The first beets of the season are a treat. The greens on the young beets are delicious. I like to rinse them well and cook them like spinach. Over the bed of cooked beet greens I add the cooked beets. If they are small I leave them whole, larger beets can be sliced. To cook the beets leave them whole with the roots and tops on either boil or roast. After they are soft discard the skin with the root and top. Add butter to melt and sprinkle with rice vinegar and coarse salt.

We now have all the early transplants in. Both plantings of sweet corn transplants have been planted and the cultivating has begun. Our potatoes are up and they have been cultivated and hilled. All the interns had a go at cultivating with the two horse one row cultivator. I feel like we are poised ready for an explosion of produce. The broccoli and early cabbage are almost ready. The first summer squash and carrots are being harvested this week. Our hoop house cucumbers are starting and the peas, lettuce, greens and herbs are continuing to produce. Pretty soon we will be exploding out of the pick-up room.

The hay has been a challenge to make again this year, with all the rain. We have managed to squeeze in a few good loads into the barn. There is a field cut now now that is destined for the compost pile with all the rain last weekend. However, the rain will make everything else grow including the second cut on the hay fields that are already harvested.

The kale has been growing well with all the rain and cool weather. Here is a Kale recipe from CSA members Matthew and Ansley Ban
Massaged Kale Salad with Feta Cheese

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch kale
3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or sea salt
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
3/4 cup small-diced apple
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup crumbled Feta cheese
DIRECTIONS

Wash the kale and pat it dry. Slice off the stiff stems below the leaves and continue slicing the stem away from the leaf until you have cut a thin v-shape into the kale leaf and removed the tough stem all the way up. Stack the kale leaves two or three at a time, roll them up, and slice the leaves into thin ribbons.
Place the kale ribbons in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and massage it into the kale with your hands for two minutes. You’ll notice the kale start to turn a darker green and the texture of the kale will begin to soften a bit.
Toss in the red onions, cranberries or raisins, apples, and sunflower seeds. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar and sugar. Pour over the salad and toss. Sprinkle feta cheese over the top and serve. The salad can be refrigerated for up to a day before serving (if doing this, refrigerate the salted kale separately from the other ingredients and toss the salad together an hour or two before serving).

Garlic Scapes are the flower portion of the garlic plant. We remove them so the garlic can put energy into growing the bulb bigger. One fun thing to do with the scapes is to pickle them. I just use a brine like I would for dill pickles.