CSA Newsletter for June 22, 2014

Farm Update

The pigs are growing quickly, and they are really enjoying
 running around on their pasture!

Hi everyone!  Things have been going well around the farm; we've been getting a lot of rain lately, which has helped push along several crops.  The leafy green veggies are really liking the weather lately, and the beets and other cool season crops have really benefited from the cooler temperatures. The rain has also decreased our insect pressure because most of the bugs are moving back out into the adjacent pasture now that everything is a little more lush.  All the cool, wet weather has given us some concern for the strawberries, because this is just the type of weather that can cause strawberry rot, so we are really keeping our fingers crossed that they keep their quality over the next week.  Weeds are also becoming more of an issue too (because the weather that pushes along the plants we like also pushes along the plants we don't like), so we are going to be battling them over the next few weeks.  In other news, we have recently added another mini drop-off!  Our friend Ryan Jankoska is starting up a food hub in Bay City, and part of what he does is pick up several prepacked CSA shares at our farm and take them to Bay City, to some people who have signed up through him for our CSA.  So for all the Bay City folks, welcome to the program!  

What to Expect in This Week's Share

• Choice between broccoli, beets, and spinach

  

  Keegan and Joe planting some gold turnips for later in the season.

• Snap peas for everyone!
• Strawberries for everyone (seriously, keep your fingers crossed!)
• Choice between salad mix and head lettuce
• Choice between radishes, gold turnips, and fennel
• Choice between bok choy, kale, and chard
• Choice between baby leeks, kohlrabi, and frisee

Menu Planning for All Your Veggies

CSAs are great for many reasons, but one thing that does become trickier if you're in a CSA is menu planning, because you don't know what ingredients you're going to have to work with each week.  Admittedly, we don't do much menu planning around our house; Fred is the main cook around here, and he has an amazing knack for opening up the fridge, seeing what's in there, and putting an amazing meal on the table within half an hour.  I don't have that talent.  When he's out in the field and I have to make lunch for myself and our little ones, I usually open up the fridge, draw a blank, and make veggie pasta again.  But if you're the menu planning type, you can take a break from it (kind of), because I've done it for you this week!  Here are five weeknight dinner ideas that use most of the veggies in this week's share!  I also looked for recipes that don't call for a bunch of crazy ingredients or take the whole evening to make.  Enjoy!

Day 1: I'm thinking breakfast for dinner tonight!  Try out these Peppery Turnips and Spinach along with eggs and fresh strawberries!

Swiss Chard and Beet Tacos with Vegan Crema

Day 2: Beef, Snap Pea, and Broccoli Stir-Fry.  As always, feel free to switch out the beef for chicken, tofu, or whatever you like best.

Day 3: Swiss Chard and Beet Tacos with Vegan Crema.  Or for the non-vegans, just use regular sour cream with a little Siracha or paprika mixed in instead of the vegan crema.  And if you don't end up with chard in your share, use kale instead.

Day 4: Leek and Fennel Soup.  The recipe includes celery, but you could also used finely sliced kohlrabi or bok choy stems instead.  It also calls for vegetable bouillon, but if you're feeling ambitious, you could make a stock out of whatever veggies you have left over from last week.  Then freeze the leftover stock in an ice cube tray and pull out the cubes whenever you need them!

Strawberry and Radish Salad with Balsamic Vinegar

Day 5:  Strawberry and Radish Salad with Balsamic Vinegar.  This looks totally delicious with the parsley called for in the recipe, but if you don't have fresh parsley on hand, you can always use your head lettuce or salad mix instead for kind of a different take on the recipe.  This would also be awesome with some avocado slices mixed in!

So hopefully that will take care of the "What's for dinner?" question for at least a few nights this week!  If you make any of the recipes, let me know how it turns out! :-)