Spring CSA Week 3: Community in Action

From top left: kale, garlic, beets, carrots, lettuce (two
varieties -- Black Seeded Simpson and Butter Crunch),
turnip greens, and pac choi. Enjoy!

Week 3 has arrived!

It's that time again! Scroll down for a list of all the veggies in your box this week and some suggestions on how to use them.

Hog-sized thanks are in order.

Thanks to all our shareholders for your flexibility this week in picking up your vegetables on a Tuesday instead of at your normal times. We're excited about traveling to our friends' wedding this weekend... but we're sorry it interfered with the normal veggie pick-up.

Thanks, too, to our friends Rodney and Terese. They came out to camp on Monday night (complete with campfire and guitar circle) -- and then stayed to help us harvest, wash, and pack the veggie boxes on Tuesday. I'm not sure we could have packed all 11 boxes in a single morning without the extra hands! Many hands made for light work, and many laughs made for light-hearted work.

The Balance of Farm Life

We even had time for a farm-fresh breakfast on the front porch -- eggs from our chickens; bacon from our beloved kneecap-biting former buddy Kevin Bacon; homemade biscuits (with Kevin Bacon's lard), home-made fig jelly, milk gravy, and a glorious champagne cheese provided by Terese. We know how to balance hard work with reaping the rewards :).

This Week's Bounty

This week we have for your munching pleasure:

• Kale: These greens are wonderful in a simple saute -- start with a clove of our chopped fresh garlic and a little chopped onion sauteing in a splash of olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the kale (cut out any large stems), stir, and allow to cook down. As it starts to wilt, add in a little water (or vegetable stock for more flavor), cover, and turn down to medium heat. Cook to taste; some people like it with a little crunch left, some cook 'til its thoroughly wilted.
• Garlic: This will probably be our last week of fresh garlic -- you may have one more after we harvest, as we allow the heads to hang and cure. You'll notice that the heads aren't as clean as in previous weeks. As the garlic gets close to maturity, it's important to leave all the outer layers attached to help it last as long as possible. In past weeks I've stripped that outer skin to create a "prettier" garlic, but at this age it's time to start leaving the papery shell on the outside.
• Beets: We hope you all enjoy beets as much as we do; we have a bumper crop this year! We like them best roasted in the oven (without peeling the skins) to bring out the natural sweetness. These aren't your mama's vinegary pickled beets :).
• Carrots: You'll notice that some of our carrots aren't as "perfect" as the grocery store variety -- but these are normal for a home-grown crop. The wonderfully spiced flavor of fresh carrots was one of the most eye-opening experiences of growing my own food in the first year... it's still one of my favorite flavors. You can also use the tops as part of a salad (use sparingly as they can be bitter), as an alternative to parsley (they're in the same family), or to make carrot top tea. The tea is a diuretic and carminative that's good for gout, kidney and liver support, gas, and bloating.
• Lettuce: This is the last week of the lettuce season. With the onset of hot weather, lettuce grows tall and leggy (bolts) and turns bitter. You'll notice that the flavor is stronger this week than it's been in the past -- by next week they'll be inedible. You have two varieties this week: butter crunch, which just matured, and the black seeded simpson you'll recognize from previous weeks.
• Turnip greens: We planted these between two rows of cabbage as an experimental crop. It's rare to see turnips planted this time of year, but they help hold water in the surrounding soil and may turn out to be a nice companion plant for us. This variety is bred to emphasize greens over actual turnips, so you'll find plenty of greens but only tiny 'roots' instead of big turnips. The experiment was a rousing success for the early season (almost no weeds in that section, and nice wet soil without watering), but they've begun to crowd the surrounding cabbage so we've now pulled them for your munching pleasure.
• Pac Choi: Your friendly neighborhood pac choi is back. This is the first year we've grown it, and I think it's my new favorite vegetable. We should have pac choi for at least one more week if all goes well; it's reported to be heat tolerant and it's looking big and healthy.

The CSA so far has been an amazing experience. We thank you for the warm welcome we've had in the community -- we're making new friends and learning new things with every box. We thank you, too, for generously sharing your hard-earned money and supporting us in our start-up days. This old farm needs a lot of love, and you're helping us save a valuable resource for future Maclin generations -- and our larger community.

CSA Week 2: Springing forward!

Clockwise from bottom left: Pak choi, onions, garlic, radishes,
beets, kale, lettuce, arugula, cilantro.

Running a CSA turns out to be lots of hard work--but it is also amazingly rewarding. The plants themselves are easy. They are genetically programmed to grow. Harder than that is the timing: we don't want your first box to be twice as big (or half as big) as your last, and we do like to put out a diverse set of crops.

This week continues the spring greens theme from last week, with a few additions:

• Spring onions: they are getting bigger! We have another planting that is still too small to ship out, so you can expect onions as a regular item most weeks. 
• Baby garlic: Again, this is getting bigger; we will be harvesting all the remaining garlic in the next week or two and hanging it to dry. 
• Red globe radishes: We have enough radishes for another week or two assuming the plants don't bolt before then.
• Arugula: The heat is starting to get to our arugula, and the remaining plants are starting to bolt; this is probably the last week for this spring crop.
• Beets: Bigger and bigger! The red beets are some of our favorites; if all goes well, we'll have golden beets later in the season.
• Lettuce: This is black seeded Simpson, a loose leaf lettuce that makes a killer salad. 
• Pak choi: Same as last week--maybe the last bunch for the season. But we also have:
• Kale! New this week, this is the first of the kale; some is curly, some is flat.
• Cilantro: OK, some people hate it because it tastes like soap to them (it isn't their fault.) We love it in salsas but also in salads and soups. 
• SPECIAL ADDITION: Basil seedlings: Our thinning is your gain. You can keep these in a window indoors (well watered) but they will probably need a larger container. Or, plant them outside if you have the space.

Don't forget to share your favorite recipes with us and your fellow members on our page on the Facebook. Our squash and cucumbers are blooming, so look for those in the next couple of weeks.

Don't forget  1) Wash! Our produce is grown without herbicides or pesticides and we wash it all before it gets to you, but there is likely residual dirt. 2) Bugs! One reason  to wash again is to eliminate any lingering critters. You may notice holes in the leaves (of the pak choi and beets in particular). See above: no pesticides. That means that the little bugs get to nibble some, too. Enjoy the veggies--more to come next week!

CSA Week 1: In the box!

Clockwise from top left: onions, arugula, garlic, radishes, beets,
lettuce, pac choi.

So you've waited all spring for the first mystery box of vegetables to arrive--and now it is time! In the box for this week:

• Spring onions: Bigger than green onions but not grown-ups yet. Use like green onions (tops) or like any onion. These are yellow and mild.
• Baby garlic: This one is a treat! Don't try to store it for the long term (that garlic is coming later). Intense flavor is great in guacamole, soups, salad dressings, or anywhere you like garlic.
• Red globe radishes: OK, radishes are a standard spring crop--but other than slicing them in a salad what can you do with them? Try radish top soup or braised radishes for a start.
• Arugula! We love spring arugula for its peppery taste; of course you can mix it with lettuce for a salad, but it is also great with...
• Beets: There are more beets to come, and the first of the season are smaller than what will come later. Use the tops like swiss chard. Our favorite way to eat beets is roasted (wrap them in foil, 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, peel after roasting) with goat cheese and arugula (goat cheese not included!)
• Lettuce: This is black seeded Simpson, a loose leaf lettuce that makes a killer salad. 
• Pak choi: This mini-choi (also spelled bok choi) is great raw in salads, in stir-fries, or ust lightly sauteed (tablespoon of your favorite oil, teaspoon chopped garlic, add pak choi and sautee just until wilted, add a pinch of salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar.)

Don't forget to share your favorite recipes with us and your fellow members on our page on the Facebook. 

In future weeks, look for more lettuce, beets, and arugula, storage garlic, kale, cucumbers, kohlrabi, and more! We'll post each week's box contents here along with some suggestions for cooking and serving.

Two last things: 

1) Wash! Our produce is grown without herbicides or pesticides and we wash it all before it gets to you, but there is likely residual dirt. Now, some people like a little dirt, but if you don't want that extra gritty flavor we advise washing everything before eating.

2) Bugs! One reason to wash again is to eliminate any lingering critters. You may notice holes in the leaves (of the pak choi and beets in particular). See above: no pesticides. That means that the little bugs get to nibble some, too. 

Enjoy the veggies--more to come next week!