(More than) 7 (veggies in week) 11

It's been 11 weeks of the CSA so far and to celebrate week 11 we have... vegetables! (ok - that means EVER week is a celebration)  At any rate, things are starting to slow down in the garden and the nights are feeling a little like fall...  so enjoy!

Week 11 - mmmmm

What's in the 11 week old box?
Garlic- another variety we really like - this one is called German hardneck
Onions- there are two varieties of onions- mild white (Superstar) and red onions (um, red)
Peppers- you'll see an assortment of sweet green and colored peppers (red or orange) and also darker green ancho (have you made the poblano corn bread with one yet?! - or even better add it to some homemade mac and cheese!
Summer squash- you may find zucchini, or yellow squash or a combination!
Eggplant- these are a mild asian-style eggplant.  Try this eggplant parmesan recipe.
Red cabbage- one small head of red cabbage is included.  Try making pickled cabbage or a red cabbage salad- you'll find lots of recipes online.
Swiss chard- sauté it with some of your garlic
Tomatoes- you'll find quite a few tomatoes this week.  Try making stuffed peppers with fresh tomato sauce or just make some fresh sauce and freeze it for later.  You'll find a larger heirloom or two in there this week too (Brandywine or Cherokee Purple).
Cucumber- try making some pickles!
Edamame- this is one of our favorites from the garden.  You can steam or boil the pods for several minutes, sprinkle with salt and then squeeze the pods to enjoy the tender soybeans inside.  Check out this link to learn more: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/bean/r/edamame.htm

A CSA share that will make you Green(s) with Envy

A whole lotta farm fresh greens

This weeks "busting at the seams" box is full of lots of seasonal greens... and I mean lots!  The reality is most folks don't know how many different varieties of greens there are out there - the diversity of flavors, textures, colors, it's all pretty amazing!  When grown fresh and local they are an excellent way to get an array of vitamins and minerals.  They are also pretty versatile too.  They can be dedicated to a side dish or incorporated as part of a main dish over pasta or in a stir fry.  Raw or cooked - greens are even better when you bring some of their friends along for a cacophony collaboration of mixed green goodness!  After going to a local Farmers Market this last weekend - those of you out there in the local produce buying scene are fully aware - there's very little to be bought...  well, we decided to buck that trend and overfill this share a full week before we REALLY expected the CSA to start!  So, what's in the box?

Swiss chard- The green that has the colorful stems and looks a little like rhubarb but isn't!  A Swiss chard frittata is one of our favorites, easy to make meals.  Sauté the chard, and combine with eggs, milk  and whatever else you have on hand- cheese, sausage, chicken or even bacon (mmmmm).

2 types of bok choy - larger Joi Choi variety (same as last week) and baby variety of bok choy - called Mei Qing.  The flavors are quite a bit different - awesome in the recipe below!

2 varieties of lettuce - green leaf and red leaf lettuce - fresh and full of flavors.  This is what a salad is SUPPOSED to be made out of...

Greens mix- (Identified by the bunch of different shape, color and textured leaves) This mixture's name is "Ovations".  A great combination of both mild and spicy ingredients greens.  The mix includes Red Mustard, Mizuna, Tatsoi, Kale, and Arugala.  Great for sautéing or adding to a fresh salad for some really interesting flavors (no rules here).

A small bunch of Broccoli Raab or sometimes called Spring Raab because of the little broccoli florets on it (pronounced rob) - This is our first year growing this green and it's got us divided...  some of us like the taste and think it's terrific and some of us think it's got a bit of a bitter aftertaste (which is rumored to go away after cooking).  To find it in your box - Raab looks like turnip greens and may have small broccoli like structures in it.  What are your thoughts on raab? (Information about raab here)

Garlic scapes - These crazy curly looking things are the "flower stalks and stems" off the garlic plant.  Until just a few years ago farms used to cut these off and send them to the compost pile - then someone figured out they are great to cook with and now some people charge $0.25 each!  Purists will argue cutting them off the garlic plant, while it makes the bulbs in the ground larger, takes away from their flavor.  I don't know - it's just too hard to wait another 6 weeks before eating any fresh garlic - so - use scapes for a distinctly garlic like addition to anything you might use a green onion in! (big hit last year)

Even though we have been eating this way for years and years now we're still exploring the best ways to utilize what's available seasonally.  We received this book as a gift this past year and have found it to be a fun resource for different seasonal recipes.  It's also got some cool stories about other small farms that have unique production offerings as well - great to cook from or to read from.  Click on the book or the link to grab your own copy!

Oh and during greens season, you will definitely want a salad spinner for cleaning those greens!   This is the one we've used for years - without it...  washing and drying is slow and tedious... leading to less washing...  leading to "extra protein" in the greens...

This weeks recipe:

Simple Greens and Pasta Sauté

Chop garlic scapes and sauté in olive oil.  Add bok choy stems and sauté until tender.  Then add in chopped greens any or all of the above).  Sauté until slightly wilted.  Season with salt and pepper. We added in leftover cooked chicken (but any thing added is good!) and mushrooms and served over pasta.  We also added in some hot sesame oil for some heat.  You can add in a stir fry sauce or any other favorite spice!  Serve with some soy sauce and chopsticks.  You really can't go wrong with this one.

Upper right - clockwise: Grand Rapids Lettuce, Ovations Green Mix, Raab, Bok Choi (2 kinds), Garlic Scapes, Swiss Chard (middle)

Slowly the signs of the season emerge

I'm not going to do it.  I'm not going to complain again over and over about how terrible this Spring has been so far.  About the cold.  About the endless winds...  the flurries...  and the rain.  The inches and inches of rain that keep falling day after day.  Rain that has turned everything into a muddy, unworkable mess.  Rain that (at the time of writing this) very well likely drowned the poor peas.  Nope - not gonna harp on that old news in this post.  Instead, let's talk about some of the sings that, completely contrary to today's high temperature of 38 degrees, spring appears to have sprung (or is trying to spring).

Although it might be a little difficult to see in the small version of the picture (you know you can always click on a picture to see a bigger version) the first tender shoots of asparagus have started poking up through the ground.  So hopefully in a week we will be enjoying some tasty asparagus.  If all the roots survived the winter this year, we will have a LOT to consume and will likely post on Facebook when we have some extras for sale.  Nothing says spring like fresh picked asparagus.  (Now - if you clicked on the photo - you might be asking what's that all around the asparagus.  That's chicken coop mulch.  Chickens make lots of nitrogen.  Asparagus likes lots of nitrogen.  Chickens didn't apparently eat all the corn so that's what you see.)

I forgot to snap a picture of the rhubarb but there are 4 very large planting that survived (looks like we lost the 2 smallest ones this winter).  They got the obligatory 5 gallon bucket of compost dumped on them last month and they are doing great.

In another part of the garden I was pleasantly surprised to discover that half the artichoke plants from last year (variety was Emerald) survived the winter and are putting up this years growth already.  We have not had them overwinter before but our understanding is - expect big crops off your artichokes in year 2!  now - if only they can survive sitting in all this water...  we will be all set.

All the garlic planted last fall is doing great.  We set out a bunch of different varieties and they are all doing terrific.  Tried a new planting techniques this year to hopefully help in keeping the weeds down.  Time will tell but so far this spring things look like they are in good shape.  Basically last Fall after we tilled the patch were the garlic was going to be planted we set out some of that rolled paper mulch.  We then covered the paper with a bunch of straw.  Then using a grid pattern and a had dibble (stake) we poked holes in the straw / mulch layer and dropped a clove in each hole.  Quick press with the hand on top of the hole filled it in and so far - looks like the system worked very well.

Finally...  over at the corner of the barn...  we have a special crop emerging that should offer a harvest this year.  That would be these little purple shoots you see here.  By late Summer these tall growing vines will be up the side of the barn and covered with their green "pine cone" shaped flowers.  While not directly edible they are a key ingredient in a very specific libation.  Now...  we clearly have all the water we need and a small crop of barley could be planted...  Any guess as to what might be planted here?

 

Grabbing garlic

Fresh picked garlic starting to dry

Although this might be giving away a little bit of future CSA shares - that's OK.  Last fall, before we had fully decided on going the CSA route this year for produce production, we decided to make our garlic plantings smaller than in the past - but to try several new varieties.  We ended up with 5 different ones  and the very first - NY White - came out of the ground Sunday.

It's not THAT exciting to many people - but to us it's a clear indication that the season is well underway and it's time to start thinking about fall crops already.  Sure, we have plenty of hot days ahead (yea - the hotter and more humid it is - the happier Andy is) but it still means we are somewhere around the half way mark for the summer growing season.  And that means more seeds to be started for yummy cool weather crops.

Once we get all the garlic pulled we will make a decision on which ones we like the best...  which is painful the first year...  because that means less in the root cellar because the cloves that just came out of the ground this year are what we plant in October to become the full bulbs of next summer.

With that thought - here's a great sustainability tip:  One of the coolest things with garlic though, for anyone growing it...  it's really one of the most sustainable vegetables you can grow.  From a single clove you get a bulb of many cloves after one year...  from that bulb you get many bulbs - and it can all be raised from that single clove you started with - year after year.  It takes very little maintenance in the garden (weeding is about all) and it's a staple spice for all sorts of great dishes.  Even better - it stores well and is easy to dry and turn into your very own powder.  Go garlic!

The chill in the air

With the chill in the air now - things have been slowing down around the farm - and also speeding up... if that makes any sense at all.
For example, just like the seasons change, so do our activities in response to the seasons. We have all the gardens plowed user now. The newest plot is heavily mulched to build up the soil in the spring - others have some of the green manure down on them to be rolled under in the Spring. But there no longer a hurried harvest and preservation drama going on nightly - he season is closed. The seed pots and planters are all put away.
At the same time, I was out until dark on Monday night planting for next spring - 4 types of garlic went in this fall: German, Purple, NY white and Canadian. So already the seeds of another season are awaiting their awakening after what I think is going to be a brutal winter. The signs are all there - apples were ripe weeks early, trees dropped leaves faster than usual, birds headed South sooner than later... Nature knows something and is willing to share - we just have to listen.
The bush hog is off the big tractor now, the parts of the field that didn't get knocked down have little need for my attention now as the plants have turned brown and dead. The cutter was swapped for the 2 bottom plow for a bit to put the gardens to sleep - and now the tractor awaits the attachment of the snow blower.
On that topic we are getting ready to stand up the snow fence and make the driveway edges and corners with posts and stakes...