Dear community of meadowlark,

          This week brings to you the sweetness of summer unfolding as sunshine has graced the days and continues to ripen the strawberries and hopefully soon, the peas.  It was quite cold last night, 45 degrees here and I've noticed that some of these colder nights have touched the leaves of some flowers.  Today's box  includes: washed salad greens, broccoli for all, garlic scapes, green onions and hakkurei white turnips together, kohlrabi,joi choi chinese cabbage, in the big bag 2 lettuce heads and a bunch of rainbow chard. Italian parsley is the fresh herb of the week. Asparagus and purple kale for premiums.Strawberries for fruit shares and peony bouquets for flower shares.

          We hope that you are enjoying your odyssey with eating local veggies and that you are finding new ways to stretch your family's eating pleasure.  We acknowledge that there are many veggies in your box that are either new to you, or are out of the realm of your culinary experience, at home and cooking for yourself anyway.  How many times have you had Chinese take out and enjoyed the taste and texture of the bok choy?  Maybe you didn't know it was bok choy, but now you do.....I know that it might feel overwhelming to have a head of bok choy in your fridge, but really, once it cooks down a head is easily a part of a family meal without too much torture!  How about hakkurei turnips or kohlrabi, that green/purple sputnik in your box?  Kohlrabi is a veggie that many scratch their heads over.  Do I eat the leaves?  The fleshy bulb?  Do I peel it?  Raw or cooked?  All of the above are true and feasible, so give it a try.  The greens are good for you and would be great in that stir-fry you're planning with the bok choy.  The swollen stem or fleshy bulb is good cooked or raw and you could make a lovely little salad with grated raw kohlrabi, turnips, radish, green onion parsley and garlic with this sesame oil vinaigrette.

                            CHINESE INSPIRED SALAD DRESSING

-1/3 c. sesame oil, toasted or dark                 -1 tsp minced garlic scapes or garlic clove

-1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger root                   -dash of cayenne

-2 TBL fresh lemon juice                               -1 tsp sesame seeds

-1 TBL chopped green onion

          We have a request to any out there that are cat lovers.  We have had a series of wild cats find homes in our barn.  2 of them have been tamed and loved by our kids and have turned into the sweetest friends.  Raoul is the name of the big, rough talking cat that has inched his way into our hearts.  We like the thought of creating a space for these wild ones to live a life of chasing rodents and living free, but after 1 litter of kittens, we had Raoul neutered this week. There is one more black barn cat "black boy" who we'd like to get neutered too.  Would anyone be willing to help us out with the costs of these surgeries?  Any little bit would help, thanks!  You could send a check to:  6350 e. lingaur rd, lake Leelanau 49653. 

          We still have some more A-Z cookbooks for sale too.  It's a really good and helpful resource for identifying and using the wild and wacky veggies that you may find in your box.  They are $15.  Send me an email if you're interested and have a great week. 

Love, the meadowlarks