Bountiful Harvest: You will be getting a fairly large share today, and I think you should expect so in the future. The garden is producing in record amounts. Please get in the habit of eating lots of salads and stir fries. Don't forget that most vegetables can be frozen for future use. For this and other issues, please consult your CSA handbook, which all of you should now possess. If not, please contact us. And oh yes, keep as much room in your refrigerator as possible. Things like Chinese Cabbage for instance will stay fresh in the fridge for easily two weeks.
Fear Not the Spots: Many of your salad greens may have small holes or spots. This does not render them inedible. The spots and dots are, in fact, completely harmless. Simply rinse your veggies under cold, running water to prepare them for eating.
Surplus: Because we have a lot of some things, we are inviting members who wish to pick your own extra. Just call ahead to schedule a time when we can show you what's available. Now Available: Kale, bok choi, lettuce
Work Hours : All of you should know when you are doing your work support hours
Handbook: Please make use of this resource. It is the result of collaboration on the part of many people and should have almost all you need to know about your veggies for identification, preparation and storage. But if you still have lingering questions, call us.
What to Do With Lots of Veggies: The garden is producing such abundance this year that you need to take extra steps to prepare and/or store your veggies. The first way to cope is to eat a lot of salads and stir fries. With all current research showing that chlorophyll rich green leafy vegetables are among the best promoters of good health, do yourself a favor by eating a lot of fresh vegetables, either cooked or raw. Steaming your vegetables is a wonderful option. If you don't have a steamer than go to a kitchen supply store and get one. Steamed vegetables can be eaten freshly steamed, reheated later, or enjoyed cold in salads. They can be eaten as side dishes or incorporated into main dishes. And best of all, steaming vegetables is a simple.
You have at least two options for the veggies you cannot eat between shares - either preserve them or give them away. Friends, neighbors, and co-workers would love to share in the harvest, and maybe they'll get hooked enough to join us. Just bear in mind our membership incentives and open up your cabinet to your neighbors. You can preserve your excess vegetables by freezing or canning. We prefer the former, but there is nothing wrong if you want to can.
Freezing instructions are included in most cookbooks and in our handbook (I believe), but the principle is simple. First blanche or cook the vegetables just enough to break down the cell walls and kill bacteria. This should take a minute or less for greens, or up to three minutes for broccoli and other vegetables. The water should be just at a boiling temperature when you add the vegetables. After blanching, put the vegetables into freezer bags or containers with as little excess air as possible. Come fall and winter you'll appreciate the favor of having bags of summer goodies to cook into supper side dishes and entrees. Remember that any vegetable tastes great cooked lightly by whatever method - stuffed, steamed, boiled - and adorned with a little butter or olive oil and seasonings. Yum! And if that's not enough "Yum" for you, grate a little cheese onto the piping hot veggies. Now that's good eatin'.
Arugula: Arugula is a wonderful green. It adds a bitey, nutty zest to any salad.
Lettuce: We have an abundance of high quality lettuce, so you will receive a green and a red lettuce.
Endive: Endive is a cousin to lettuce. Very frilly and a slight bitter flavor which is easily hidden by a good salad dressing. In our theory of salads, it is important to combine as many taste categories to make the most wholly nutritious salads. Therefore it is a good idea from time to time to include some things bitter or sour along with the relative sweetness of lettuce.
Chinese Cabbage: These are huge. But don't let that fool you. They cook down considerably. They are exceptional in stir fries or fresh as a heavier-than-lettuce addition to salads. Store it in a sealed plastic bag for up to two weeks or more in the refrigerator. A fine side dish can be prepared simply by lightly stir-frying ribbons of leaf in a bit of hot sesame or peanut oil along with some crushed or minced garlic.
Collard Greens: The best way to prepare collard greens is to steam or stir fry adding oil or butter and seasonings. Very humble, very good fare.
Purslaine: Many people consider Purslaine to be a weed. We prefer the term "Volunteer." It is a wonderfully crisp vegetable with a full, green flavor that will wake up any salad.
Mustard Greens: Our best ever. A bitey addition to salads. Or cook lightly. Very high nutrition. Both red and green.
Swiss Chard: None this week. Expect it every other week.
Kale: We're giving you a new form of kale. Let us know if you like it. It's the long leaf or lanceolate form, sometimes called dinosaur kale. Use in salads or cooked. (We recommend steaming or stir frying for most vegetables). Next week we will resume an alternate weekly supply of green curly and red Russian Kale.
Beet Greens: Beet greens are great in salads or cooked like spinach. These are thinnings from what looks to be a great beet crop. You also may start getting some small beets. Expect between a half to a dozen beets every other week.
Bok Choi: This popular oriental green is extremely succulent. Leafy parts are ideal for salads, while the stems (and the green leafy parts for that matter) were made for stir frying .
Herb: Thyme is a classic Mediterranean herb that tastes wonderful in many styles of cooking. We are confident you'll be pleased with this versatile herb. Garlic Chives have a wonderful onion flavor with a slight garlic twang. Use them in a stir-fry and we're sure you won't be disappointed. Garlic Chives also make a lovely garnish, though we prefer eating to looking.
Spicy and Sweet Chineese Cabbage
1T Peanut Oil
¼ c golden raisins soaked in ½ c warm water, then drained
1½ lbs Chineese Cabbage, thinly sliced
1 T honey or brown sugar
2t finely grated ginger root
1 T cider vinegar
crushed hot pepper flakes to taste
½ t salt
Heat oil in deep skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add Chineese Cabbage, ginger, and hot pepper flakes. Stir-fry for 2 mnutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Mix sweetener and vinegar. Pour over cabbage mixture. Toss in raisins and season with salt. Cook for approximately 3 more minutes, stirring often. Cabbage should be wilted but still slightly crunchy. Serves 4.
Spoutwood Farm's First Annual Summer Solstice Celebration
Saturday, June 22
8pm till the wee hours
Join us for drumming, dancing, and a jolly good time as we celebrate the High Summer. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, a time of celebration for centuries. Highlights include Michael Bull leading a Medicine Wheel, a Native American Spiritual Practice which aims to bring the practitioner into harmony with nature. Vanessa Bradley, one of our CSA share holders, along with her friends from Eight Stones and other local Yoga Studios will guide us in a Yogic Sun Salutation. The Yogic Sun Salutation honors the Sun and focuses the universal appreciation of and for Life. Bring with you a meal to share, something to drink, and an abundance of joy !
Help us make this first Solstice event one worth repeating in the years to come.
RSVP events@spoutwood.com (not required, but it helps us with planning)
Spoutwood Farm Day Spring Into Summer Sprucing
Sunday, June 23
9am till 4pm
Pitch in and help ready the farm for the coming Summer. We'll be doing a number of projects around the farm grounds in preparation for the coming season. In addition to gardening activities, there will be a lot of painting, building, reconstructing, and good ol' fashioned cleaning up. Lend a hand as we all work to get the farm into tip-top shape. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy with your family and a spare set of work gloves to share with a friend. Feel free to join us on Saturday night and camp over 'till morning.
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