CSA #7

Dear CSA-ers,

This week’s Preassembled Bag will contain Cauliflower, Spring Mix, Lovelock Head Lettuce, Spring Radishes, Swiss Chard, and Lemon Balm. Orders may now be placed on the online market at: https://magneyfarm.locallygrown.net/market

Welcome to any of our new customers joining our CSA community this week! We hope this Easter Sunday finds you and those you hold dear well. We’re excited to have you! Perhaps you saw or found us through the lovely article printed in the Paducah Sun or Princeton Times Leader about our receipt of the USDA Organic Certification! This is an exciting achievement we have been working toward for a very long time now. The farm has utilized organic practices since its founding 8 years ago, but the documentation and bureaucratic hurdle-jumping necessary to receive that paper certification is tremendous. We thank everyone who helped us get there and are looking forward to the opportunities certification may provide.

Your interest in CSA this year has been enormous. That’s awesome! We are working very diligently to keep up on all fronts. In response to your support of our laying hens, we are currently brooding more chicks which will mature for egg production late this Summer. This is the week of our shoulder season that we have been talking about. The week where we are pulling winter veggies out of the tunnels and working at putting our summer produce in. This leaves a little bare this week, but we expect to recover quickly in the next few weeks. Please bear with us. It is yet very early in the growing season, and our selection at this time may seem sparse. In the tunnels, tomatoes are growing strongly, and cucumbers were transplanted from their seed trays on Saturday. The good news is, the very earliest of our outdoor plantings are reaching harvest maturation. Outdoor kale is looking excellent and the Sora Radishes featured on this week’s market were early March plantings.

As one of the most prolific Spring crops, we’d like to put the spotlight on radishes today. To start with, radishes are fantastic source of nutrition. In addition to having a broad diversity of vitamins and minerals, the radish also makes substances that are active against human fungal pathogens particularly yeasts. The radish makes these substances to protect itself from pathogen fungi in the damp Spring soil, but it may impart these defensive properties to us when we consume them. We are all familiar with radishes as the crunchy, sometimes-spicy, bit of color added to salads. While they do make a great fresh-eating snack, you might be surprised to learn how excellent they are grilled or roasted. Roasting radishes takes the spicy edge off and replaces it with a pleasant tender sweetness. We hope you explore and come to enjoy the noble radish as we do!

Roasted Radishes with Peas and Dill

• 1 lb radishes, washed and trimmed of both ends (larger ones cut in half)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• kosher or other coarse salt
• black pepper
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 of a lemon, cut into 4 wedges
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1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
2. In a medium baking pan, rattle the radishes around with the olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and a dash of black pepper. Put the pan into the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place the frozen peas into a medium bowl and then flood them with hot tap water. Let them stay under until defrosted, 3-5 minutes. Drain and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
4. Remove the pan from the oven. Add the defrosted peas to the radishes. Rattle the pan again and then put it back into the oven for 2 minutes (just to heat the peas through).
5. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle everything with the dill and another ¼ teaspoon of coarse salt. Snuggle in the lemon wedges and serve.

As always, we thank you for being a part of our community and supporting our local farm. You’ve helped us to grow so much. We enjoy so much returning the nutrition of the West Kentucky soil to you and your loved ones through the produce we grow.
Sincerely,
The Magney Legacy Ridge Farm Team