July 21, 2012 - Share # 2

NOTES FROM THE FIELD:

Beans just sprouting

After the garlic, cont'd. The beans are up! You saw them being planted in last week's newsletter - in the patch where we recently harvested garlic (previous newsletter!). The beans germinated well and now we just have to keep them weeded and watered. Hopefully we'll be harvesting these beans in late August or early September. Stay tuned!

Bean rows on their way to September harvest

 This week we cleaned up from last Saturday's Farm Party - which was really fun and we're glad a few of you made it out to see the farm and share some food; we finished harvesting potatoes; we picked zucchini again..and again...and again; we picked beans for the first time; we started harvesting fall onions; we cleaned up some weedy patches; and we watered watered watered.

And then it rained!!

IN THE BOX: Every thing keeps best rinsed, drained, and in a plastic bag in the fridge, EXCEPT garlic - leave out of fridge. Potatoes can be kept outside of the fridge, especially if they are dry, but these potatoes are "new" and not yet cured for long term storage. There are many approaches to the best storage method for basil. Some folks put the bunch in one or two inches of water and store on their windowsill. Others put the bunch in water and then in the fridge. Others put the bunch in water, then in the fridge, but covered with a plastic bag. What do you do??

Beans - New!

Cukes - New!

Celery - New! Michigan celery is exceptionally flavorful! Add it to your stir-fry, cook up a soup stock, or fill the stalks with cream cheese or peanut butter and munch! The stalks are darker green than "store celery" and they are bunched. You can identify it by the rich celery aroma!

Shannon and Kirstin on the herb and flower terrace

Basil  - New! - bunched

Zucchini/summer squash/patty pan - still lovin' the warm weather!

Beets and greens - bunched

A walrus and bunny spotted in the carrot patch

Carrots - bunched

Kale - bunched. Frilled, sturdy leaves.

Pac Choi - Asian green, like Bok Choy. Light green, spoon-shaped leaves. Tender; use leaves and stems in stir-fry.


Garlic


NOTES FROM THE FROG HOLLER RECIPE BOX:

We cook zucchini and summer squash a lot at Frog Holler. They cook quickly and soak up the flavor of any herbs that accompany them. For the Farm Party, we used large zucchini slightly beyond their "size limit" that were reclaimed deliciously as Roasted Herbed Zucchini.

Colleen cleaning a table full of beets

We also served Beet Caviar at the Farm Party. This curiously addictive dish was brought to us from a friend who ate it regularly while serving in the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. Inscrutably delicious - try it! Word from Kazakhstan: spread it on saltines!

One of our lunch dishes this week was chilled Creamy Carrot-Ginger Soup. Very nice during this steamy weather!Note from cook Emily: cook this soup a little longer than the recipe says!

From our friends at Tantre Farm, we have learned of a delicious Potato Salad with Green Beans. A tasty way to use a few items in your share!

And from CSA member Ponda, we have another way to enjoy beets and purslane!
Ponda pronounces this dish "very yummy"! If we don't get purslane into the share this week, just look around in your flower bed or garden; you'll probably find some growing wild!

We have one more recipe using several items in your share box this week, but first we'll....

MEET THE INTERN: SAMUEL PLAMONDON

Samuel hails from Traverse City where he attends the Great Lakes Culinary Institute. In the school kitchens, Samuel noted that the relationship with food seems to start when food comes out of the box and onto the cutting board. So he signed on to the Frog Holler farm crew to gain more of a perspective on where food really comes from.

Samuel also hopes to have his own subsistence farm some day where he will grow and preserve the majority of his food; hopefully his summer on the farm will contribute to the knowledge needed to accomplish that dream.

A revelation for Samuel this summer is how, "across the board, the veggies are better than what you get in a grocery store!" He notes the freshness factor, of course, but also the quality and flavor that come from growing varieties that are not selected for shipping or shelf longevity.

In Samuel's own words, he is "freaking out about the tomatoes" and has never before experienced such a delicious complexity of flavor like the fresh nuggets that he has been eating off the vine (like an apple!).(Ed. note: we are starting to pick tomatoes but don't have enough for shares yet - soon!).

New foods for Samuel this summer are kohlrabi, fresh kale and collards, tat soi, varieties of summer squash such as patty pan and zephyr, different varieties of lettuce beyond the usual leaf and romaine, and roasted radishes and hakurei turnips - a favorite!

Samuel states that this summer has also brought him a new respect for farming and how small-scale intensive growing requires a combination of science, intelligence, observation, and really hard work!

 Samuel has certainly contributed his share to that hard work and has pitched in willingly for extra projects such as rebuilding our swimming raft and cooking up the chorizo burgers at the Farm Party. Samuel is also an accomplished musician - piano and guitar - and has apprenticed with a piano technician, gaining basic skills in that field. But the real claim to fame for this multi-talented fellow is that he can recite the entire first Toy Story movie verbatim!

We couldn't end without a recipe from this budding chef. It uses three items in your share box - beans, basil and garlic - and of course finishes with a wine pairing!

In addition to Samuel's culinary skills, we appreciate his inquiring mind and "let's do it!" attitude; we wish him well in his studies ahead!

Have a great week everyone!