Our team is super excited to finally start sharing the harvest with all of you.  After a long summer and an even longer beginning of the season thanks to a certain hurricane I wont bother to name it seems unreal that the time has come for the first CSA pick up. 

We hope you get comfortable visiting our blog because every week we'll be directing you here to read about the contents of your share along with other relevant farm news that you might find interesting as it relates to the food you'll be eating that week.  We may not always go into details about every item in the share, but we'll always give you a list of what you can expect to pick up that weekend along with some cooking ideas, storage tips for things that require special care, etc.  *Just as a disclaimer, please keep in mind that the list we send in the middle of the week is subject to change depending on what actually happens on harvest day.  Sometimes we underestimate the ripeness of a crop so we save it for the following week, sometimes the weather plays a trick on us and we aren't able to harvest a certain crop because a heavy rain storm ruined it.  We will always make up for it by adding a new surprise item to the list or in the worst case scenario we'll add an extra item the following week. 

That said, this week's share will include the following:

Small Shares:
Spicy salad mix from French Farm
French Breakfast radishes from our field
Broccoli rabe from Worden Farm
Asian Eggplant from Worden Farm
Kale from Alderman Farm
Florida Avocado

Large Shares:
Spicy salad mix from French Farm
French Breakfast radishes from our field
Broccoli rabe from Worden Farm
Asian Eggplant from Worden Farm
Kale from Alderman Farm
Florida Avocados
Cucumbers from Worden Farm
Head lettuce from Worden Farm

It feels like tradition to start the season with French Breakfast radishes at this point.  Going back to the very first CSA season 9 years ago we've included these pretty little radishes every time.  They are quick growing crop that is easy to rely on in the beginning of the season when the weather is still a bit tumultuous, but more importantly they are a great ingredient to throw into any meal throughout the week thus you'll be seeing them often all season long.  Their name implies that they are good for breakfast and that's been tried and true.  The classic European way to enjoy them is sliced thinly on toast with butter and salt.  That recipe (if you can call that a recipe) can be prepared with fresh raw radishes or the slices could be seared in butter before going on the bread, both ways are so good and so different. 

We hit our stride with spicy salad mix last season so it's only natural to include it in the first share this year.  You'll be seeing a lot of this until April too.  Your spicy mix will be grown by Chis of French Farm for the most part and he's planning to include an assortment of baby greens like arugula, mizuna, frilly mustard and escarole.  These greens are jam packed with flavor so you don't need to overthink your salads and dressings.  Honestly, just oil, vinegar and salt is a great way to dress them to taste the spectrum of flavors they bring in from the field.  You can use a handful to top a burger or as a side with your eggs and toast for breakfast. 

Asian eggplant are hard to find at regular grocery stores, but they are the only option at Asian grocery stores.  Cultural traditions are strong so Whole Foods and Publix stick to the usual big black eggplants which are perfectly good, but can get boring after a while.  We think Asian eggplant varieties are more flavorful and their colors are so beautiful ranging from violet to lavender to deep plum.  They are typically long and narrow which means more skin to flesh ration which is where the added flavor comes in.  Eggplant skin can be a bit bitter especially when it's under cooked.  Whether your baking, grilling or pan frying eggplant make sure to cook it until it's really soft.  These long eggplants are best cut lengthwise down the middle and cooked in long straight pieces or cut further into half circles pieces.  Long straight pieces are ideal for the grill or the oven and smaller pieces are best for curries or stews.   

Florida avocados get a bad rap in the US sometimes which is kind of a big deal in South Florida where we are saturated with this fruit during their long Fall/Winter/Spring season.  Why do they get a bad rap?  As I mentioned before when talking about eggplant varieties, food culture is a powerful thing and in the US we've developed a taste for rich, oily and salty avocado; like guacamole and avocado in salads and burgers.  The avocados from Mexico and California, both grown in arid dry climates lend themselves to this palette.  Did you know that there are over 300 varieties of avocados in the world?  Avocados grown in the tropics are bigger and juicier than their California cousins and they are sweeter too.  Sweeter, that's the key.  Did you know that in many cultures avocados are commonly eaten with sugar?!  During a trip to Brazil in my formative years I had avocado milkshakes and ice cream which totally changed my opinion of the Florida avocado.  This fruit hits it's stride when sweetened.  Check out these recipes for avocado smoothies and consider giving one of them a try with your local and organic avocado!  The best three-ingredient avocado smoothie and Vietnamese avocado shake (notice in her intro sentence she mentions having culture shock when she first saw a salty avocado dish).