July 30, 2016 - Share #6

Mason and Marc, our intrepid weeding team!

WHAT'S IN THE SHARE:



KALE

CARROTS

ZUCCHINI/SUMMER SQUASH

GREEN BEANS

CUCUMBERS

BROCCOLI

KOHLRABI

POTATOES

GARLIC

SWEET BASIL



NOTES AND COOKING TIPS FROM THE SHARE BOX: Another great harvest box! Everything will keep better with a rinse and in a plastic bag in the fridge except potatoes and garlic - store them out of the fridge. Basil storage is controversial, as it turns black if kept too cold. But it gets limp if kept too warm. We put it in a glass of water out of the fridge, and then use it up in a few days.

Bean picking - it's a head down (and bottom up!) affair

One of the ways we use basil is in pesto. Emily made a small vat of it this week, as basil is abundant right now. We will freeze it and enjoy the taste of summer when snow is on the ground! We also like this recipe for Potato Salad with Green Beans and Pesto - and it uses several items in your share! We actually ate lots of green beans this week as our first patch has been extremely generous (although greedy with the hours of picking it has demanded!). We enjoyed this classic Three Bean Salad, especially when it was hot and muggy and cool salads hit the spot. Although our first patch of beans is almost finished, a new patch is on the horizon, and we look forward to trying some of these cooking possibilities: Sesame Green Beans, or a slightly different version: Green Beans with Parsley and Sesame Tahini. And if we get ambitious, we're going to make Pink Peppercorn Green Bean Pickles! The recipe says to try these in a martini cocktail - what do you think?

Have you massaged your kale today?

PHOTO-NOTES FROM AROUND THE FARM: Talented intern and artist Daniela Risquez took these photos of scenes around the farm, as well as the photo above of Mason and Marc weeding.

Bundles of garlic hanging in the "pole barn"

View of the greenhouse, as seen through the Calendula patch!

A patchwork of patches as we work with our rolling terrain

NOTES FROM HOLLER FEST: The festival ate my newsletter! Yes, festival preparations are picking up - last week rolling 300 burritos replaced the newsletter. We froze them, then will thaw, warm, and feed hungry musicians throughout the festival weekend. And your editor is late this week as we are finalizing the first Farm/Holler Fest cookbook, full of the good-eatin' recipes that you are familiar with through this blog and at the festival Holler Kitchen. Pick up a copy at Holler Fest!

The spontaneous circle that closed out Holler Fest 2014. A spontaneous thunderstorm closed out HF 2015!

We hope you will join us at Holler Fest and bring friends and family to this tenth celebration of local food, music and community. After ten years, kids have grown up at the festival; families use it as a reunion destination; there is even a wedding at Holler Fest this year! So as members of our CSA, you can see first-hand the culmination of our years of food, art and community cultivation. Your passes will be distributed soon - one or two passes depending on your level of CSA membership. The web site and Facebook page are being updated regularly - check them out! Here are some good links:

Web site/music schedule: hollerfest.com

Facebook community page

To get additional passes before the festival (passes also available at the Gate)

To volunteer at Holler Fest!

Thanks everyone - have a great week!

July 16, 2016 -Share #4

The garlic harvest is in!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX:

LETTUCE

BEETS

CARROTS

KALE

KOHLRABI

CUCUMBER

GARLIC

POTATOES - NEW!

BASIL

PURSLANE - stems with succulent green leaves. No aroma so you'll know it's not basil!

NOTES FROM THE SHARE:

The potatoes are new and freshly dug - they will be tender and tasty any way you prepare them. This recipe for Whole Roasted Carrots claims to be the only one you'll ever need - check it out! Purslane shows up in your share usually once a season. Although considered a weed by many, this nutrition dense wild plant should at least be tried! Chop it fresh into salads or lightly steam or stir-fry. The link takes you to a helpful Mother Earth News "Power-Packed Purslane" page. Enjoy! If you're looking for new ways to use kale, try this Kale Pesto with Toasted Walnuts. You'll get your kale nutrients, jazzed up with the basil and garlic from your share. Toss with pasta and you're on your way to a satisfying summer meal!

NOTES FROM THE FARM:

Can't complain about no rain! We actually had two showers this week, with a little over an inch on Wednesday night. That will help!

The garlic harvest is completed and the potato harvest has begun. The plants should be getting more lush with this new moisture, but the weeds aren't far behind! (Okay, found something to complain about!).

The crew has worked diligently through many hot and muggy days to harvest what's ready, maintain what's growing, and plant what is to come. We did all of that this week, and after taking some time off to hear Eyes Unclouded, one of the farm bands play at Cobblestone Market last Tuesday and another musical configuration play this Saturday, we'll do it all again next week!

Holler Fest card by Daniela Risquez, colored by Mason Sharp

 Here's another version of our Holler Fest promo card designed by intern and artist, Daniela Risquez, and this one colored by intern and artist, Mason Sharp. Inviting, eh? We hope we will see you at Holler Fest! As CSA members, you receive one or two passes to Holler Fest, depending on your level of membership. Despite this 'free pass,' we hope you all will consider pitching in to help this unique farm event run smoothly and successfully. Faye, one of our CSA members, offers massage on Saturday afternoon! Other members have signed up for volunteer shifts around the festival. Lots of ways to be a member of your farm and festival! Find out more at this link to the Volunteer Sign-up Application:

http://goo.gl/forms/l6WYVvk7UEJfl3Lh2

But most importantly we hope you will come out and enjoy the farm. There will be kids activities, nature walks, camping, good food, and music music music! Mark your calendars: Holler Fest 2016, Aug. 26-28.

Thelma says have a great week everybody!

Have a great week everybody!

July 9, 2016 - Share # 3

WHAT'S IN THE SHARE:

Not Cinder! Farm doggie Cinder keeps cool with regular dips in the "green pond" - our algae-filled irrigation pond that gives Cinder a green tint, and rich aroma, every time she emerges - but she's so happy!

HERE'S THE SHARE:

RED LETTUCE

GREEN LETTUCE

RAINBOW CHARD

CURLY KALE

SUMMER SQUASH(NEW)

ARUGULA

BASIL

SCALLIONS

CARROTS(NEW)

GARLIC



NOTES FROM THE SHARE BOX: Really no surprises - everything should be identifiable by shape or smell. As mentioned last week, we are sharing the arugula with little flea beetles, but that doesn't affect the flavor, just the appearance. This is the first digging of carrots - enjoy! And our faithful veggie friends zucchini and summer squash make their return - they haven't worn out their welcome yet!

NOTES FROM THE RECIPE BOX: Have you ever roasted carrots? As with roasting any vegetable, the flavor intensifies and even caramelizes a bit. You can roast them straight up with olive oil and salt, or try Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots for rich deliciousness. All good, but with these new fresh from the ground carrots, you might just want to munch them Bugs Bunny style!

And it's a good time to remember Massaged Kale. This is a delicious and nutritious way to plow through your kale share! And this is one of the recipes in the upcoming Frog Holler Farm/Holler Fest Recipe Book - coming soon to a farm festival near you!

Mason, Mary Kate, Marc and Nhin in the garlic patch

NOTES FROM AROUND THE FARM:

Garlic harvest is in full swing! The garlic looks pretty good and the harvest will take several sessions. Mary Kate Mathy, a high school student from Downer's Grove, Illinois, is visiting her big brother Marc this week and has been a big help at the farm!

Mary Kate loading garlic onto the "Gator"

Mason, Marc and Nhin tying the garlic bundles

 Digging the garlic is just the first step of the process. Every fall the remaining interns plant the garlic cloves for harvest the next summer. Most interns are not back the next year to see the garlicky fruits of their labors. This year's crew is harvesting last year's planting, and then will plant in the fall for next year's crew. And so it goes.

However, Nhin Luu returns to his third year of wrangling garlic out of the ground, wrapping the bunches and hanging them from the barn's rafters!

First garlic bunches

NOTES FROM AROUND THE FARM:

Mason starting his presentation on Climate Change

Intern Mason Sharp is a member of Citizen's Climate Lobby , an activist group that
"...exists to create the political will for climate solutions by enabling individual breakthroughs in the exercise of personal and political power." Through participation in the group and his own study, Mason has amassed a wealth of (rather depressing) information about where in the world we are relative to climate change. Mason shared some of that information with the farm crew this week  - explaining the science behind climate change; the political response (or lack thereof) and what we can do. As Mason pointed out, the situation is bleak, but at the same time that's no reason to give up. He suggested that one way to address the challenge of hopelessness is to join groups, spend time with and learn from like-minded people, and take small actions that can build.

To that end, there is a meeting of the local chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby this Saturday, July 9, 12:45 - 2:45pm, 1425 Cambridge Rd, Ann Arbor. All are welcome and you can contact Ginny Rogers at ginny.rogers@gmail.com for more information. For further learning Mason suggests these books: Earth, by Bill McKibben; Storms of My Grandchildren, by Dr. James Hansen; and This Changes Everything, by Naomi Klein.

We appreciate Mason's dedication and commitment to making our world a better place. There isn't much good news, but with informed and compassionate young people, there is hope!

Sibs Mary Kate and Marc Mathy at the Wednesday market - more young people doing good things!

Still dry! We're setting up drip irrigation for the brussels sprouts in The Slope garden

Still groundhog problems! Here's a live trap set for the varmint who ate the broccoli in the foreground

Cinder has her own version of "going green"

Yo - have a great week - and stay cool!

Frog Holler farmers Kenny King, Donya Huber and Cinder