Week 1 May 15, 2026

camasswalefarm
May 15
7 min read

Recipes: Strawberry Vinaigrette, Avocado Kale Salad, Ginger Miso Soup with Mustard Greens, Vegan Cesar Salad

Dear Crop Share Members,

We made it to week one of your CSA Crop Share at last! We've missed harvesting for you all, and we've made good use of our time on the farm preparing fields, seeding, planting and cultivating young crops. We hope you are open to using lots of leafy greens in your meals this week. Salads, stir fries, and wraps oh my. All of these leafy greens are evidence that it is still Spring despite what the weather is trying to tell us.

It really is a warm dry Spring, and with this heat brings some challenges in farming such as higher pest pressure and pressure on the water table, but all in all our farm is in a good geographic position. We are fortunate to have ample water here and lots of habitat for beneficial bugs, and good neighbors who also care about their land. We have many organic non-chemical strategies to stay resilient, and lately we've employed many to protect crops in the field and so far so good. Covering and pruning plants, working in cover crops, releasing beneficial bugs like lace wings, and setting out sticky traps to monitor are just few strategies we use to help crops stay balanced.

We are so thankful you've chosen to join us to be your vegetable farmers for another season. Remember each week is unique. But some things are constant, there will almost always be a leafy green, a head of lettuce, a root, and an herb or allium. And, pick up time is always 12-6pm :)

Please pick up your Crop Share on Friday from 12pm - 6pm at your pick up site. Remember to pick up as early as possible especially on hot days, bring your own bag and sign off next to your name so we know you got your share.

Every item in your box is grown on our certified organic farm in Coburg. We think you'll love this week's romaine, scallions and berries. We know other crops take some getting used to or occasionally look different than what you see on the shelf, so we'll do our best to spotlight those.

Enjoy and let us know if you have any questions, email camasswalefarmcsa@gmail.com or call us on Wednesdays 9-11am at our new office number 458-215-6154.

Camas Swale Farmers

Jonah & Amber

What's In My Box?

small share/ full share

cilantro 1 bu

the stems are edible and flavorful too

romaine lettuce 1 lg / 2 med

one of the sweetest crunchiest lettuces around, chop for a salad or use the leaves as boats for quinoa salad etc.

green kale 1 bu

to eat raw, tear the leaf away from the spine and compost the spine, massage the leafy parts with oil and salt until it is dark green and very soft, add to your favorite salad. for cooking, cook lightly or crock pot it to get all the minerals

mustard greens, "ho mi zi" 1 bu

as pictured below, this is a heat tolerant mustard green. Simmering these vegetables low and slow makes them become soft, drab green, and honestly pretty ugly. But guess what? They taste soooo good! And minerals become fully available when the greens are cooked well. You can make a really rocking pot of vegetarian mustard greens (see recipe below). The stem is sweet like broccoli stems or kohlrabi and can be reserved for a stir fry or they can be juiced.

scallions 1 bu

radishes, bulk 1 pt

enjoy cooked or raw

snap peas (smalls only) 1 pt

enjoy cooked or raw

chard (fulls only) 1 bu

saute it for best mineral absorption.

strawberries (fulls only) - 1/2 pt

you might just gobble these up but a half pint is also a nice amount to feature on a salad or even to make a salad dressing with! See Iris' favorite berry vinaigrette dressing recipe below.

Strawberry Vinaigrette

1 cup strawberries with tops cut off
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tbsp of honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Make the dressing by blending all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Refrigerate dressing until ready to serve. Add dressing to the salad right before serving.

Avocado Kale Salad

Recipe and Photo from Foolproof Living Food Blog

1 ripe avocado, plus more as garnish
3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

For The Salad

1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped (5-6 cups of kale)
½ cup pine nuts, sliced almonds, or chopped walnuts (or pumpkin or hemp seeds for a nut free option)
cilantro, chopped optional garnish

Ginger Garlic Miso Soup

Recipe and Photo from Living Naturally

2 tablespoons untoasted sesame oil (or another neutral-flavored oil)
2 tablespoons very finely minced or grated fresh ginger
1 or 2 garlic cloves, very finely minced
1/2 bunch of scallions, finely slices
1 bunch Ho Mi Zi mustard greens stems and central ribs removed and finely chopped for use, leaves shredded or left whole if small
5 cups mild-flavored low-sodium vegetable broth (or water-the soup will have plenty of flavor
1/4 cup white miso paste
4 to 8 ounces firm tofu, cubed

Place the sesame oil in a medium-size pot over medium heat. Once the oil has warmed up, add the ginger, garlic, white parts of the green onions, and the chopped turnip stems. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the white parts of the leeks are nearly translucent and the turnip stem pieces are tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the broth to the pot and raise the heat to medium-high. Once the broth is very hot, but not boiling, place the miso in a small bowl, whisk in about 1 cup of the hot broth to make a slurry, then add that mixture back to the pot. Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner, shredded turnip greens, and tofu. Let it stand for a moment to heat everything through and wilt the greens, then serve immediately.

Vegan Cesar Salad

Photo from Marley Spoon ... which is an online meal plan ordering program that we are not recommending, but we do appreciate their meal photos! Wow! This is a salad we make because chick peas are so wonderful baked to a crisp texture and with crunchy romaine. We love that you can toss chickpeas and bread crumbs on the same pan with this recipe.

Cesar dressing (store bought or make your own recipe here)
1 large head or 2 medium heads romaine lettuce
2 cans chick peas
1/2 loaf of good bread from Great Harvest Bakery
1 lemon
hand full of sunflower seeds
radishes, sliced thin
seasoning
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large oven tray with baking paper. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then pat dry with paper towel. Put on the lined tray, drizzle with 2 tbs olive oil and scatter the seasoning over. Roast for 10 mins.
2. Make dressing if making your own
3. Toast croutons
Cut the bread into bite-sized chunks. Scatter the bread over the chickpeas on the tray. Roast for a further 10-15 mins until the chickpeas and croutons are golden and crisp (keep an eye on them as they can burn easily).
4. Prep lettuce and radish
While the croutons are toasting, trim the lettuce, then coarsely shred the leaves. Thinly slice the radish.
5. Dress salad
Add the lettuce, radish and half the roasted chickpeas and croutons to the dressing and toss to combine. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.
6. Get ready to serve
Divide the salad among bowls and scatter over the sunflower seeds and remaining chickpeas and croutons. Serve with the lemon wedges.

CSA Member Calendar

First Summer CSA Delivery

Wednesday May 13/Friday May 15

First Egg Delivery

Week of July 22 - October

Farm Tour + Kraut Making

Sunday June 28th 1 pm - 4pm

Harvest Potluck and Party

Saturday October 3rd at 4pm

First Fall CSA Delivery

Wednesday November 4th

ABOUT PICKING UP YOUR CSA

Bring your own bag. Pick up at your pick up location and day (Wednesday or Friday) from 12-6pm. If you ordered an add-on, it will be packed in a separate labeled tote.

HOW TO PICK UP YOUR CSA

#1: Sign-in! the golden rule

Find & Sign-off your name on the sign-in sheet each week and please ONLY take the items listed next to your name.

This vital step helps ensure everyone goes home happy, including our site hosts and farmers, week after week.

#2: Locate your shares

Boxes are labeled as Small or Full. Summer Salad Lover Add-on shares are in a large tote labeled "Salad Add-ons"

#3: Unpack your tote & stack the empties

Please bring your own reusable shopping bag to transport your items - we’ll pick the totes up next week for reuse! We can use them for multiple seasons, reducing waste one box at a time.

USING THE WEEKLY SWAP BOX?

Swap boxes are green with flowers painted on them. Swap boxes are labeled and will stand out! If your pick up site has a swap box, please feel free to swap an item you may not want in your box with an item in the provided and specifically-labeled SWAP BOX. Please limit the swaps to one item for one item per week.

UNABLE TO FIND AN ITEM?

(Please do not supplement it with something else!) Contact the farm directly before taking something else. The sooner you reach out the sooner your item may be located.

SOMEONE ELSE PICKING UP FOR YOU?

(Please share all the details of how to pick up with them BEFORE they attempt to pick up -- BYO bag, take from the right size box, check off the right name). Friends and family picking up for others is the number one cause of pickup mistakes, and we thank you in advance for your consideration.

CSA FAQS PAGE

Since our hands are often tied up with roots, soil or kids we keep this information on our CSA FAQS web page.

VACATIONS

Every CSA member can put their share on hold in trade for a $20 credit per week, up to two. Login to your account and select your vacation dates or email us. Please request your vacation at least three days in advance to receive the credit.

REDEEMING YOUR VACATION CREDIT

Go to our Online Store to see availability for add-ons this week and to double check the value of your credit. You'll need to login to see your credit amount. In the 2025 season you can use your vacation credits to purchase add-ons electronically or apply the credit to a Fall Share. But as always you can also just email the farm. Thanks!

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Your current season of newsletters and many of our newsletters back to 2012 are on our website here. Find recipes from previous seasons. Friday CSA members can go to this link on Wednesday and see what this week's CSA has to offer.