Share #11, August 27, 2011

We are in the thick of the Frog Holler festivities and we hope you are joining in on the fun! Either way, we have a fun box for you this week… Even the caterpillars can't keep away!

IN THE BOX:

Russian Kale

Hakurei turnips

French breakfast radishes – new! (lovely pink radishes with glowing white tips)

Green beans

Pak choy (Asian green lighter in color)

Yukina savoy (Asian green darker in color)

Onions

Arugula

Basil

Broccoli

Tomatoes

Potatoes

NOTES FROM THE FARM:

As we celebrate local food and local music at Holler Fest, harvest carries on at full speed. This week we started harvesting from new Asian green and arugula patches (they look beautiful!) and we are getting the first trickle of ripe tomatoes from our outdoor plants (so far the tomatoes you’ve been seeing are from our hoop house). This week we planted a whole slew of lettuce seedlings which should – hopefully! – produce a nice crop of autumn lettuce (lettuce has a hard time growing in the hot summer months). Many more wonderful veggies to come!

On Thursday we had some very special volunteers come to the farm from Community Farm of Ann Arbor. They helped pick up the slack around the farm as the interns bustled around working on Holler Fest tasks. Helping with salad, picking beans, and cleaning up the leeks, these volunteers made a huge difference in our day! Thanks Community Farm!

Picking flowers for salad.

Sharing a delicious picnic lunch.

NOTES FROM THE FROG HOLLER RECIPE BOX:

This week we are super excited to have French breakfast radishes in the share! They have a wonderful tenderness, a satisfying crunch, and a delicious zest – not to mention their appealing appearance! Says Tacey, “Do like the French do – butter some bread, slice some radishes, and enjoy!” Want to get more fancy with your radishes? Try these delicious butter-poached radishes. The most tender part of the radish is the white tip, and don’t forget about the radish greens, either. This recipe for Pasta with Dark Greens will turn your radish and turnip greens from waste into the perfect complement to the Italian classic.

This week two of the recipes come from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks, based on recipes from the Ithaca, NY restaurant. The first recipe, Rumpledethumps, is rooted in a Celtic tradition that requires all members of a family “to share the dish or risk offending the agricultural spirit that protects the crop.” The broccoli and potatoes in your box won’t be offended if you fail to make Rumpledethumps this week, but if you do serve it to your family, they surely won’t be disappointed. If you still have the leeks and/or cabbage in your fridge from last week, all the better!

The second recipe is for a Sneaky (Vegan) Lasagna. The combination of the tofu and the mushrooms makes a shockingly authentic lasagna texture, and the veggies layered in make for a tasty and satisfying entrée. For a less-vegan, more-melty option, try adjusting the tofu-to-ricotta ratio until you find the perfect balance of cheesy goodness and tofu-y healthfulness. The best of both worlds!

Last, but certainly not least, is a wonderful recipe for mixed veggie focaccia. Inspired by the delicious focaccia found at our neighboring stall at the market, Mill Pond, this recipe makes use of just about every veggie you find in your box. The bakers at Mill Pond are veggie magicians, turning our Frog Holler produce into savory treats. The focaccia dough used here is more puffy than Mill Pond’s recipe, but perfectly balanced with a generous portion of vegetables.

MEET THE HOLLER FEST HELPER: CHUCK DOHN

Chuck is a superstar in the Holler Fest kitchen. Chopping, steaming, washing, and dicing, he has helped churn out the delicious and nutritious meals being served at Holler Fest this year. A native Floridian, Chuck hails from Pensacola, FL. In Sarasota, Chuck met Tacy and Chrissy while attending New College of Florida, and later met Angie when she was visiting Chrissy.

Chuck loves food. He loves growing food organically, he loves cooking food, and of course he loves eating food as well. For years he worked in various kitchens, and more recently he has worked on a produce farm in Florida and a vineyard in North Carolina. He took cooking classes before college and he is always looking to learn about new foods, new recipes, and new cooking techniques. We are so lucky to have him here!

Chuck helps make a batch of famous Holler Tea.

Chuck uses the food processor to shred onions for gazpacho.

A FINAL NOTE:

If you’re picking up your share at market, don’t forget to get there by noon today – we’ll be packing up early in order to rejoin the festivities on the farm. Thanks for your cooperation!

Share #10, August 20, 2011

Holler Fest is coming! Shirts are in and the crew is psyching up for a great weekend. Hope you can join us!

IN THE BOX:
Watermelon (red or yellow)
Mizuna - new! (green with pointy leaves)
Russian Kale
Asian greens (Asian spinach variety)
Hakurei turnips (white-globed roots with greens)
Beans
Daikon radish (large white long root)
Leek - new!
Celery - new!
Tomatoes
Italian Parsley
Potatoes
Cucumber
Garlic

NOTES FROM THE FARM:

We’re trucking away at the harvest and working on sprucing up the farm for the festival. Sign painting, fixing up the fest grounds, and coordinating galore! Billy, Angie, Kenny, and Chrissy (a.k.a. The Billy King Band) are working on putting together a show that will knock your socks off on Friday night. Hope to see you there!

We are looking for volunteers for the festival, so if you or anyone you know is interested in helping out at the festival, please go to our volunteer page on the hollerfest.com website or come talk to us in person at the market. We love our volunteers and appreciate all of the help they give us in making this beautiful weekend possible!

With the big event coming up next weekend, don’t forget about two fun events happening this Sunday as well. The People’s Food Coop’s Farm Tour Field Day will be stopping at Frog Holler Farm Sunday afternoon in addition to other farms in the area. See where your food comes from! Also on Sunday is the Slow Food Huron Valley’s Picnic Supper at the Farm located at the Waterloo Farm Museum. A delicious feast inspired by the traditions of the 1800s, the menu includes some of your favorite organic veggies from Frog Holler. You might even run into the very same people who bring you your share at market each week, since we’ll be volunteering at the event as well!

NOTES FROM THE FROG HOLLER RECIPE BOX:

New to the box this week is mizuna, leeks, and celery. The leeks are just about begging to be combined with the potatoes in your box, such as in this recipe for leek mashed potatoes. The celery looks a bit different than what you might be used to seeing in the supermarket, but the aroma is unmistakable! Michigan celery is a bit skinnier, but full of flavor. Make the classic kids’ treat ants-on-a-log (celery, peanut butter, and raisins) or add it to a recipe like our gazpacho.

Mizuna is included in a vegan, raw wrap recipe inspired by our friends at the Red Pepper Deli in Northville, Michigan. The deli uses collards for their wraps, but the Russian kale in your box will make an equally delicious and nutritious – and beautiful – wrap that is sure to impress. Our recipe features a vegan pate that is a favorite of intern Kirstin. On it’s own or in the wrap, you will be blown away!

Looking for a fresh way to use the greens in your box? Try a wild green salad that combines the mizuna, kale, and Asian spinach in a simple yet zesty summer dressing. Yummy! Want to step it up a notch? Check at the stall for edible flowers that will add a lovely finishing touch to your dish. Beautiful!

Returning to the box this week is daikon radish. A Japanese vegetable, the name literally means “large root” (dai = large and kon = root). Let the daikon join forces with your hakurei turnips and Asian spinach in a tasty, and incredibly nutritious, miso soup.

Last but not least, as our attention turns to Holler Fest, we wanted to share one of the recipes that we’ll be cooking up next week. Gazpacho, a late summer classic, will be the focus of one of the lunches served next week. This variation will utilize not only some of your delectable tomatoes, but green beans, celery, and cukes to boot. Whether you are serving hundreds or just one, it is sure to be a hit!

Good cooking!

MEET THE INTERNS: ANGIE MARTIN

Angie has been a staple at Frog Holler for the past three seasons. Around market, she can be found working the stall, distributing C.S.A. shares with a smile, or floating around the market networking with other vendors in the community. Around the farm, Angie not only takes a leadership role in farm work, but also keeps a full slate of projects in her free time. A beginner bee keeper, Angie has been the steward for the farm’s two hives, keeping them happy and healthy in their inaugural year.

Making kombucha is another hobby of Angie’s. Keeping the farm well stocked in kombucha, Angie experiments with different recipes and inventive combinations. If you’re interested in making your own kombucha at home, come talk to her at market and pick her brain. She’d love to help!

Angie’s love of farming extends to her personal gardening projects. This year she and Kenny have undertaken an extensive relocation and expansion of the herb garden. Many of the tasty herbs you’ve found in your box this season have come out of this very garden. Working with Slow Food Huron Valley, Angie has raised a number of small patches of heirloom crops, including her very first corn patch. The variety, a “country gentleman” variety of corn, has even provided a bit of huitlacoche, more commonly known as corn smut. A tasty fungus that grows on corn, smut can be made into traditional tacos, as Angie sampled earlier in the week. Delicious!

As Holler Fest nears, Angie morphs into yet another role on the farm – kitchen diva. An avid and experienced cook, Angie helps plan and prepare the feasts that are served from the Frog Holler kitchen throughout the festival. She is particularly excited to try her hand at making BBQ tofu, a farm fave.

Sadly, this season is Angie’s last on the farm (for the time being, at least). At the end of the season, she’ll be moving back to Texas to be with her family. While she is incredibly sad to be leaving her farm friends and family, she is grateful for all that she has learned and the experience she has gained over the past three years. This is not the last of Angie that we’ll see, however, as she is working on a plan that will bring her back to the area to start her own organic farm. Best of luck, Angie!

Have a great week! See y’all at Holler Fest 2011!

Share #9, August 13, 2011

We heart tomatoes - hope you do too!









IN THE BOX:

Endive - new (frilly green leaves)

Daikon Radish - new (large white long root)

Onion, red or yellow - new

Tomatoes - lots! Red and Heirloom

Green Beans

Zucchini or Summer Squash

Cucumbers or gherkins

Asian greens - Bok Choy

Russian Kale

Cabbage

Garlic

Arugula

Variety Basil - Lemon (pale green, citrus scent) or Opal(dark purple leaves, strong scent)

NOTES FROM THE FARM:

Lots going on as we bring in the harvest and plant a music festival. This week we finished digging the potatoes and pulled all of the bulb onions. We also harvested tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! They took a while getting here, but the tomatoes have arrived and it's always enjoyable to see what unusual and beautiful shape and color the heirloom tomatoes will display - not to mention what delicious flavor!

Two weekend passes to Holler Fest come with your share this week. We will still bring your shares to the Ann Arbor Market on the Saturday of Holler Fest, Aug. 27, but we will definitely leave the market by 1 PM!


A week of harvesting:


Chrissy and Kirstin, intrepid.....

and happy potato diggers!


a spate of spuds!





Emily and Chrissy spread out the onions for drying in the greenhouse
a Striped German heirloom tomato - two pounds!

NOTES FROM THE FROG HOLLER RECIPE BOX:

Fresh tomatoes and green bean salad - you can't go wrong with simple recipes that let the veggies shine! Or here's another: Green Bean Salad.

Our good friends at Gojee.com were very helpful to list a recipe using fresh beans and endive! (Roasted pine nuts and gorgonzola don't hurt.) Check it out: Toasted Pine Nut and Green Bean Salad.More on endive frisee a short way down the page...

If you're unfamiliar with daikon radish, this simple Daikon Salad recipe might be a good introduction. You can get the "mirin" at specialty or natural food stores. Interested in some additional daikon inspiration? Check out this blog, Popcorn Homestead, by our good friend and former intern, Joan Bailey. Now residing in Japan, Joan writes fascinating posts about the food and culture of her temporary new home. You can also use the daikon just like a (rather large) radish; grate or slice it into salads as needed.

As for the endive, this is the frilly or "frisee" variety, a rather bitter green that adds character to mixed salad greens or to anyone who eats it! Frisee endive is so robust that it is often served slightly sauteed or "wilted." Here is a delicious recipe from the blog of another CSA, "Cool Beans," who had just distributed endive! Other suggestions for frisee accompaniments are bacon or blue cheese and walnuts.

You do have a powerhouse salad of flavor and nutrition in your box this week! Chop some of the endive, Russian Kale, Bok Choy and arugula. Add some cucumber slices and a little red onion. Grate some daikon for zip and a little cabbage for crunch. Mix in some tomato slices at the end or serve on the side. Beautiful! Try a fruity dressing, like Tacy's Bluebular Blueberry Dressing to balance the strong flavor of the greens.


MEET THE INTERN'S BROTHER!
Kai Pope, Kirstin's brother, has spent the last week at the farm, pitching right in and getting a taste of midwest farm life after spending much of the past year in China and England. Big sis Kirstin wanted Kai to get the full experience, so he even made the 4:30 AM wake-up call for the Wednesday market. Here are Kirstin and Kai at the market, looking pretty chipper!

Kai is headed back to his senior year at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, majoring in East Asian Studies. We wish Kai well and thank him for all his good help!





Kai picking potatoes









Have a great week everybody!

Share #8, August 6, 2011

Okay, second in our series of Uninvited Farm Share members! Caught in the act, this little fella has a lot of kale, broccoli and chard in him. He was taken several miles away and released in a wooded area with no nearby gardens!

IN THE BOX:

Cauliflower - new!

Cucumbers - new! either slicing or pickling cukes (gherkins)

Tomato - our tomatoes are ripening very slowly, but we wanted to get you started!

Rainbow Chard

Asian Greens - mixed baby bok choy and yukina savoy

Beets - the beets with the darker greens are "Detroit Dark Red", a variety of beet local to the Great Lakes region - thus, the name!

Zucchini/Summer Squash

Garlic

Potatoes

Basil

Herbal surprise -


NOTES FROM THE FROG HOLLER RECIPE BOX: Here's a tasty Swiss Chard with White Beans and Parmesan recipe that could work with the Asian greens as well. Wondering what to do with those chard stems? The Recipe Box has a simple and simply delicious way to use them. Fresh peaches have arrived; here's a way to enjoy them in a Peach and Basil salad (From the Gojee.com web site that was mentioned in last week's newsletter). And although this recipe calls for baby potatoes and summer squash, it would work fine using chunks or slices of more mature veggies and roasting them first instead of boiling. Experiment!

MEET THE ...FARM CATS!

Although we still have two more interns to "introduce" ( you have probably already met Angie and Kirstin at the market), the farm cats demanded to be acknowledged for all the hard work they do. So here they are - the amazing, resourceful, productive, not-spoiled-at-all cats of Frog
Holler!



Gus, the Frog Holler watch cat! Named Augustus for the month he was found (August 1, 2010), the story is that Gus dropped out of a tree into Angie's arms. He timed his fall perfectly and has confirmed his place in the farm through his puppy-like antics and friendliness, and his cat-like purring snuggles.






Luna, the Frog Holler driver! Getting ready to dismount from the golf cart that she just parked, Luna has settled right in after being found in the greenhouse last fall. She makes up for her small size with a big purr, and is always up for a belly rub. And sometimes she gets a little wild; then we call her Luna-tic!














Sparky, Frog Holler Ninja cat. Nicknamed Spry Sparky, she has patrolled the Frog Holler fields for sixteen years and was originally named for the legendary Tigers manager, Sparky Anderson.




Lionel Kingsley Bartholomew I: top cat and ace sleeper! Lionel appeared in an uninhabited stone cabin on the farm in the fall of '09. He has obviously made himself right at home!












New kitty on the block, this little tabby (pictured below) just showed up in the corn patch this week. The crew has named him Norbert, or Norbie, and he is sweet, comfortable with people, very game despite a gimpy leg that doesn't stop him, and looking for a good home! Interested?









TWO NEAT FARM-RELATED EVENTS

The People's Food Coop has organized a Farm Tour Field Day, visiting farms in this area that supply the Coop with all their good produce. Although we don't actually sell to the Coop, our connection to the PFC goes back almost forty years. The Coop grants a Life as Art Award each year, in honor of the memory of Ken King, Frog Holler's founder and first (posthumous) recipient of the award. The tour is a great way to travel the terrain of this area's farmland, meet the folks who grow, and experience the community of folks committed to raising good food awareness. Frog Holler's turn on the tour is from 3:15-4:00 Pm, Sunday, Aug. 21.

Slow Food Huron Valley has organized a lovely event in the Waterloo area, a Picnic Supper at the Farm. Unfortunately it falls on the same day but a little later in the day as the PFC Farm Tour. Aren't we lucky to have so many interesting events in our area? The Waterloo Picnic event will also include the delicious expertise of our friend and market neighbor, John Savanna of Mill Pond Bread. Wherever Mill Pond baked goods go, good eating can't be far behind! (Mill Pond bread will also be featured in some Holler Fest meals.)

And don't forget Holler Fest the following weekend (Don't worry, we won't let you forget!).

Have a great week everyone!