Sept. 22, 2012 - Share # 11

Our souped up golf cart hauls in the tomatoes.(Thanks to neighbor Tom Hines for the cart add-ons!)

  

 IN THE BOX:

BEETS

KALE

CHARD

WATERMELON RADISH - peel the outer "rind" for a milder flavor. Excellent fresh or roasted!

ONIONS

GARLIC

POTATOES

TOMATOES

LETTUCE

ARUGULA

RED PEPPER

HOT PEPPERS - CAYENNE(long, skinny), JALAPENO(short,squatty), SERRANO(medium long & thin)

NOTES FROM THE FIELD:

Well, we dodged Jack Frost on Tuesday night.. The weather report  predicted a low of thirty-two, although did not issue a "frost advisory". We weren't taking any chances; we double-covered the basil and the nasturtiums and set up sprinklers for the bean patch, if needed. Perhaps preparation is the best defense! Ol' Jack was deterred and we hope he takes his sweet time returning. Of course, even without an actual frost, growth has slowed on all the crops. Even the zucchini and summer squash can't muster the same growing verve. Tomatoes will try, but shorter days and less sun will slow the ripening. Green tomatoes anyone? Curious how fast it can change, but then change is the one constant in trying to work with the natural cycle.

One basil bed all tucked in.We saved it from frost, but when we peeked at the tender leaves, they still showed signs of damage :-(  If the weather stays mild, they may have time to recover.

Farm visit : Thirty-five members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, affiliated with the University of Michigan, visited the farm this week. They arrived in one of the biggest vehicles that has ever tried to navigate our driveway! Here's a shoutout to the intrepid bus driver who managed to turn the bus around when it was time to go!

Tour participants disembark from a REALLY big bus!

The group was participating in a tour of two organic farms, Cornman Farm in Dexter, and Frog Holler Farm.  They are interested in learning about the local food supply and what goes into producing vegetables on a market garden scale (or for Zingerman's Roadhouse, in the case of Cornman Farm)..

Questions were lively and engaged, and it was a fun and meaningful experience to share how Frog Holler Farm came into existence and why we continue to do what we do! A beautiful fall day showed Frog Holler off at its finest and we hope all of our visitors enjoyed their time strolling through our woods and gardens.

And if you are interested in continuing to learn on all manner of subjects, despite being well past "school age", do look into the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (or OLLI) - lots of interesting topics and interesting people!

Cathy King recounts some of the history of Frog Holler Farm

NOTES FROM THE FROG HOLLER RECIPE BOX:

Beets, walnuts and feta cheese always make a tasty combination. Here's an easy beet salad recipe from the Frog Holler Recipe Box that also uses the kale in your share. For another version of the beet-walnut-feta combo that will ask you to supplement with other items, check out this Honeyed Beet Salad that uses quinoa and practically is a meal in itself.

We know red peppers have been coming out of your CSA ears lately - what a bountiful crop it has been! And yes, that's past tense; cool weather has brought a dramatic slowing in ripening and pepper production. But it was a really good run and we have no complaints, except that we didn't discover this "Peperonata" recipe sooner! Hopefully you saved or preserved some peppers so you can give it a try!

The Thursday, Sept. 20 edition of the Detroit News had some excellent recipes in their feature article titled,  It's Easy to Go Vegetarian. Here's a link to two of the recipes; the first one even includes some daikon radish!

The cooler temps this week inspired us to make chili. We'll have more on that later, but first we'll...

(RE)MEET THE INTERNS: EMILY FOLEY

Emily at the golf cart's wheel

Emily joined us in the spring of 2011. After graduating in 2010 from U-M with a B.A. in Screen Arts and Culture, she moved to Brooklyn, New York. An interest in food production piqued by working at Zingerman's while in Ann Arbor, joined with a desire to get out of the city for the summer, landed her at Frog Holler for a summer internship.

Emily returned to Brooklyn last fall, but rejoined us this spring. Due to projects in New York, she split her time between Brooklyn and Brooklyn this summer (Frog Holler is in Brooklyn, Michigan!). But she was here during an important chunk of the summer, helping many of you with your share boxes at the market, writing the CSA newsletter when Holler Fest prep was heating up, and managing key areas of Holler Fest before and during the festival.

One of Emily's New York projects involves teaching Latin to a bright autistic teenager. Emily's background in Latin comes from attending the Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in America - established April 23, 1635, at least one year before Harvard! A strong grounding in the humanities characterizes Boston Latin School students, and Emily has drawn on her academic strengths to teach her young charge Latin for the past year and now adding Calculus this fall.

Emily is in Michigan for a short visit and hopefully will be at market this Saturday. She suggested this chili recipe to nourish us in the fall weather and to use several items in our share box this week!

We wish Emily well as she heads back to more adventures in the Apple!

 Sunflower Man says have a great week!