Precious cargo: Inside the Burning River Farm delivery van.

When I opened the crisper drawer of our refrigerator on Monday, I realized that we were out of salad greens. Bummer.

Actually, the crisper has been empty since Saturday, a sorry state of affairs. Here’s what I’m really enjoying about CSA-dom: We’re eating a lot more salads. It’s easy when the greens taste this good. The textures and flavors are so bright, so clean.

Actually, I’ve been pulling salad greens double duty. We go through our half of our CSA share pretty quickly, so for the past few weeks I’ve been supplemented it with a few bags of Mike’s exceptional salad mix, which I pick up at the Burning River Farm stand at the Mill City Farmers Market. Who know why, but for some reason I forgot to stop by the stand when I was at the market last Saturday morning, hence our greens-free situation. I almost bought some field greens at the supermarket on Tuesday, but I’m spoiled; why settle for second-rate when I could get the real thing in a few days?

Which is why I was thrilled to open our box this a.m. and see it fairly bursting with a riot of leafy green beauty.

“We had trouble closing some of the boxes,” Mike later told me. “Some of them were almost round, they were stuffed so full.”

I was also at my assigned work station this morning - a rarity at that hour - when Shipping and Receiving called to tell me that I had a delivery. I went downstairs, camera in hand, and took a few snaps of the Burning River Farm delivery unit, which consists of a white panel van and farmer Mike. Turns out Mike was pulling solo behind-the-wheel duty, and I was surprised when he told me that the farm’s Thursday schedule involves about 40 drop-off spots. Wow. I can barely do a Lunds-Target-dry cleaning run without becoming slightly unhinged.

Here are some farm facts: Mike has a crew of three live-in interns on the Frederic, Wis. farm he bought last year. Add several volunteers and a few shareholders who trade labor for food, and he’s usually got a crew of seven working the fields. They fill 168 CSA shares a week, and also work to stock the farm’s stand at the Mill City Farmers Market.

Farmer Mike Noreen of Burning River Farm, the hardest-working man in Frederic, Wis.

This week’s farm newsletter was written by intern Elizabeth Henrichs. Here are some highlights:

“Greetings Fellow Vegetable Lovers! Mike has been a bit preoccupied with his malfunctioning vegetable cooler this week so I get to tell you about the happenings around here lately as well as what you will find in your box.”

“We’ve had some new help on the farm this week, which means an extra pair of hands for workin’ and some fresh ideas for conversin’. At times, a whole seven of us could be seen out in the field, heads down and rears up in our own row of weed-accompanied scallions. It’s amazing how quick the day goes when it’s filled with good company. Four hours of weeding carrots? No problem! Heck, I feel guilty getting paid for this.”

“With all of this willing help, we’ve been able to prepare a box packed to the gunwales (which is the best replacement phrase I could find in the thesaurus for extra full) this week. Here’s a list (the descriptions are Elizabeth’s) of its contents.”

All this fit into one little box. Clockwise, from top: Arugula (bagged), green onions, Hakurei turnips, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, collards, sugar snap peas, kholrabi and broccoli(center).

1. Broccoli: “Adrienne likes it pureed, with chicken stock, cream and spices to make a tasty soup.”

2. Arugula: “The spicy, bagged green that you are probably familiar with by now, but I’d never heard of it before coming here.”

3. Lettuce: “Hope you’re hungry for more salad!”

4. Hakurei turnips: “My new favorite vegetable and the inspiration of a new song which will soon be released by Burning River Records.”

5. Sugar snap peas: “Hello stir fry!”

6. Kohlrabi: “The funny-looking purple or greenish-yellow bulbous things. Peel them and eat them raw or try them tossed in olive oil and then grilled in aluminum foil.”

7. Collards: “Tasty and nutritious but we’ve bundled them so that they are convenient for fanning yourself on hot winter days.”

No commentary about next week’s harvest, so I asked Mike. “We’re hoping for cabbage,” he said. Hello, coleslaw! “Also salad mix, scallions, the next round of spinach, more sugar snaps. And maybe some carrots, but I’m not sure about that. They’ve been slow this year, but it’s a possibility.”

Just what you’d expect to find on a farm vehicle’s rear bumper.

Elizabeth also included two recipes. To be honest, I haven’t been all that excited about the recipes that have appeared with previous BRF newsletters, but this week is different. Both sound delicious, and easy to prepare, a perfect one-two summer punch.

CHILLED CURRIED KOHLRABI AND CHICKPEA SOUP
Serves 4.
Note: Adapted from Burning River Farm.

1 qt. buttermilk
2 medium kholrabi, peeled and diced
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. freshly minced garlic
3 tbsp. freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. curry powder
Dash cayenne pepper
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
Thinly sliced lemons for garnish

Directions
In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, kohlrabi, chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander, ginger, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, ladle into bowls, garnish with lemon slices and serve.

SNAP PEA, BROCCOLI AND RICE SALAD
Serves 4.
Note: Adapted from Burning River Farm.

1 6-oz. package long grain or wild rice
1 1/2 c. chopped broccoli
1/3 c. chopped green onions
1 1/2 c. sugar snap peas
1/3 c. slivered almonds
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
Italian dressing to taste

Directions
Prepare rice according to instructions on package and cool completely. Using a vegetable steamer, steam broccoli until crunchy-tender, remove from heat and cool completely. In a large bowl, combine prepared rice, prepared broccoli, green onions, sugar snap peas, slivered almonds, lemon juice and lemon pepper. Drizzle Italian dressing to taste and serve.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 10:26 am and is filed under Recipes, Weekly CSA delivery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.