Get ready to see more shades of green this week than you thought possible -- what with all the different lettuces, chois, arugula, spinach, sorrel, chard, escarole, endive, frisee, ruby streaks, mizuna, baby fennel, and much more! And then there are the beautiful roots, from red and golden beets, to purple and orange carrots, to all the pretty radishes.
 |
| Kohlrabi with a yogurt dressing, over sautéed kohlrabi leaves! |
We're hoping for a repeat this Saturday of last week's beautiful day at the Evanston Market. But even if it's cloudy or rainy, please grab your umbrella and come on out, because Henry is driving up a truck full of even more, and more beautiful, vegetables than last week, and he's going to erect the season's first full-fledged Amazing Wall of Lettuce, with over 25 beautiful varieties -- don't miss it!
Firsts of the Season:
- Kohlrabi
- Sugar Snap and Snow Peas
- Japanese Turnips
- Garlic Scapes
- Many more kinds of Choo
- Escarole, Endive, and Frisee (and maybe some radicchio di treviso)
Henry's JUNIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT gives anyone in their 20s a 20% discount. Also, if you have a child under 20 months old, s/he qualifies you for that same discount!
At Teresa's Fruit and Herb Stand...
Strawberry season is short. Shorter than that sentence. So short that we may already be at the peak. We went from 30 boxes last Tuesday to 239 boxes this Tuesday and I'm betting that for market this week, we will hit 400 or more. After that peak though, the descent is precipitous. So.....this is the week to buy extra strawberries to make a batch of freezer jam, bake a strawberry rhubarb pie, or freeze some extra pints for winter. (See some of our favorite recipes in the sidebar.)
We will have 6 varieties of strawberries to choose from (or buy some of each!):
- Earliglow - Sweet and fragrant, this is our earliest variety and production is already going down, so get some this week!.
- Darselect - Shiny berries are beautiful and deliciously sweet.
- Gloosecap - Small, very dark red berry. Old variety with old fashioned flavor.
- Wendy - New this year. Large berries with good flavor. Great for jam and pies.
- Seascape - Another new one... big and sweet!
- Cabot - Giant berries are lighter red, and so juicy it's like eating a peach!
Don't let the threat of rainy weather keep you from your market rounds, or you'll never forgive yourself. As a regular market customer said in a post-market email last week, "Thank you for the first good strawberries in I can’t remember how long. It was worth pre-dawn wake-up for this night owl, and the only reason I drove down the shore...".
PLANT STARTS
 |
| Last week to rent the big box truck = PLANT SALE for you! |
We need to move a lot of plants so we can switch from the big rental box truck back to my regular market cargo van. What does that mean? It means it's time for our . . . GET READY FOR SUMMER, NOW OR NEVER, SALE!
All of the following plants will be BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE!
- All hybrid tomatoes
- All container heirloom tomatoes
- All plum/paste type tomatoes
- Select hot and sweet peppers
- All eggplants
- ALL HERBS!!
 |
| Chervil for all you chervil fanatics, aka chervillians! |
FRESH-CUT HERBS -- First week for cilantro and chervil. Peak week for dill!
The rain was good for the herbs and everything is growing like crazy. Be sure to pick up some parsley, dill, or mint to liven up your spring veggies.