CSA Newsletter - July 25, 2020

Tubs of spuds - Crates of 'tates!

and you know this means: IN YOUR SHARE THIS WEEK:

POTATOES - FRESHLY DUG!

Milan (with basket) , Keegen, Edwin, Cale digging, Ashleh gathering

LEEKS

BROCCOLI

Broccoli salad anyone?

KALE - CURLY

Best for Kale Chips!

COLLARDS

Also do double duty as veggie mask

BEANS!

A green bean scene

CUCUMBERS

In large numbers!

CARROTS

Would you care at all for...?

LETTUCE

Let us have salad!

RECIPE TIPS: So much good food it's hard to know where to start! One place to start could be the Frog Holler Recipe Box. This is a (often share box oriented) recipe blog that we published in our early CSA days. The link will take you to the last recipe published in 2016 (!) for Zucchini doggy biscuits. That's for when you have really run out of ideas for preparing zucchini - you're not there yet are you? Although who says the pooches can't use a little veggie love?

Some recipes we noted from the Recipe Box that pertain to this week's share are Broccoli Salad, Green Bean Salad, Potato Salad WITH Green Beans (we used veggie broth)  and Creamy Sesame Greens. There are lots more - have a look around!

KALE - we're repeating this recipe for Kale Chips that may have been missed in last week's newsletter. It's easy to get Kale Chips really wrong; this link will practically guarantee a crisp and tasty result!

CARROT TOPS - a friend who saw our carrot top feature in last week's newsletter  shared that her nutritionist had recently advised her to get carrot tops into her diet!

COLLARDS - We served Collard Wraps at Holler Fest one year! P. 64 in the Frog Holler recipe book.

FREEZING BEANS - Here's how we freeze beans on the farm:
1. Fill large pot with water and put on medium-high burner.
2. Fill a large bowl with cold water.
3. Take large batch of beans and sit down in front of television.
4. Watch rerun of Star Trek's "The Next Generation".
5. While watching, break stem ends off of beans and snap in halves or thirds.
6. When show is over, rinse and drain beans. Water should be boiling by now.
7. Add a good amount of beans to boiling water. When beans turn bright green, (around 3 minutes) remove beans with a strainer.
8. Plunge beans into bowl of cold water to stop their cooking.
9. When beans are thoroughly cooled, remove from water and drain.
10. Place drained beans into quart baggies and freeze.
11. See if it's time for Deep Space Nine.

Milan and Keegen just drew the winning name!

AND THE WINNER IS...the winner of the first ever CSA Beans Crossword Puzzle is Bi-Weekly CSA member Sara Samuel!! Due to technical difficulties we could not award Sara a bouquet but she will receive a coupon for a half-pound of the Frog Holler Farm signature salad mix - and of course bragging rights. Stay tuned for more fun and informative CSA puzzles and word games. And prizes! Thanks everyone who entered and solved the puzzle!



NOTES FROM THE FARM - Cycles and circles - we seem to complete one harvesting project and find it's time to start another. Just as we finished digging, bundling and hanging the Garlic,

Ashleh digging garlic, Cale gathering

we headed to the Bean patch.

Keegen, Cale and Ashleh picking beans

We finished epic sessions of cleaning scallions

Cale and Ashleh cleaning scallions

So we could parlay that time into potato digging!

 

Keegen, Edwin, Cale dig. Ashleh gathers.

But there are some constants in the changing of our harvest tasks - specifically the hardy crew members who start and finish, start and finish, start and finish each produce project. So let's...

MEET THE INTERNS: ASHLEH WORDEN 

Ashleh grew up in a small town near Lansing, graduated from Grand Valley with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Art, met her partner Cale at a music festival in northern Michigan (Wheatland Traditional Arts Festival), now lives in Adrian, and luckily for us, her journey brought her first to Holler Fest and then to the Frog Holler Farm crew.

Ashleh and Cale signed on last year and returned this year for another full season. We keep them pretty busy, but in the winter months Ashleh, who is a silversmith, has time to make her beautiful jewelry. Below are some examples with Ashleh's comments.

Ashleh says, "I like the stones used in these pieces and two of them are my favorite designs that I've been making for a few years."

The stone in this pendant is Cherry Creek Jasper.

This is one of many turtle rings that I’ve made, originally inspired by a turtle ring my mom found when I was a kid. Turtles remind me to take in my surroundings, to be present and to honor the earth. The stone is Imperial Jasper.

This pendant is a part of my “Hands of Transformation” series which aims to illustrate how creativity is sometimes elusive and appears in ways you might not expect. At the same time it requires that we show up and put in the work in order to receive. This pendant was crafted in the spring at the beginning of social distancing when I decided I wanted to transform the strained closeness with loved ones into hope for the future. The stone is Fire Agate.

You can see more of Asleh's beautiful creations, as well as Cale's unique hand-carved wooden spoons, at their Etsy shop, accessed by  Caveandcanopy.com. All pictured are available.

As you can see, Ashleh does a lot of finely detailed work (which makes her an awesome weeder!). Ashleh's craft is often painstaking and time-consuming, and she says she enjoys being drawn deep down into that world of minute particulars (which also makes her an awesome weeder!).

And while Ashleh is working long hours at creating her beautiful and functional craft, she listens to a lot of podcasts! We asked for some of her favorites and she mentioned "For the Wild podcast because of the way it uses many voices to story tell and weave human-connectedness with nature. It critiques the status quo while teaching and giving hope for a way forward."

Ashleh also suggested "Ologies with Alie Ward because she delves into topics in a fun way that quells my curiosity in random science topics." Thanks Ashleh for those interesting suggestions!

We do shamelessly exploit the talents of our crew and so, when we learned how artistically oriented Ashleh was, we asked her to make lots of signs for us for last year's Holler Fest as well as this year's farm sign. For those of you who come to the farm for your share, Ashleh's handiwork beckons you in the drive!

We are very fortunate for the crew who pass this way, giving us their time, their hands, their dedication, and their unique gifts. Ashleh is an exceptional example of a multi-faceted crew member and her artist's eye, along with her thoughtful and steady presence, has contributed to the farm in myriad ways. We'll let Ashleh have the last word with this poem that she wrote during last year's season:

when I pull weeds,

Ashleh in the carrot patch

I see the fields as an archive


of blessings from killdeer + woodpeckers on dewy summer mornings.


I think of the tired hands that tended before,


of the thoughtful meals prepared + bellies filled.


I hear the wellspring of worries like


“will the garden grow” or “am I doing enough”


put to rest by the resounding answer from


land that desperately wants to be alive

Thank you Ashleh!

Have a great week everyone!