulate the plants to flower.  The long days in June play a role too.  Fall-planted napa rarely bolts.  The cilantro this week is also trying to flower, but is still very nice.

Veggie List & Veggie Notes
Week #4, June 19, 2025

– Weekly shares
– BiWeekly/ B group

Strawberries, 1 quart
Sugar snap peas, 1/2 lb
Zucchini &/or yellow summer squash, 2.25 – 2.5 lb
Napa cabbage
Red bibb lettuce
Bok choy, 1 medium
White salad turnips, 1 bunch
Cilantro, 1 small bunch
Scallions, 1 bunch

Next week’s box will probably contain strawberries (weather permitting), snap peas, snow peas, kale or collards, zucchini & summer squash, Romaine lettuce, scallions and more.

Sugar snap peas.  These peas should be eaten pod and all.  They are delicious raw, or very lightly cooked or stir-fried.
Preparation: They will need a quick rinse to remove faded gray blossoms.  Here’s how to remove the strings on each pod.  Snap off the stem end and pull the string down the concave side of the pod (the inward-curing side).  Throw away the string and eat the pod.  The thicker pea pods might have a string along both edges. 
Storage: Refrigerate.

Zucchini & summer squash –  Zucchini and summer squash need refrigeration but do not do well at very cold temperatures, as they will soften and form pits in their surface. Refrigerate these squash but in the warmest part of your fridge.  

Napa cabbage (large, pale green cabbage with crinkled leaves) – Napa cabbage is an interesting vegetable, useful for both fresh, raw salads and for cooking.  Its most famous use is fermented kimchi.  I like to prepare a fresh, unfermented kimchi.  Same seasonings, but it’s ready to eat right away.  You will be amazed at how much shredded napa cabbage shrinks when prepared this way.  See here for an example, but cut the salt in half (or even further): Grilled Flank Steak with Kimchi-style Coleslaw.
Storage:  Napa stores very well.  When refrigerated, it will keep for several weeks.  Peel off the outer layer and it will be ready to use.  Here are a few preparation ideas from the ‘Asparagus to Zucchini’ cookbook.
– Chop raw napa into green salads.
– Substitute napa in traditional coleslaw.
– Chinese cabbage cooks quickly.  Steam 3-5 minutes, or until leaves are wilted down but remain slightly crisp.
– Substitute napa cabbage for common cabbage in recipes, but reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes.
– Napa cabbage is the main ingredient in egg rolls.  Try making an egg roll mixture to eat as a cooked side dish instead of preparing time-consuming egg rolls.

Red bibb – Look at that gorgeous lettuce!  It is visually stunning, as well as tender and delicious.

Cilantro (small bunch, fragrant leaves) – Used in both Mexican and some Asian cuisines.  Good to season stir-fries, salad dressing, salsa, etc.
Storage: Cover and refrigerate.

RECIPES by DEB

Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream

From 101 Cookbooks

Here’s an interesting way to use your zucchini, as the pasta sauce rather than chunks of vegetable in the sauce. The recipe calls for fresh basil, but you could sub cilantro or parsley, or stir in a few tablespoons of pesto, if you have some. Or simply omit the basil! The recipe comes from Heidi Swanson of 101 cookbooks, a vegetarian recipe blog that’s been online since 2003, and there are 20+ more ideas for zucchini here.
.
.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Spoon Cake Recipe

From The Kitchn

Photo by Alex Lepe, Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter
Our beautiful strawberries don’t really need to have anything done to them – except eating! But here’s a quick cake that really gilds the lily – or strawberry – and it only uses about a cup of strawberries to make dessert for six, so you will still have strawberries to eat plain.
.
.

Turnip Gratin Recipe

From Simply Recipes

Photo by Elise Bauer
The salad turnips in this week’s box are sweet and tender enough to eat raw, but here’s a way to dress them up that should even appeal to people ambivalent about turnips!
.
.

Lemon Buttermilk Dressing

From Foodess

In honor of the tender red leaf lettuce and salad turnips in this week’s box, here’s a recipe for a buttermilk dressing that’s tasty on a variety of spring vegetables. Try it on a salad with the red bibb lettuce, salad turnips, sugar snap peas, radishes if you still have any, and enjoy!
.
.

Napa Cabbage Salad

From Forks Over Knives

Here’s a nice crunchy salad using the Napa cabbage, scallions, and cilantro in the box. Sugar snaps can stand in for the green beans and some julienned turnip would be a nice addition.
.
.

Pizza With Zucchini, Feta, Lemon, and Garlic Recipe

From Serious Eats

Photo by J. Kenji López-Alt
Zucchini as a pizza topping – with a lot of its moisture removed. This recipe calls for feta and mozzarella cheese, but you could sub in other good melting cheeses if you wish. It also features LOTS of garlic, lemon, and scallions for garnish. The recipe makes four small 8-inch pizzas, using 2 pounds of purchased pizza dough or a recipe to make your own dough is provided. You could also buy ready made crusts – there’s probably enough topping for two 12-inch crusts – or use purchased naan or no-pocket pita bread for your pizza base.
.
.

Roasted Napa Cabbage with Crispy Tofu

From Jackfruitful Kitchen

Here’s an interesting way to prepare our Napa cabbage. I have not tested the grated tofu, but see no reason why it would not work, especially with extra firm tofu. If you’re uncertain about preparing the tofu this way, I suggest cubing it, boiling it briefly in enough water to cover, drain well and proceed with the recipe. Boiling is a sure way to remove enough water from the tofu so that it will crisp. You can sub white wine or sherry for the Mirin and soy sauce or Tamari for the coconut aminos.
.
.

Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe

From Love and Lemons

This rice would be a nice side dish alongside your favorite protein or other vegetable main dish. You could also try throwing a few handfuls of rinsed and stringed sugar snaps on top when the rice has about 10 minutes to go, before step 2 in the recipe. The peas will be lightly steamed by the time you fold in the additional ingredients listed in step 2.