Pickled Radish Recipe and How to Cook Hakurei Turnips

Spring has finally arrived here in the Berkshires and the plants (and farmers) couldn't be happier.

Our cold and grey April slowed everything down on the farm, except for me and Laura. Many of our plants have been in a holding pattern of sorts, just waiting for the sun to come out so they can keep growing! We had a small amount of crop loss due to those late frosts we had last week. In the picture above you can see that many of our beds are covered in Remay, also called row cover. We use mostly use Remay to protect plants from pests like flea beetles that like to munch on our brassica greens, but it can also be used as a light frost protection.

Unfortunately, even though we tucked them in every night we did lose a few things. To the right is a picture of one round of stock (a fragrant flower that we love) that we lost about half of. Luckily the cold weather seems to be mostly behind us and we have lots of other flowers coming. This is why it pays to grow diverse crops!

The Spring Flower CSA starts this week with specialty tulips. I can assure you that Laura and I are just as excited for the CSA to be starting as all of you. We miss our customers and will be talking about a physically distant way to meet all of you and maybe host a farm tour of some kind. Stay tuned!

For now, non-CSA members can order our vegetables and flowers through the virtual North Adams Farmers Market. They offer lots of local products and pick up and delivery. We also occasionally have enough to post on our farm store for pickup at the farm. The best way to stay up to date on this is to follow us on social media (Facebook and Instagram).

Now for our vegetable highlights! This week on the farmers market website we will have hakurei turnips, also call salad turnips, available. I feel like last year everyone who tried one of these sweet and crunchy turnips became a permanent fan. The greens of these babies are DELICIOUS. Also crisp and tasty. I recommend cutting the turnips into bite sized pieces and sauteing them in butter. After five minutes add the greens and cook until they are wilted. Add salt and viola! A perfect vegetable side dish.

Radishes are off the menu until June, but here is what I did with mine this week:

Adapted from Momofuku's Vinegar Pickle Recipe 

Ingredients:
For brine:
1 cup very hot tap water
1/2 cup rice-wine vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)
5 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp kosher salt
(Optional: 1 tsp coriander seeds)
For veggies:
whole or sliced or julienned red radishes

Instructions:
Pack radishes into mason jars or 1-qt plastic containers, cover with brine, close lid, and refrigerate. They'll be ready in four days. Most will keep for up to a month.

Stay well!