Spring Favorites Recipes

Fresh green asparagus to purple radishes, peppery Mesclun greens to pea shoots, this week’s box celebrates some of our favorite flavors of spring, offered alongside such delicious accoutrements as farm-fresh eggs, fragrant herbs like lovage and petite Cinnamon Cap mushrooms. Also included in this springtime lineup: Italian Rustica bread and Little Apple Treats’ granola cookies kissed with dried apples and lots of chocolate. Enjoy!

Here are a few recipe ideas for the week:

Cinnamon Cap Mushroom & Ricotta Crostini
This elegant little starter is a beautiful showcase for this week’s Cinnamon Cap mushrooms.

Homemade Bloody Marys
The perfect straws for enjoying these homemade Bloody Marys? Lovage stems, of course!

Spring Mushroom Scramble
Serve this earthy scramble with a salad of spring greens to complete the meal.

Stir-Fried Spring Vegetables with Chile, Garlic & Ginger
Serve this colorful stir-fry alongside potstickers and steamed rice for an easy dinner.

Asparagus with Sauce Gribiche
Bright green asparagus spears are drizzled with a classic French-style cold egg sauce in this refreshing recipe.

Tarragon-Meyer Lemon Aioli
This bright aioli is fantastic served with grilled asparagus!

Rhubarb-Apple Cake
A great baking project for an afternoon at home.

Cinnamon Cap Mushroom & Ricotta Crostini

This elegant little starter is a beautiful showcase for this week’s Cinnamon Cap mushrooms.

Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces Cinnamon Cap mushrooms, wiped clean and trimmed
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 miniature sweet red peppers, seeded and sliced
4 tablespoons ricotta, drained
A few sprouts of chives, or other combination of fresh herbs, such as parsley or lovage, snipped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices Italian Rustica bread

Method:
1. Set a heavy frying pan, big enough to hold all the mushrooms in one layer, over medium high heat and add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and shake the pan to coat the garlic and keep it from sticking, cooking until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add mushrooms and peppers, salt and pepper and fry gently for a few minutes until peppers have softened and mushrooms are golden.

2. Meanwhile, drizzle the bread slices with a bit of olive oil and toast under the broiler on both sides. When toasted, divide ricotta and sautéed vegetables between the slices. Sprinkle with the snipped herbs and serve immediately.

Midsummer Splendor Recipes

As summer produce continues to ripen apace in the garden—from fennel and zucchini to crisp lettuces and fragrant fresh herbs—this week’s box puts the seasonal bounty to delicious use in a salad-ready menu starring Lummi Island Keta smoked salmon and our own housemade mustard vinaigrette, plus all the ingredients for a show-stopping appetizer of stuffed and fried squash blossoms. Pain au Levain bread, rich, silky duck eggs and an easy-drinking Italian wine also help to anchor this summery menu.

Here are a few recipe ideas for the week:

Ricotta-Stuffed Fried Squash Blossoms
The ultimate summer starter, incredibly beautiful and flavorful.

Smoked Salmon Salad with Shaved Fennel
Tossed with our mustard vinaigrette, this salad beautifully balances tender smoked salmon with shaved fennel.

Roasted Broccoli with Fried Duck Eggs
This easy sheet pan dish is topped with bright lemon juice.

Poached Duck Eggs over Sautéed Beet & Turnip Greens
This elegant presentation is sure to wow any dinner guest.

Roasted Beets with Raspberry Vinegar
Kissed with notes of raspberry and orange, these beets are truly fantastic.

Herbed Turnip & Beet Chips
Substitute these crispy, herb-coated vegetables for potato chips at your next barbecue!

Tarragon-Lemon Aioli
This bright aioli is fantastic served with grilled vegetables!

Cheese Please

During the quiet, gray afternoons of winter, another area of the farm bustles with life: the farmstead creamery. Tucked in its own charming little building next to the stone barn and replete with two 26-gallon Van Riet cheese vats, commercial equipment and a cheese cave, our beloved fromagerie is a quiet and tranquil spot to experiment with new cheesemaking recipes and techniques.

We make a wide variety of fresh and aged cheeses in-house—from the hand-dipped ricotta cheeses crafted from leftover whey to the rich and creamy Tomme, Vecchio and Grana styles that are brined and aged in the cave. Other fromagerie-made favorites also include fresh chevre crafted from goat’s milk, fromage blanc and silky crème fraîche. This year we have been busy developing several new cheeses as well, working with new recipes and techniques to expand on the skills originally gleaned during our training at the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese and with cheesemakers Enrique Canut, Marc Druart, Peter Dixon and Gianaclis Caldwell.

We look forward to sharing delicious new cheeses, plus tried-and-true favorites from both our creamery and other local fromageries, in your weekly boxes all year long!

this week's recipes
the italian spring

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