CSA Harvest #2

Happy Sunshine!! Well it was a sunny day today (Mon eve) as I write this newsletter.. it looks like the rain will have one last hoorah later this week. We will be happy to see it then since we have had to pull our irrigation pumps out of the river due all the rain. The problem now with the warm days is that our loamy soil is on the sandy side and does start to dry our very quickly leaving baby seedlings droopy and stressed for water. As soon as the river goes down we will need to put in the irrigation pump for the second time this year.

We are not the only ones lamenting the weather as many of you may have seen the story in the Sunday paper about other farmers in our area that have been struggling with muddy, flooded fields. But we see the light at the end of the tunnel in next week's weather forecast~ all sunny days!!

We wanted to add some images that show what is going on at the farm these days. You can see our new crop of fat little pink piglets.. we will have to change our name to Pig Lick Farm :) these little cuties are 7 weeks old and will live with us here on the farm until about Thanksgiving and then they will go to feed families. It is a bittersweet thing having animals on the farm. They bring so much life and joy and energy to the land that we work and live on. For us the driving force of raising our own meat is knowing that the animals we eat had a good life here on the farm with us.

In other pictures you will see our wonderful volunteers hard at work packing all of your CSA baskets in our garage/packing shed. Another image of Asinete prepping our wash tub for the veggie dunk. Yes, that is an old bathtub! It has been used for 20 years as a watering trough for a cow.. and then sat empty in our field for 5 years. Don't worry it has been bleached and scrubbed since those cow water trough days!

Right now we are busy on the farm trying to do many things at once; fertilize, weed, plant, harvest and plan what is going to go where 4 months down the line. Crop rotation and planning is a crucial point in CSA farming. Constant planning and planting to be sure there is always a full CSA basket each week. As soon as one crop is finished and harvested the planting bed is tilled, fertilized and tilled again then planted with the next crop. The best planting are the cover crops that we plant to feed the soil. Today we planted buckwheat seeds where the fall crops will be planted. The buckwheat will grow and flower and provide beneficial insects with nectar and habitat for all the baby tree frogs that we have seen hopping all over the fields. A week after the buckwheat flowers it will be tilled in and add nutrients to the soil... the best kind of fertilizer! It is our goal to one day leave this land in better shape then when we found it.. that is probably the driving force for many small, sustainable/organic farmers.

Enjoy these lingering days on spring!

Your farmers~

Suzie, Asinete, MA, Violet and Sally


Today's Harvest Includes:

Green garlic and garlic scapes (unopened garlic flowers)

Grandpa's Admire Heirloom Lettuce

Snow Peas

Green Broccoli OR Romanesco Cauliflower (yellow head)

Italian Flat Leaf Parsley

Mesclun Mix (arugula/tatsoi/mustard)

Rainbow Chard OR Collard Greens

You might be scratching your head looking in your basket and wondering what in the world a garlic scape is. The scape is the unopened flower from a garlic plant. When growing garlic it is a good practice to allow the garlic to produce a scape but it must be popped off before it opens or else the garlic bulbs will never form properly. My favorite way to enjoy scapes is to heat up olive oil and saute the scapes in a skillet until they are wilted and tender. They have a wonderful garlic taste without alot of heat. Here are more scape ideas...

Garlic Scape Ideas:

-You can add sliced scapes to any stir fry recipe.
-Slice and sprinkle over any pasta, or slice and cook them in almost any sauce recipe.
- Great in guacamole and fresh salsa, too.
- Chop & add to softened cream cheese.
-Add chopped fresh scapes when serving a light garlic soup; can also add them to buttered, french bread floated on the soup. -Use them as you would green onions, they're just better.
- Good in salads, on bruschetta, pizza.
- An excellent addition to stocks....and much Asian cuisine.
-Put in Thai chicken/basil/coconut soup.

Garlic Scape Tortilla

1 & 1/2 cups chopped garlic scapes
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup hot water
Salt & Pepper
4 large eggs
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Place garlic and scallions in a 10 inch skillet with 1 tsp. oil, 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt. Cook covered over med. high heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Add remaining oil to skillet. When oil is hot, shake skillet to spread greens evenly, add eggs. Cover and cook over med. low heat until top is set [2-3 Minutes].

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic Scapes

2 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" pieces.
2 Tablespoons butter (can omit this if on a restricted fat diet/lifestyle)
1-2 Tbsp, olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped scapes
1/4 cup hot milk (or more)

Cook potatoes until very tender. Drain and return to pot. Over medium high heat, melt butter with olive oil in a small skillet. Add scapes and saute about 5 minutes. Add to potatoes and mash. Gradually add milk while stirring. Season with salt and pepper.

Chicken With Garlic Scapes & Capers

2 whole skinless boneless chicken breasts, halved
2 Tbsp. Unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 Tbsp. dry white wine
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 chopped garlic scapes
1 Tbsp. drained capers

Between sheets of plastic wrap slightly flatten chicken. In a large heavy skillet heat 1Tbsp. of butter and the oil over medium high heat. Saute until cooked through. Season with salt & pepper. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm. Pour off fat from skillet and add the remaining butter, the wine, lemon juice, scapes and bring mixture to a boil. Stir in capers and salt & pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serves 4.

Roasted Garlic Scapes
Take the scapes and put them in a lightly oiled roasting pan, top with salt (kosher or sea salt works best but any will do). Put the loaded and covered pan in a hot (425 °F) oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until they are beginning to turn brown. serve as a side or main dish. Tastes like roasted garlic but creamier.

Green Garlic
Green garlic is simply immature garlic and looks like a slightly overgrown scallion or green onion. They are pulled by growers when thinning crops and, increasingly, grown as a crop in their own right. To use, trim off root ends and any tough part of the green leaves. Chop or slice white, light green, and the first few inches of the dark green leaves (as long as they are tender). Use as you would green onions or garlic.

Penne with Ricotta and Green Garlic Sauce
Penne served with a sauce of green garlic, parsley, ricotta, butter and Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fresh whole-milk ricotta
1/2 cup finely minced green garlic
2 tablespoons minced parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound dried penne or fusilli pasta
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus grated Parmesan for the table

Instructions
Combine the ricotta, green garlic and 1 tablespoon of the parsley in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Just before pasta is done, remove 1/2 cup of the boiling water. Whisk enough of the hot water into the ricotta to make a smooth, creamy sauce.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce along with the butter. Toss well. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and toss again, adding a little more of the hot water if needed to thin the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve on warm plates, topping each portion with some of the remaining parsley. Yummmm!!


Collard Greens~ full of flavor and nutrients! The leaves can be juiced (use 1/4 green juice to other things such as apple and carrots). Collards can be used much the same way that the rainbow chard is.. our favorite way is always the easiest!

Sauteed Collard Greens~ adapted from Epicurious


* 3 pound collard greens, leaves halved lengthwise and stems and center ribs discarded
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation

Stack several collard leaf halves and roll up tightly into a cigar shape. Cut crosswise into very thin slices (no wider than 1/8 inch). Roll and slice remaining leaves in same manner.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté collards, tossing with tongs, just until bright green, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.


For more recipe ideas for anything in you basket you can check allrecipes.com or epicurious.. there are many recipes avail online.. I would add more but it is now past midnight and tomorrow is harvest day!! Rain or shine!