July 12, 2014 - Share #3

If you don't get around to making your own kale chips, stop by our market stall to try (long-time intern) Kirstin's latest farm products: Smokey or "Cheesy" Kale Chips! A vegan, gluten-free, raw(dehydrated) and delicious kale option!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX:

CURLY KALE                                                                              

RAINBOW CHARD

BEETS

CARROTS

ZUCCHINI OR SUMMER SQUASH

SUMMER ONIONS

FRESH GARLIC

PARSLEY

PERENNIAL HERB -choose from several options tba


STORAGE SUGGESTIONS:

All the veggies do best if they are rinsed, well-drained and stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator - EXCEPT usually garlic! This is fresh-pulled garlic that has not gone through the curing process. If it were cured, it would sit outside your fridge waiting to flavor all your delicious dishes. Since this is fresh, and if you don't use it right up, refrigerate the bulb for longer storage. But betcha it won't be around that long! Our garlic crop looks excellent this year and we're happy to get a jump on the harvest!

A tagine

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: From a North African Cooking cookbook on clearance for $1.00, that was bought by one intern, borrowed from her bookshelf by another intern and brought to the farm kitchen, opened by another intern and cooked from, and then showed to the newsletter editor who found this recipe that uses five items from your share, comes this delicious Moroccan vegetable medley! Sorry we can't supply the tomatoes or pepper called for - hopefully soon!

We did enjoy a Swiss Chard Tagine that you could easily approximate with some of your share items. And Google tells us that "a tajine or tagine is a historically Berber dish from North Africa that is named after the type of earthenware pot in which it is cooked." Well, we were very non-traditional and used a wok, but it was still delicious!

Roasted Beets with Carmelized Onions and Feta. Isn't that the most delicious title? Well, try the recipe - you can't miss!

And this interesting beet and chard combo dish also looks delish! But shame on this recipe for not using the chard stems! Just include them, perhaps letting them cook a bit longer than the leaves, or go to Newsletter #1 for more chard stem ideas!

Lots of ways to use the veggies in this week's share. We aren't introducing the zucchini with a fanfare, since you'll see them again...and again...and again!  But what a loyal reminder that summer is here!

"Save the Date" card designed (and colored!) by Kim O'Keefe

HOLLER FEST! Preparations are under way for our annual farm and music festival; we hope to see you there! As CSA members, you receive one or two weekend passes depending on your level of membership. But despite the free pass, we hope you will consider volunteering at the festival. Holler Fest is a big community effort and it's fun to be on Team Holler Fest! When you click on this Volunteer! link, you'll see the various areas where you can plug in. Just fill out the handy form and we'll get back to you with some schedule possibilities.Go to hollerfest.com to see all the fun activities and fantastic musicians on tap for this year!

MEET THE INTERNS: KIM O'KEEFE

Kim picking collards

Kim hails from Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland, and is very good-natured about the ribbing she gets as the only "Buckeye" on the crew!

Kim graduated from Ursaline College in Ohio with a major in English Literature. However, during college she pursued her lifelong love of art with many art classes, and, after graduation, attended the Free Columbia School of Art in upstate New York. This school is part of the Hawthorne Valley Association, which is "...dedicated to promoting social and cultural renewal through the integration of education, agriculture and the arts." With a farm that was part of the association right next door, Kim found herself visiting, then interning -  and always enjoying the time spent working with her hands and close to the earth. Her stay on this Bio-dynamic farm also opened her eyes to a more holistic way of farming.

Kim's next step was to teach English as a Second Language at an immigration center in Cleveland, where she enjoyed working with the different cultures. She looked into graduate study oriented toward teaching high school English, but found herself being drawn back to farming, especially with the growing realization of how vital good quality food is to the health of our society and culture. She decided to get more experience on a farm, with an eye to eventually connecting her love of teaching, art, the outdoors, and farming. She also thought she might try a farm that wasn't in Ohio, which brought her to Frog Holler!

At Frog Holler, Kim has enjoyed experiencing the cyclical aspect of the growing season - how the crops come and go and the focus keeps shifting to what new crop is coming into maturity. She appreciates this unique opportunity to be outside all day and has enjoyed her regular role as the kale and collards picker, and how these plants just keep giving and giving! She also likes making the flower bouquets, which speak to her artistic side.

 Some new dishes that Kim has enjoyed at the Frog Holler lunch table are Massaged Kale, Collard Wraps, and Hummus with Beets. And you can make two out of three of those recipes with this week's box!

Kim's future plans include teaching, but perhaps in a more alternative setting. She would still like to travel, and possibly use her background teaching ESL as an opportunity to experience other cultures while offering some service.

 When we saw that Kim brought art supplies for her stay at the farm, we asked for her help with some of our design projects. One result was the beautiful Holler Fest card pictured above. More projects are in the works, and we look forward to perhaps being another farm where Kim can experience the "integration of education, agriculture and the arts"!

painting of carrots, by Kim
Hawthorne Valley Farm

painting of chard, by Kim
Hawthorne Valley Farm